Presby-Musings

"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10 I like to keep moving--if not physically, then mentally.  It's actual work to shut down my thoughts and my desires to do more, read more, learn more, accomplish more.   I also tend to overbook my calendar--partly because I have a hard time saying "No" to things, and partly because I want to believe I always have the bandwidth to do whatever needs doing.  And I can usually pull it off--whatever "it" is.  Even if it crowds my schedule, leaving me with razor-thin margin and not a lot of peace, I'll find a way to make it happen.   But being still... that's a skill I have not developed all that well.   Maybe you resonate with what I'm saying.  Perhaps you feel like your margins are thin, and you're finding yourself attempting the impossible each and every day as you try to keep all of your plates spinning.   It could be that even though you don't believe that you ...

I read a magazine article once that heralded the arrival of a prototype electronic translation device you wear in your ear, almost like a hearing aid.  This device provides real-time translation  of whatever language it is "hearing."   This device has the potential to allow people from different countries and origins to speak their own languages to one another without confusion.   I love the symbolism of the earpiece translator.  When it is used, it has the potential to connect, unify and heal--depending on the grace and peace of the words spoken and heard.    There's this passage of Scripture in the book of Genesis chapter 11 that tells the story of the Tower of Babel.  "Come, let us build ourselves a city," the people in the story exclaim, "with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves..."   They had discovered the "technology" of how to bake bricks to build huge walls and tow...

There's a phrase that often drifts in and out of my head during this particular week of Advent--a week when we reflect on what it means that Jesus brings peace to a world that seems far from peaceful. Here is the phrase: "Peace Like A River."  What does it even mean to have peace like a river?  And how do we find peace in this troubled world?   Horatio Spafford wrote the great hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" in 1873 after losing all four of his daughters when the ship carrying them and his wife sank in the Atlantic ocean.  The first line of the song is, "When peace like a river, attendeth my way..."   When I was a kid, I would sing the old song, "I've Got Peace Like a River" at the top of my lungs in Sunday school.  Little did I know that the song originated from African American slaves, who would sing it at the top of their lungs in the fields as they worked.   Paul Simon wrote "Peace Like A River" during the turbul...

Each day, my wife Merideth and I plot out our day, planning how we are going to be devoting our time and energy.  It never ceases to amaze us how few hours there are in a day as we plan how we will spend them.    One of the things that we work hard to do each and every day is to ensure that we are spending time doing the most important things like spending time with family, eating together, doing life with friends, pouring ourselves into the good work that God has given us to do.  Are we awesome at this?  Nope.  We trip and fall on a regular basis, and there are plenty of days when we get hijacked by the "tyranny of the urgent," and we find ourselves struggling to be at peace.  But what we've discovered is that when our intentions are to focus on the things that matter, more often than not we do.   Several years ago, therapist Richard Carlson wrote the bestselling book, Don't Sweat The Small Stuff. In the book Carlson essentially argues t...

The other day I was trying to leave the parking lot of a shopping center during rush hour, and get turned around in the right direction for home.   This meant that I was going to have to navigate my way to a narrow median, and then wait for a break in traffic before flooring it to get into the desired lane. Suddenly, I saw my moment--things were going to work out perfectly with the oncoming cars moving just in the right sequence.  Everything was perfect until one of the drivers decided to make a turn, and the whole sequence fell apart.   "Aaaaghhh!" I exclaimed.  My wife Merideth sat quietly for a second and then asked, "Did you seriously just get mad at the person for making a turn?"  "Yes!" I exclaimed, "They messed up my whole plan!"  "You're ridiculous," she told me.  I knew she was right, but I didn't admit it.   Until now, that is.   In one of my readings this morning for my own daily devotions, I ra...

It took me a while to finalize my list of things I'm giving up for Lent, but when I did, I felt pretty good about it. The number one thing on my list was to give up watching and/or listening to the news on cable TV, regular TV, satellite radio, terrestrial radio... I figured I could live without being over-informed for a few weeks. I felt a sense of peace wash over me at the thought of being news-free for forty days.   But then a friend sent me a link to an article on the web about something or another in the news, and of course I clicked on it. And then there was a link in that article to another news article, and so naturally, I clicked on it.   I found myself getting agitated, and felt my peace subsiding as I read.  The more I clicked and read, the more anxious and angry I became.  I think I actually muttered things under my breath even though there wasn't another soul in the room.   Then it hit me.  I hadn't gone far enough in my Lenten disci...

