Silliness at the most High Defintion level

We are in the middle of financial problems, so I don't really get to go buy new things unless they prove to be absolute necessities. But I have had a few people over to watch movies on DVD recently, and I got several comments about the size of our Monitor. I think the final moment came when one person asked if I had a set of binoculars. We don't have TV in our house - haven't for over 25 years - but we do have a large collection of movies, nice surround sound gear, and a small monitor. It was a gift, and it was sharp and clear about five years ago...

I have seen the new HD stuff in the stores - you really can't miss it! They are big, bright, and with the new Blu-Ray discs and players, they are really in-your-face. I started shopping in the usual place: Craigslist. I know - I have gotten a few good deals this way, but I have also gotten stung. But I simply didn't have the cash for a new item this time, I saw a real low price on a 40" Samsung and I got excited. Too excited. I didn't listen to the little voice in my head which is usually very good at telling me when people are not telling the truth.

Oh, the story is long and sad. Suffice to say that once I parted with my cash I was the proud owner of a big-screen which did everything but turn on. That's right - sometimes it would come on and be awesome, but some times, it just sat there making clicking sound for hours. Not quite as entertaining. Yesterday I turned it on at 5am and it was still not running by 1 in the afternoon. I was not happy. My wife was not happy. Friends and relatives made jokes, roommates offered no hope, and I was beginning to wonder about the way the dog was looking at me.

I was about to take it back and throw it gently through the seller's window, but he lives with four other buff-looking guys so I didn't want to die over a simple thing like being robbed, cheated and lied to. So I did the next best thing: I went back to the source. I had found this "Deal" on the Internet, so I figured the Internet owed me a favor. I typed the model number into a Google search, and it came back with several discussion boards upon which people were discussing the very same problem! They had pictures, and part numbers and everything. So I dismantled the set, found the bad parts, went to Fry's Electronics on the busiest shopping day of my life (a blog for another day, I assure you) and purchased the parts. The only ones in stock at Fry's were larger physically, so I had to use a few former-electronics-teacher tricks to get them in, but by gosh and by golly I got them in, and it works.

Now - I just need to scratch together a couple hundred more dollars to get a High-Def DVD/Blu-Ray player. Oh what an amazing thing consumerism is... just like any other appetite, you can't satisfy it by feeding it. You only increase it's ability to grow...

From Bloomberg

Commentary by Caroline Baum

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- It is the tradition of this column every year at this time to recount the story of Thanksgiving. This year, with capitalism under attack from all quarters, it’s more important than ever to revisit the history of the Pilgrims’ early years in America and appreciate the message.

Whether you think the government’s response to the financial crisis was necessary or unwarranted, too-little-too- late or a case of overreach, there is no disagreement that the free-market system has gone on the defensive.

What the fall of the Berlin Wall did for communism, the financial crisis did for the free-enterprise system. It lifted the curtain and exposed the rot underneath, especially foreclosed houses, a product of the Federal Reserve’s artificially low interest rates and government policies designed to promote homeownership.

That’s where the analogy ends. Central planning was always ill-equipped to provide the goods and services consumers wanted at the prices they were willing to pay. Capitalism can do that well. The question is, will it be allowed to in an environment where capitalists are held in such low esteem.

For source material, I rely on the accounts of William Bradford, governor of the Plymouth Bay Colony for 30 years between 1621 and 1656. Bradford’s history “Of Plimoth Plantation” was first published in 1856.

First Famine

Most Americans think of Thanksgiving as a day off from school or work, a time to gather with friends and family and celebrate with a huge feast. If children know anything about the origins of this national holiday, declared each year by presidential proclamation, it’s that the Pilgrims, grateful for a good harvest in their new land, set aside this day to give thanks.

Adults aren’t any better informed. They may know something of the hardships encountered by the Pilgrims, a group of English separatists who came to the New World to escape religious persecution. What they probably don’t know, since it’s not part of the politically correct high school curriculum, is how these immigrants overcame obstacles and prospered in the New World.

The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 and established the Plymouth Bay Colony. The first winters were harsh, and crop yields were poor. Even so they celebrated the autumn harvest of 1621.

