"The time is come", the walrus said, "to talk of many things: of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings, and why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings".....

I awoke with this on my mind this morning, having debated last night about ending this site, my finger one impulse away from the delete button. While I think it to be nigh unto impossible for me to stop my mind from searching out the mystery, it might indeed be well the time to put this adventure here to rest, at least for a spell, and to say "thanks" to those who have shared any part of the more than seven year journey along the way. The sidebar links stay with me. I will be by to visit. Peace......

"Circling the Landing Strip.............................."

My brain has seemingly been in a state of numbness since this past weekend, Maybe I’m just getting too old for this or they tell me those winds that blew through a few weeks ago, knocking down trees, stirred up a lot of pollution that is making people sick. I do not feel sick, just unable to get satisfied with putting my thoughts down on paper. How well I have succeeded is questionable, but at least I can perhaps move on from here. Sorry for no more than another of my musings on “the state of the Ark”……


My favorite dictionary defines “theology” as (a) the study and interpretation of religious faith, practice, and experience; esp thought about God and His relation to the world; and (b) a course of professional religious training. Both explanations would indicate someone needs either a seminary degree or at least serious perusal of the Book in order to possess such item; but the word’s Greek roots merely translate to “supreme being” and “rational utterance”. As far as the first part of that division, who among us doesn’t believe in something, even if it is to believe in nothing? We all have an opinion of some kind on the matter. It’s the latter portion that gives me pause. After all, when the foundation for what we, as Christians, profess to be truth begins with the claim that a man was crucified, laid to rest in a tomb, and then somehow rose from the dead, how can any further discussion be considered rational? We can point to the universe, and again to nature, and note enough evidence of intelligent design to warrant our declaration of a Creator; but when it comes to giving testimony of a risen Savior, as a Church we want to quote a couple of ancient ecclesiastical credos, “talk by faith”, and expect the world to swallow our story because it’s “in the Book”…..

Whether we rest on historical induction oaths or new-fangled teaching equating “the Holy Ghost in me” to a reality we command, though, the journey, itself, will prove, in the long run, the strength of our commitment. What we possess will either atrophy into religion, or He who possesses us will continue to breathe life into our salvation. What we, ourselves, build will meet the test of time and be shaken. What he establishes within us may well be a day-by-day struggle to achieve, but it will survive. Jesus, Himself, said that the most important commandment was to love God “with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength”, indicating to me, not only that this relationship shared would require some work”, but also that our thought process is as much a piece of the puzzle as anything else. The problem isn’t in mentally sorting out the whole affair, but in thinking ourselves so smart as to hold God in a box…..

"Different Drummers.............................."

We are no more than a little over a month into this current school year, but I am really encouraged with the progress made thus far by my young charge. There have been only two incidents of anger physically brought forth and both took place within the first few days of our return. He is “allowing” me to converse with others, waits patiently, and follows my directives. It is hard to believe this is the same child who gave us so much trouble all the way through Third Grade. Scholastically, there are actually signs of being able to achieve something even though, for awhile, it was all a game to him. He wanted me to solve all the puzzles, give him the answers. Little by little, however, he is starting to show effort and giving less resistance to learning something new. The job is no longer “baby-sitting”. This boy is teachable and that’s exciting…..

Yesterday morning, waiting in front for his bus to arrive, with a bit of a chill in the air and a thin white covering over our neck of the woods doing little to prevent solar warming, I shared with the others there the first musical strain of “I’ve got suuuuuun-shine on a cloudy day”. Such partial interjection of lyrics isn’t unusual at all for me. Driving to work earlier, with the grandkids asleep in the car, from out of my spirit I re-invented the words to “These Are A Few of My Favorite Things” over and over when my memory didn’t retain the correct ones. Don’t get me wrong. Life has its moments; but, for the most part, it’s also what you make it. I believe in being passionate about what you believe; yet, in a world where we all don’t believe alike, it doesn’t mean I have to “eliminate the enemy” until everybody thinks like me. We all have our own perspectives…..

Before even leaving home Friday, I visited a friend’s on-line site and discovered he had provided a link to an operatic spoof entitled “Les MisObama”. My candidate of choice is McCain; but listening to Barak’s campaign warriors bring forth a melodic blend of victory being just “one more day” away had me almost standing to my feet and cheering. Such enthusiasm warmed my heart. I understand it. I do not, however, buy it. Too many sermons along the way, too many preachers propagating promises that didn’t pan out in the end; and a politician, regardless of party affiliations, is yet a politician. There’s about eighteen inches distance between the head and the heart; and it’s easy enough to mistake either for the Holy Ghost. Easy enough whether the person in question is me or the other guy. Mostly, therefore, I find myself walking by the seat of my pants, a tug on the anchor-line, and whatever tune surfaces…..

