How to spell Newspaper

"How do you spell 'newspaper?'  Vince asked no one in particular.  Then, in answer to his own question, he began to spell --  "N-E-W-S-P-A-P-E-R."

Vince is a pretty good speller.  I am not certain exactly how he chooses the words he learns.  He can spell words like "engine," and "Thomas" and "fire truck." 

It is pretty handy to be a good speller, but I know plenty of people who aren't.  I suppose with the prevalence of spell checking on computers, it isn't that big a deal any more.

In Jesus' day, it was different.  They didn't have computers, or software.  They did have tablets, but no batteries to put in them.  And most people did not learn to read or, write -- much less spell hard words like "fire truck" and "newspaper."

It tells us of the early disciples that while they were uneducated men, they still spoke with power.  It was the fact that they had been with Jesus that made all of the difference for them.

I am grateful for my education and that I have had the opportunity to learn much.  I can spell words that are much longer than "newspaper."  In fact, I can spell words like olfactory and erudition, without consulting a dictionary.

But, I do not want people to know me for my spelling.  I want people to know of me, that I am Jesus's disciple.

No Light

As I entered the church sanctuary, I looked up.  Everything looked the way it always did, except that one of the light fixtures that hung down from the ceiling was not lit.

Clearly electricity was flowing, for all of the other globes were giving plenty of light.  I suppose that the bulb inside was burned out.  Yet, from the outside, it could not be distinguished from the other fixtures.

There are many people who look a lot like Christians.  They even claim to be servants of Christ and attend to church regularly, but they have no light emanating from their lives.

This is the point of Christ's kingdom parable about the wheat and the weeds (or tares in some versions).  Jesus told a story about a man who sowed wheat in his field and then, while he was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weed seeds among the wheat.  His servants were chagrined and offered to pull up the weeds.  The man refused to let them, for fear that they would damage the wheat plants in the process.

It is clear that my goal is not to identify which people are weeds and which are wheat inside my church.  My goal must be to make certain that I am Christ's.

My tendency would be to do this by cleaning up my exterior, or trying to do more good deeds.  But, however good these things are, they are ineffective.  It is like polishing the light fixture when the bulb is burned out inside.

Instead, I must open myself to Jesus' light.  As this permeates my life, suddenly it sill begin to come forth.  Only then can I move from being a dark fixture within the church to one who reflect the Light of the World.

Cheetahs

"Zeus can run as fast as a cheetah!"  My daughter said emphatically.  I watched Zeus darting after rabbits.  If Zeus was really as fast as a cheetah, I had a feeling that there would be fewer bunnies in the briar patch.  Brer Rabbit certainly never had Brer Cheetah to contend with.

"No, Anna," I said.  "Zeus is quite a bit slower than a cheetah."

Zeus tries as hard as any cheetah does to run down a rabbit.  You can see it in his eyes as he darts forward, straining towards the escaping rabbit.  There is only one problem.  Zeus is a dog, not a cheetah.

There is no way for Zeus in his dog body to out race a cheetah in it's agile, cat body.

It strikes me that this is the problem that many people have when it comes to serving Christ.  They try and try to act like a Christian and all the while struggle mightily.

For, Christ did not come to make us better people.  He came to transform us.  He came to change us from the inside out.  As it were, to turn the dog into a cheetah.

Only then can we be Christ-like.  For at that moment, we are a new creation, made in His image and likeness.

Word of Mouth

Martin Lindstrom was an advertising executive.  He spent quite a bit of his life trying to get people to buy products.  Then, one day, he decided to try an experiment.

Martin decided to pay a family, the Morgensons, to advertise for them.  In their typical days, as they spent time with friends and neighbors, they would specifically drop references to a variety of products that they were "using."

Martin filmed them doing this and tracked the results.  At the end of the three months, 15,000 people had been exposed to the products in southern California, through this campaign.

Many people know that "word of mouth" is the best advertising.  Few people come to see me in my office because of the large billboards I rent on the edge of town (there aren't any), but because someone they know was satisfied with the care that I provided at Comprehensive Health Care.

It is awfully easy to underestimate the power of a spoken word for Christ.  I do not consider myself an evangelist.  It is awfully easy to believe that my words wouldn't really make a difference anyway.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The testimony I am to share is far from an advertisement.  "Try Jesus, He'll work for you," or even "Jesus fixed my marriage, He'll fix yours too!"  No, the message I need to share is as old as the New Testament.  "Jesus Christ died for sinners, of whom I am chief."

This is a message that will resonate and spread, not because it is a catchy slogan, but because of the Spirit which accompanies it.  There are so many people in need and I can help them, touch their lives, one spoken word at a time.

Okra

Loving someone will drive you to do crazy things.  Some people will buy dozens of roses, some are so in love that they will jump over couches.  I am so in love with Elaine that this spring I planted okra in our garden.

It is not that I mind okra that much.  It just happens to be one of the few foods that I like less than turnip greens.  On the other hand, Elaine has fond memories of eating fried okra, as a girl, and so I planted a row of okra in our garden.