Half the Pilgrims died or returned to England in the first year. Those who remained went hungry. In spite of their deep religious convictions, the Pilgrims took to stealing from one another.

Then Incentives

Finally, in the spring of 1623, Governor Bradford and the others “begane to thinke how they might raise as much corne as they could, and obtaine a better crop than they had done, that they might not still thus languish in misery,” according to Bradford’s history.

One of the traditions the Pilgrims had brought with them from England was a practice known as “farming in common.” Everything they produced was put into a common pool; the harvest was rationed according to need.

They had thought “that the taking away of property, and bringing in community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing,” Bradford recounts.

They were wrong. “For this community (so far as it was) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much imployment that would have been to their benefite and comforte,” Bradford writes.

Young, able-bodied men resented working for others without compensation. They thought it an “injuestice” to receive the same allotment of food and clothing as those who didn’t pull their weight. What they lacked were appropriate incentives.

Finally Feast

After the Pilgrims had endured near-starvation for three winters, Bradford decided to experiment when it came time for spring planting in 1623. He allocated a plot of land to each family, that “they should set corne every man for his owne perticuler, and in that regard trust to themselves.”

The results were nothing short of miraculous.

Bradford writes: “This had very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corne was planted than other waise would have bene by any means the Govr or any other could use, and saved him a great deall of trouble, and gave far better content.”

The women now went willingly into the field, carrying their young children on their backs. Those who previously claimed they were too old or ill to work embraced the idea of private property once they could enjoy the fruits of their own labor. Eventually they produced enough corn to trade the excess for furs and other desired commodities.

Happy Ending?

Given the proper incentives, the Pilgrims enjoyed a bountiful harvest in the fall of 1623, and set aside “a day of thanksgiving” to thank God for their good fortune.

“Any generall wante or famine hath not been amongst them since to this day,” Bradford writes in an entry from 1647, the last year covered by his history.

Their good fortune had little to do with God. In 1623, they were responding to the same incentives that, almost four centuries later, are accepted as necessary to the functioning of a free and prosperous society.

Skewed incentives were a major driver of the global financial crisis. Realigning those incentives, without discouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, is the task going forward.

(Caroline Baum, author of “Just What I Said,” is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.)

Peanuts characters are © Charles M. Schulz

Thanksgiving handout

Our church gave away over 350 Thanksgiving dinners last night. Each of these dinners was a big box filled with supplies and foodstuffs to prepare a family feast for four, at least. As people signed up in advance they would tell us how many are in their family, and we would adjust the amount of food accordingly. They got a Turkey of course, but then they got an amazing array of goodies to add to the feast - I was working elsewhere so I don't have an exact list, but it was something like this:

• Stuffing seasoning
• Bread
• Turkey Gravy (couple of cans)
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Can of anti-stick ("Pam") spray
• Dinner Rolls
• Cans of soup - to make casseroles and to make extra meals
• Jello mix
• Pudding mix
• There were more items - some random gifts from local businesses, and other items I simply can't recall.

Again, I was not in the room as the items were being prepared, and I didn't go pick things up as I have in years past, so the list above may be off here or there - if you know better, please let me know and I will fine tune it gladly!

We had a new feature in our hand-out this year: we ran a quick service as people were waiting. We had a line out into the parking lot, and as fast as we could sign people in (we asked for a call to the office to reserve a box in advance so we could plan better) we escorted the people in groups into the church were the band played up-tempo tunes and the Pastor gave a brief message of hope and encouragement. He ended by offering to pray over the people, and we had counselors standing by in a side room if anyone wanted to reaffirm their faith in Jesus or if anyone needed special prayer for healing. It became a blur as we played non-stop from just after four till just after eight, so I don't know how many groups we had through the place, but in each and every group there were people who said, "yes, I want Jesus in my life," or perhaps, "Yes, I want Jesus back in my life again."

It was so amazing! And there were smiles everywhere! I was so proud of the people of our church for making our neighbors into new friends. We strove to not make them feel like this was a burden, to be helping them this way, and we also wanted them to know that they were very welcome here. We were glad they came, and we were glad to be able to help them in these ways.