The kitchen was the first room in our new house to get completely set up and "live-in" ready.  Considering it's the one place where everyone tends to gather, it was a good choice to be finished first.   When you are moving, it's important to get at least one room completely finished and looking the way it should.  It becomes your island in the middle of the chaos, the one place you can go to sit down and breathe for a while before wading back into it.   You might say that such a place acts as a sanctuary .   I looked up the formal definition of the word sanctuary and discovered that it means "a place of refuge or safety."  I would also add as part of my own definition, "a place of refuge or safety where you find peace."  When I was in seventh grade I used to ride my bike to a small Lutheran church that was not far from my house.  I was always careful to go there when I was sure not to find a soul around.  There was something about ...

It's easy to get mad at your adverse circumstances.  Chances are, they deserve it.  That trying situation you are going through?  It probably needs to be called out and vilified for being so awful.  And that bad thing that happened to you...  You have my permission to let off some steam by calling it every name in the book.   But you need to realize something as you are railing away at the unwanted circumstances, situations and awful things that have happened to you:  They could care less.   I read this amazing quote from the ancient Roman playwright Euripides today.  He wrote, "You shouldn't give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don't care at all."   It doesn't matter how mad you get, frustrated, or full of despair--circumstances aren't concerned about your feelings.  They are not people that can respond to your frustration, and no amount of anger is going to change that fact.   I struggle with t...

I woke up today and started worrying.  As I started going through the list of all the things in my life that were outside of my control, I felt my stomach start to twist into knots. Suddenly, I had an uncontrollable urge for a huge cinnamon roll with double icing.  Don't judge me.  I'm not the only human being on the face of this planet who has used Cinnabon as a coping mechanism.  I know, I know... I've heard all of the sermons about how we shouldn't worry.  I've heard the exhortations to cast all my cares upon God. Heck, I've preached more than my fair share of those sermons, and have delivered more than a few of those exhortations to people who were worrying.      But still, some days you wake up, and you start thinking about all of the things that are uncertain, the stuff  that's out there that you just can't control, and it occupies your mind to the point of distraction.   Author and motivational speaker Ryan Holiday put...

I've been doing a bit of worrying lately.  I know, I know... pastors shouldn't worry about things.  The sad fact is, even though I am probably considered a "professional" Christian, I am actually more of an amateur when it comes to most of it.   Take the worrying, for example.  I have known what it's like to feel perfect peace about a decision I've made, a problem that is before me, a crisis that I have to face.  I know that feeling, and it's amazing.  But sometimes in the midst of dealing with decisions, problems and crises, I find myself having a hard time connecting with that feeling of peace.   And most of the time the reason why I struggle to connect with that feeling of peace (one that should be familiar) is because I am trying too hard to control the outcomes.  When I struggle with God over control of my life, when I am trying to hard to wrestle the wheel away from Jesus... that's when things can go very, very wrong.  Sometime...

I can't even count how many times in my life I have had negative encounters with people, who unleashed upon me a diatribe, angry criticism, personal attacks and the like.     I also can't count how many times I have thought of something awesome to say to the person who is attacking me after  they've unleashed their venom and then walked away.  You know how that feels, right?  Whether it's moments or a day later, the thing you should  have said comes to you, and you find yourself saying, "Oh my gosh!  I wish I had said that!"   There was one time in my life were I said exactly what I wanted to say to someone who had attacked me publicly.  It was when I was an assistant manager at Best Buy and another manager in the store falsely accused me of something in a manager meeting.   Our argument continued out into the store, and I finally stood directly in front of him and inexplicably said the following--a thought turned to words tha...

For the past few days I have been in Portland Oregon, participating in the 222nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Although it's been a few days, my body still hasn't gotten used to the time change.  The clock on my phone and the clock in my body have not yet sync'd up yet, you see.   I've woken at 5 AM or earlier every day since I've been here.  It's served me pretty well because I've been able to beat everyone else to breakfast in some of the hard-to-get-into breakfast joints in town. But around 8PM, I start to fade to black, as my East Coast circadian rhythm begins to kick in, and leaves me feeling weary.   As human beings we know that we have these rhythms of wakefulness and rest.  Our bodies become accustomed to these rhythms, even when our particular rhythms might be pushing the limits of what we should be experiencing.   For example, I went to bed exhausted last night after a long day of meetings. I figured I would sle...