"Calling A Spade A Spade..........................."

Sunday morning, the new scheduling of events at our church did not set well with me, the early service having been set forward half an hour and, indeed, reduced to an hour of worship. Sunday school class, then, is now seated in the sanctuary and sandwiched between the exodus of the first congregation and the entrance of the next. The teacher has been paired with a lady who begins and ends each session with her version of “all in the family”, recognizing birthdays, anniversaries, talents, etc.; and, by the time she gets through with the hoopla, he has less than twenty-five minutes to present a lesson. This week’s lesson was on “patience” and I found myself possessing very little of the item. We did no more than to look at Abraham and Sarah waiting more than two decades for the arrival of Isaac and then listen to one couple’s testimony of having to endure eleven months for their house to sell, disappointed because the quickness they had claimed for such coup didn’t come to pass. Maybe if they had actually listened to God, Himself, in the matter, their expectations might have been more realistic…..

Sunday afternoon, high velocity winds representing Ike’s last breath, I guess, swept across this area of Kentucky, seemingly in a come-and-go fashion, knocking down huge tree limbs and, in the process, reducing several counties to a state of no electricity. No school today and none tomorrow, even though it looks as if we might be back in business, the power coming back on, here at the house, a little over an hour ago. It’s been a bit of an inconvenience, especially since we live out of a cistern and no pump equates to no running water; but compared to all the flooding and damage in Texas and other parts of this country, the sudden short-term loss of my television, computer, and coffee pot is no big deal. I can still consider myself blessed; and can do so without trying to suggest that God somehow orchestrated the storm one way or the other. As much as I believe that His presence is here and among us, ever available for us to approach and connect with via an inner source through Christ, I yet think it true that we all too often mis-use and mis-define such mystery…..

"Tying It Together........................."

A couple of internet friends, both involved for sometime now in ministry, have stirred my thoughts lately with posts that could connect only in such a “lost in space” mind as I seem to possess. The one fellow is an Episcopalian and runs a homeless shelter, writing one day of how, within the community of his “congregation”, someone always seemed to be either dying or being born, then following that one with a story about “the boom-shakalaka”, one man’s term for what Pentecostals call “the anointing”. The second man is Canadian, with the last eight years or so of his life invested into an ecclesiastical move referred to as the Emerging Church and, now, not so much sorry for the journey therein as perhaps simply aware of his heart having parted company along the way. He’s yet in ministry, and in more than one area, just not “politically attached” to a denominational body…..

With more than three decades of stumbling forward in this, I’m like the one preacher who commented that he has “seen a lot of stuff”. From old-time holiness to modern-day, mega-church, super-star evangelism, the path has given me both the phony and the phenomenal. I openly confess to pondering this relationship with a resurrected Christ, questioning how we can, as believers, be certain of just what is or is not “of the Spirit”. Theological winds blow through. Birth and death are not merely biological points of existence. Likewise, what takes me into worship, what feeds my soul, doesn’t necessarily hinge on the integrity of that one bringing worth the witness. I have found Him in a song; I have met with Him in prayer; and I have known Him in an overflowing shared with strangers and with friends. If, in that, the other guy was only “playing games”, it took nothing away from resurrection in me…..

On another site, this morning, the author was trying to explain what he had meant in an earlier post, speaking of feeling “trapped” within his former occupational positioning. Out of that, then, emerged a discussion concerning religious traditions suffering from a “know the truth mentality”. I noted myself as having trouble with such phrasing, for the Bible speaks in one place of it being possible to “sear our conscience”, in another of our heart being “deceitful above all things”, and in another of a time when God will send “strong delusion, that they should believe a lie”. For me, “truth” and “freedom” come out of a well much deeper than my cranial cavity; and, even in that, I find each day a classroom experience where, along the way, I meet with Him at the oasis, finding, in Him, the personification of both terms. If but for a few moments, we connect and are one; then the next breath, the next step…..

"Inquiring Minds Want To Know....................."