OK - I may have spent too much time on the details. I wanted to share a paraphrase of Pastor Tony Cervero's message last night. He changed it up, and didn't use the same one with each group, and I have heard them all before (He has been my pastor for the past 16 years) but it was so powerful, that I wanted to share it here:

Pastor Tony said, "What's this?" (Holding up a twenty-dollar bill)
People - "money, twenty bucks, cash, etc."
Pastor - "What's it worth?"
People - murmuring..
Pastor - "No, this is not a trick question, I simply mean, what is this bill worth?"
People - "twenty dollars."
Pastor - "Yes - twenty dollars. Now - what if I wad it up?"
He wadded the bill up into a tiny little ball. He really worked at it. He got it into a little bitty thing. Then he asked, "OK, NOW how much is it worth?"
Poeple - "twenty bucks?"
Pastor - "yeah - you're right: it's still worth twenty bucks. Now how about if I toss it on the floor, and stomp it as flat as I can?"
He then proceeded to do exactly that - and the thing got smaller and even more crumpled up. It didn't even look like a piece of paper anymore. "Now how much is it worth?" He asked.
People, quietly - "twenty bucks."
Pastor - "God values you above all of creation. He sent His son to die for you. He loves you. And even if your life has gotten crumpled up, messed up or whatever, you are still worth everything to God. You have not lost any of your value, in the eyes of your loving heavenly Father."

I can remember the first time I heard I heard this simple illustration - I wept. Thank you God for giving me something new to thank you for this Thanksgiving week.

And if you want to get right with God, readdress your relationship with Jesus, or if you want prayer for anything - contact me.

Chas@VenturaFirst.com

Christmas Show

My kids are creating a Christmas light wonderland in my front yard. I have seen many of these amazing shows on YouTube, as I'm sure you have as well. The kids worked together with several other people last year to create an amazing show at their house last year, but they have moved into a townhouse now and really can't do so much. So my lawn is covered with fifteen Christmas trees, four large arches, and many thousands of feet of cables.

It doesn't look bad during the day, but it is designed to really be spectacular at night. The "Mega Tree" is made of cables and a pole with a hundred or so light strands strung from the ground to the top. It is made of green light strands, and it has a white star on top, but any other resemblance to a real Christmas tree fades in the light of day. I may go see about placing some ornaments on it- but they would have to be carefully chosen not to detract from the show. Not knocking it -it still looks very festive in daylight, it just doesn't look like a Noble Fir or somesuch.

If you don't know about these shows, or have never seen one, go to this site and see the shows 'we' put together last year. One show just like this was featured in a famous commercial and I think most TV watching people on the planet have seen at least that one.

Vimeo/Stephen Wolf

But - if you want to see the Christmas show at our house, be sure to come at night. They are knocking themselves out on it - lights up on the ridge of the roof, four colors on the eaves, downlights under the eaves, wreaths, arches, mega tree, mini trees, all set to motion, computer controlled and set to music. My niece is even doing some of the programming for her Senior Project.

I could make a statement here - something about how our lives can look real good under the right circumstances, but not look so good under the close scrutiny, or under the bright light of day.

But I won't.

I like Jargon. I think it can be hilarious. I try so very hard not to use it daily, because it is a great way to make people feel excluded, but I love to laugh about it in my little Chas-brain.

I got this gem from a web discussion board about computer-controlled Christmas lights, "The unfiltered/unregulated voltage is not to power the board, it is for the ZC generation. The Ren-C gets its power (5VDC) from the Olsen/Grinch via the interconnect cables when J1 (on the Olsen/Grinch) is jumpered."

The "Olsen/Grinch" is a control unit designed by a geek named Olsen which is called the "Grinch." I own one, which my son added on to his order and has assembled and used in his huge Christmas light show, soon coming to a lawn very near where I am sitting at this moment.

But any Christmas light show fan who is worth their "Vixon driven, all dimming SSR controlled 640 channel" light show would know that in an instant. Normal people, not so much. I have read about these things for years and I still go looking for a definition now and then.

I enjoy the hobby of Geocaching. Nobody even knows what that is, let alone what it means unless they have done it a bit. But it has it's own Jargon, just like any hobby. When you find a hidden 'Cache' using your GPS, there will be a log inside of it. You sign the log - most people just sign the log and don't take any of the 'Swag,' so they simply write: "TNLNSL."