Throughout my career as a pastor, I've had occasion to counsel and provide pastoral care to people in some of the worst circumstances of their lives.   I've sat at the bedside of scores of people who were taking their last breaths.  I've knelt beside grieving spouses who have lost their partners.  On at least two occasions I've had to try to help a family make sense of a loved one's suicide.   There's one thing that I know for sure after all of those experiences:  In the midst of struggle, strife, tragedy and trial, the difference between people who are filled with hope and joy and those who aren't is dramatic and distinct.   Recently, I met with a woman who tells me every time I meet her, "I wish I was dead."  She is well into her 90's and in relatively good health and sound mind for her age.  Yet, she lives each day filled with dread and anxiety, never experiencing light and peace.   Contrast this woman's existence with one o...

This is the second week of the season of Advent.  Throughout the season of Advent we'll be focusing on what it means to be full of expectation and anticipation during this blessed time of year.  We'll also be lifting up the various weekly themes of Advent, corresponding to the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath.  This week our theme is "Peace."   "When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrow like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast caused me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul."  - Horatio Spafford "It Is Well With My Soul "I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul..." - African American Spiritual  " Peace like a river ran through the city/ Long past the midnight curfew/ We sat starry-eyed/ Oh, we were satisfied... Oh, oh, oh, I’m gonna be up for a while..."   - Paul Simon "Peace Like A River"  Because it...

This is the second week of the season of Advent.  Throughout the season of Advent we'll be focusing on what it means to be full of expectation and anticipation during this blessed time of year.  We'll also be lifting up the various weekly themes of Advent, corresponding to the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath.  This week our theme is "Peace."   My wife Merideth has this awesome sign in her office that reads, "Do one thing every day that scares you."  That sign troubles me and excites me all at once. It excites me because I love the idea  of it.  I like the idea that I might be the kind of adventurous person who would actually do something scary every day for the purpose of overcoming fear and moving forward in confidence.   But the message of the sign also troubles me because I know that deep down inside I'm probably not going to do anything  that scares me every day.  Instead, if left to my own devices, I'll probably ...

This is the second week of the season of Advent.  Throughout the season of Advent we'll be focusing on what it means to be full of expectation and anticipation during this blessed time of year.  We'll also be lifting up the various weekly themes of Advent, corresponding to the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath.  This week our theme is "Peace."   "Peace is one of the most important human experiences. If you don't have peace, then you're not able to appreciate whatever else you do have." - Eckhart Tolle Peace isn't happiness.  Peace isn't the euphoria brought on by weariness, or induced by drugs.  Peace isn't silence.  Peace isn't the absence of conflict.   So many of us mistake peace for all of these things, but they are fleeting, and, in most cases, only shadows of peace, giving us the illusion of it without actually experiencing it.  All of these things we mistake for peace could very well mask a decided lack of ...

This is the second week of the season of Advent.  Throughout the season of Advent we'll be focusing on what it means to be full of expectation and anticipation during this blessed time of year.  We'll also be lifting up the various weekly themes of Advent, corresponding to the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath.  This week our theme is "Peace."   The more time I spend on this earth, the more I've come to understand just how muddled, strange, contradictory and blurry my definitions of God truly are. When you really stop and think about it, the idea of even placing definitions on that which is undefinable and beyond comprehension is kind of a fool's errand.  I grew up with the image of God as a stern, unwavering judge.  The God of my youth had his rules, and you'd better follow them or else.   I used to say that I rather liked the God who was revealed in most of the New Testament--particularly the Gospels.  The God Jesus talked ab...

This is the first week of the season of Advent.  Throughout the season of Advent we'll be focusing on what it means to be full of expectation and anticipation during this blessed time of year.  We'll also be lifting up the various weekly themes of Advent, corresponding to the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath.  This week our theme is "Peace."   I've had a lot of conversations lately with people who are deeply concerned about the seeming lack of peace in our world.  It feels like Darkness is working overtime this Advent season.      Author and speaker Rachel Held Evans wrote about this yesterday in a Facebook post:  This Advent seems darker than most. Our country seems overridden by hysteria, hate, racism, and fear, and I don't know what to do. Almighty God, give all of us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit...

This week we are celebrating the Second Sunday of Advent.  We learned last week that "advent" is a word that essentially means "expectation" or "anticipation," and the season of Advent is a time when the whole Church is invited to lean forward in anticipation of the coming of the Christ-child.  Which seems kind of strange when you think about it.  It reminds me of that infamous scene in the Will Ferrell movie Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby when Will Ferrell's character Ricky Bobby is saying grace before supper and insists on praying to the baby Jesus.   He says: "Dear, tiny infant Jesus, we--"  His wife then interjects: "Hey, um, you know, sweetie, Jesus did grow up. You don't always have to call him, 'baby.' It's a bit odd and off-putting to pray to a baby."   To which Ricky replies: "Well, I like the Christmas Jesus best and I'm saying grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grow...