One of the Fifth Grade teachers stopped me today as my Special-Ed student and I were delivering mail for the office. “Jim!” she cried out, “I have a question for you!” and, to that, I replied, “Well, I’ve got all the answers!” Immediately, however, I also added my usual one-word ending utilized when I quote Paul’s Biblical claim of being able to do all thing through Christ. “Sometimes”, I clarified; “Sometimes.” It turned out that she simply wanted to know if I was familiar with the game of marbles, enough, anyhow, to explain it to one of her kids; and that was a good thing. Social Studies, as some may recall, isn’t my field of expertise. What I’m good at is the other side of the issue, ever the skeptic, the guy who, as a child, eternally asked “why?” and just never outgrew curiosity…..

Someone e-mailed me the other day a letter supposedly sent to Congress from a retired, high-ranking military officer. Its content voiced strong opinions concerning, in particular, four senators (Obama, Biden, Clinton, and Dodd) who had voted against making English the official language of our nation and the sentences composing the entire message were separated by a series of dots, words incorrectly capitalized. What the passing of such bill might have accomplished is beyond me; but, then, it seems to me that, when it comes to politics, a lot of people don’t need much to fuel their dislike of one candidate or, for that matter, their attraction to the other. One fellow recently noted to me that he liked Palin because she was “a woman’s woman” who wore skirts instead of pant-suits…..

If that latter statement appears a bit legalistic, or sexist, or just plain silly, I wonder what adjective we might apply to the current investigation into whether she “speaks in tongues”? For months, I’ve listened to the Church in my neck of the woods express their concern about Barak’s Muslim heritage. Maybe this is just a return volley? Whatever. The religious are no strangers to debate. Recently, a co-worker wanted me to settle a minor dispute taking place with her bunch. “If a man in the Old Testament fathered a child with his spouse’s handmaiden”, she inquired, "did the woman automatically become his wife?" I didn't ask, but thought to myself: Like McCain’s pondering of whether government DNA testing of bears had a paternity suit pending somewhere, could somebody’s family tree be at stake here?.....

"Gathering at the Oasis..........................."

Our “congregation” this past Sunday morning was just about evenly divided: girls to the left, boys to the right, and somewhere around forty-five teenagers in all. When authority changed the program to one service, with the number of churches participating, we were suddenly looking at bi-monthly visits; and, since waiting for our turn on the schedule seems like forever, my group eagerly agreed to fill in for a friend who wasn’t able to make the slot that fell to him. There are six of us, four of whom simply share a few words from our heart; but, on this occasion, all of us confessed beforehand to feeling dry and possessing no sense of where to go with what WAS rolling around in our brain. So we just did what we always do: trust God to bless the loaves and the fishes, to feed the hungry from the vessel we give. We’ve learned, along the way, not to take it for granted, to relax in the truth that it is not we who accomplish anything, anyhow, and to give thanks for whatever comes to pass…..

It was quite evident from the very beginning, however, that the Spirit was orchestrating this meeting. Bob, for the most part, simply testified; but his song and his words stirred me into almost opting to follow him rather than wait my “clean-up” position. I would be glad that I didn’t, for the other two merely fed the fire growing in my heart; and, when the last twenty minutes or so were handed to me, my mini-sermon on “contact” just flowed forth from that inner connection with Him. Quoting Lisa Baker’s request to know reality, I spoke of those who reach out to the universe to find the Creator, of those who likewise discover divinity in nature, and of those who see His hand within the very molecular construction of man. Who, I asked, can deny the intelligent design within all? Yet, to know Him in all that He is, we do not need to do any more than face Him in all that we are, humbled in heart and honest in our humanity. God doesn’t require our “holiness”, but our willingness to invite Him into our mess…..

We closed in communal prayer, me believing such confrontation between heaven and earth to be an individual and personal matter. For whatever reason, though, before the kids were taken back to the other room, I mentioned that, if any had specific needs and the guards had no objections, we wanted to meet them at the front. Ten or so raised their hands and came forward. One young lady broke into tears as four of her friends and Debbi joined with her, and one fellow’s hands were literally quivering from the presence of the Holy Ghost as he reached to bond with us in seeking the Almighty. In answer to some who have asked me my definition of that which Lisa Baker wanted to experience, THIS is that. Truth and grace and peace: not terms cemented into place by our reasoning, but a manifestation of the credo we profess as a foundation of our faith. It isn’t always some powerful, overwhelming event. It can come as a still, small voice, an unexpected sense of His being, or in whatsoever way He deems it to be. He, alone, confirms the covenant…..

"Barnaby's Vacant Lot..........................."