Of course, this meant that I would help take care of it and last week, I ate it with the rest of the family, when our plants produced a bumper crop.

This is the way love is.  The verse says:  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  But when you love someone, it is best to do unto them what they would have you do unto them.

For, love is paying attention to who my wife is and then, loving that person.  Even if it mean planting okra in our garden.

96 Hours

One of the benefits of being married to a super couponer, is that you get to be on the cutting edge of technology.  At least the cutting edge with regard to toothpaste, and deodorant.  Recently, Elaine bought me some deodorant that is guaranteed to last for 96 hours (at least if it doesn't get wet).

I am not sure what I imagined the future to be like when I was a boy.  Talking computers, robots, and flying cars come to mind, but this is amazing!

I am not sure exactly what the benefits of this extra long-lasting deodorant are, anyway.  I guess it allows one to bathe as often as Europeans, but smell better.

Maybe I am old fashioned, but whatever it says on the deodorant label, I'm still planning to bathe semi-regularly (daily) and refresh my deodorant semi-regularly as well.

I just don't really believe that you can bathe once a week and have the same aroma as if you bathe every day.  Even if you have an hour long shower and it is a really intense experience.

There are people who believe that quality is more important than quantity.  One super-aggressive hour work out a week is enough.  One quality evening a week with your children is enough.  But it isn't.  Daily time spent is what is needed.

This is even more true when it comes to spending time with God.  Having a once a week prayer and Bible study "jam session" is just not enough.  In fact, it is a recipe for distance from Him and spiritual weakness.

Instead, I must take time and effort to speak to Him and listen to Him every day.  There is no new technology that takes the place of daily time with God.  And when I do not take the time for Him, I am the one who suffers.

Dependable

Dependable.  It's exactly what our computerized health records were supposed to be and it is exactly what they weren't for a several week span.  Whose fault it was, I have no idea.  The software people blamed the server people and the server people blamed the software folks.

It is better now, but ever since our records weren't accessible, in the back of my mind is a nagging doubt -- wondering when, not if, the computers will fail me again.

God is dependable.  The Bible uses the word "faithful" to describe Him  "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22,23)

To say God is dependable is completely different from saying that my electronic medical records are dependable.  My computer being dependable means that it does exactly what I want it to -- that it makes me happy, in so far as a piece of silicone and plastic and metal can.

When I say that God is dependable, I do not mean that He always does the thing that makes me happy.  What I mean is that He can be counted on to do right and to act in love.

And that is what I want.  I don't want a god like the genie from Aladdin, whose whole aim is to please me.  I want God to give me what I need to help me act like Jesus.

I know that He is Trustworthy.  Steadfast.  Dependable.  It never crosses my mind that He could be otherwise.  For, He has always been faithful to me.

Zucchini Crisp

Elaine made zucchini crisp the other day.  I think it was supposed to taste a lot like apple crisp which it did.  If this was Facebook, I would immediately post the recipe and request everyone to share it, but it isn't.

As I was eating it, I wondered a little about it.  Why make zucchini crisp that tastes 90 percent like apple crisp, when you could just peel some apples and have apple crisp instead?

The answer is pretty clear.  We have a couple of apple trees planted, but they aren't big enough to bear fruit yet.  But our zucchinis have been multiplying like rabbits.  In fact, most rabbits have nothing on our zucchini plants!

Just a couple of days before, Elaine told me that she had used up all of the zucchinis in the house by making relish.  Then I went up to the garden and found five more big ones.

I am convinced that God created zucchinis just so that even bad gardeners do not give up all hope.  Other than squash bugs, there just isn't much that can spoil a zucchini harvest.  But is awfully easy to get tired, even frustrated when there is "too much" of a blessing.

When life gives you lemons, I have heard that you are supposed to make lemonade.  On the other hand, when God blesses your garden with zucchinis, what are you to do?  The answer is to use them -- to make zucchini lasagna, zucchini brownies, or zucchini crisp (all of which I have eaten in the last couple of weeks).

For zucchinis are a blessing.  Maybe not as big a blessing as having an orchard of apple trees or, peach trees.  But honestly, I would rather enjoy the blessings we have, than wish for what we don't.

What do you put on your corn?

"I want butter on my corn," Anna said.

"How do you ask?"  Elaine said.

"Please."

Elliot looked over at me.  "I... I... I... want... Peanut Butter on my corn," he said.

It is sweet corn season now and people eat their corn different ways.  I eat mine without anything on it, just the way God made it (except cooked, of course).  Elaine and Anna eat their with butter and salt.  And Elliot... Elliot thinks he would like it best with peanut butter.

Cruel as we are as parents, we just gave it to him with butter and not peanut butter.  You see, I don't believe he really would eat sweet corn with peanut butter on it.

There have been many times that I prayed to God for something and He did not give it to me and I was glad in the end.  I don't know the future and it is entirely possible that the thing I "desperately" need today, I won't even care about tomorrow.

I am glad.  Glad that God hears me and that He gives me the things that I really want, even when I ask for something completely different.

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings to deep for words."  Romans 8:26,27