“Some people find it easy to believe everything written in the Bible. Others say it is a great strain to believe a book in which almost every page contains supernatural elements. I, for one, find it very difficult to believe in something if I can’t see it or hear it or smell it or trip over it. I have never seen the laws of physics suspended and I have seen enough hoaxes to doubt the claims of any whom say they have. Because such miracles are completely outside my experience (and frauds are an everyday occurrence), I find it quite a task to believe that any miracle ever happened in the past. Yet here we are, living proof that somehow, sometime in the past, everything must have come out of nothing-and there is just no natural way for such a thing to occur. It turns out that physicists are saying that the universe has been very precisely fine-tuned to make life possible and this puts me in a bit of a dilemma. Here I am, disbelieving in miracles while the whole universe is apparently an indescribably enormous miracle. How does the skeptic resolve such a dilemma? Is it resolvable?”…Fred Heeren who, in his book “Show Me God”, cites the following quote in George Barna’s “The Invisible Generation: Baby Busters”

“All I want is reality. Show me God. Tell me what He is really like. Help me to understand why life is the way it is and how I can experience it more fully and with greater joy. I don’t want the empty promises. I want the real thing; and I’ll go wherever I find that truth system”….Lisa Baker, age 20.

It occurs to me that, while the above statements were expressed concerning man’s wish to define his existence, they also reflect my present mood with the current Presidential debate. An Alaskan governmental official being interviewed last night put forth her opinion of this country presently being the “Divided” States of America; and, while I agree with her, if one examines our history, it’s pretty well a condition we’ve shared from the very beginning. At no time have we ever been “united” other than in our common belief that all men possess a God-given right to freely pursue their own course. Argument has always been there, a part of the process. It’s when disagreement is allowed to fester and ferment, to “boil in our bellies”, that problems develop. It’s that word “far” that turns right and left thinking into a gun, a bomb, violence rather than co-existence….

Is Obama the anti-Christ? Is McCain just four more years of Bush-nomics? I’m with Lisa Baker. All I want is reality. All I desire is integrity. I’m tired of politics as usual and I’ll go wherever I find, as best I can, that truth system. I learned long ago that peace can not be found in a person, but through an inner connection with the One who can take all my mental anxieties, drop them into a Holy Ghost “plop-plop-fizz-fizz-oh-what-a-relief-it-is” remedy, and let me relax in the knowledge of His hand in life. Show me God. The rest is all just circumstantial…..

(For those pondering my title, check out the September 4th post on Under the Overpass)

"Homework...................................."

My middle daughter lives in Lexington, over an hour drive from our neck of the woods, and while that may not be a great distance, it has nonetheless separated me from her and my grandson in more ways than one. She stays connected with her mother via telephone, but dad, not the conversationalist, remains merely joined at the heart, bumping into her as occasions arise. An e-mail last night, however, asking prayer for a friend, opened up rare dialogue between us and she spoke of Steven’s Eighth Grade Literature teacher assigning him a novel to read concerning prostitution. When she complained about both the subject matter and the language therein, the instructor not only replaced the book, he also revised his agenda; but last week-surprise!-the lad came home required to name five Bible tenets, where they are found, how many times referenced, and why they are good beliefs to hold…..

That, of course, set my own wheels spinning as to how I, myself, might answer the issue. Although I find no need, here, to provide all details as set forth, my first choice would be “belief”, itself. It is, after all, the place where the author of Hebrews tells us that all must begin. Not in some rigid, definite assessment of the facts, but more an “everything seems to point to-if You are there, help me” surrender unto an Entity bigger than ourselves. It is where we remain in most areas of our walk, leading us into my second pick: “faith”. This I see, not as something we produce, but rather what God brings forth in us, proving Himself unto us as we go. Our anchorage is not in what we cannot see, but in that which has been divinely cemented in our existence. The third item, then, is “hope”, created out of what we possess thus far. We reach out to Him because we know He hears our cry…..

Fourth on my list would be “life” as represented in the Trinity. Christ rose from the dead, and with His resurrection provided for us more than the promise of Heaven waiting for us beyond the grave. If flesh was translated to sit at the right hand of the Father, opportunity was freely given for men to once again know spiritual connection with their Creator; and, if we settle for anything less, what we have is religion, words and definitions void of His breath breathed into them, not the gift in its totality. Likewise, “grace”, my fifth and last, isn’t just a synonym for forgiven, but a realization of the Holy Ghost “in” me, indeed a confirmation of all that God “is”, working in me, flowing through me, meeting me in my humanity. When He, alone, remains the source of my salvation, it leaves less room for me to worship my own doctrinal totem, to self-inflate in my own righteousness…..