I am a licensed Jet mechanic, and a pilot, and I worked at NASA for one year on an internship as part of my schooling. I have never recovered from "Acronym Overload." Airplane guys don't call anything by it's name! I have never met so much Jargon, covered over in a layer of acronyms in my life! But you know that if you have ever watched any of the Apollo space shots on TV years ago. Your teenager might think they are on to something new with all the little short cuts they use in text messaging, but it has been around for a generation or two. GOI (get over it).

There is a remote-controlled aircraft flying right now which is called the "Ikhana." It is from a Choctaw word meaning, "Aware." But the NASA people have been steeped in acronyms so long that they just had to come up with some other use for the letters, so they came up with -
"I Kan't Handle Another NASA Acronym."

When I was preaching to youth, I had to watch it. We are guilty of creating our own shorthand, our own Jargon as Christians. Sometimes it has hilarious results. A young person asked prayer for their broken-down old car to get them to work one more week, till payday. I said, "let's lift up Chad's car in prayer."

A teen who was new to the whole church scene came up later and wanted to know how we were going to lift up the car - all together, or on some sort of a jack. His dad had a car lift and he was willing to loan it to us, if it would help. I realized I may want to keep an eye out for "Christianese" from that point on.

And if I hear the word "Propitiation" used in a sermon one more time I may throw a communion matzah. OK Chas, let it go- let it go.

I have worked so hard at cutting it from my daily use that I am having trouble thinking of examples right now. Figures. I can think of only a few - but keep an eye out for them. It may come spewing out of a mouth near you at any time. I think our job is to make the Christian life look inviting, not exclusive. I'm not advocating painting it as a dream-come-true, all-expense-paid vacation in eternity starting right now with everything you ever wanted, but I think we owe it to the people around us to at least keep the language clear.

TTFN

Job

I just read an update on Facebook by a pastor who I knew long ago, far away. In just a few words he mentioned Job, and he stated a great truth. He said that for about 38 chapters Job was asking WHY. But finally Job begins to see WHO. Who God is. And it changes him.

I'm sure I had read this truth, and I may have even preached or taught about it But it struck me like new as I scanned the update. So I went to the Bible and read. If the name is not familiar to you, Job was a man who is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. I say this because it dawns on me that not everyone knows the truth of the story of Job. He had some troubles. To say the least. Family wiped out, lands taken, houses lost, herds and flocks wiped out. Sounds like Nic Cage. But it went farther - Job lost his health. God allowed him to be struck with boils, and he ended up sitting on a pile of ashes scratching at himself with shards of pottery. I happen to think the ash pile was the remains of his family home - which would double the pain in my mind - but we don't know for sure. And it is made very clear in the narrative that God had a direct hand in taking all of this from Job to test him.

Job has some friends who come to 'comfort' him, but they only end up making Job question God. And finally, in about the 39th chapter of this rather long story God speaks to Job. It takes two chapters before God is finished asking Job what could be boiled down to this question: "Which of us is God?"

And Job, perhaps for the first time in his life, understands - and realizes who God really is. He uses the words "see you with my own eyes," and I don't know if that is flowery wording to convey that Job finally grasps the reality of God or if Job really did see God. The point is that Job knew all about God before, but at this point he gets to know God. Firsthand. Personally. In the fullness of reality.

And only then does Job realize - it is not about Job, his family, his possessions, or even his health. It is, and always was, about God. Do you know God? No, not just know about Him, but know Him? He sent his Son Jesus to allow for us to know Him personally. And if you are in the midst of a tough time - and so many of us are - I guess the story would be an example to us: God knows, and He wants us to know Him.

The question of "why" should fade into the darkness when the bright light of who God is begins to shine in our life.

Firstfruits - giving my very best

I just spent a frustrating half hour trying to log into my Blog. Most of the time I get logged in automatically and don't have to enter any info at all. This morning it wanted my info. I don't deal with change well...

I entered the wrong email account, so I could not get in. It was perfectly normal to expect that result, but since I didn't know that I had entered the wrong account info, I didn't expect the result I was getting. I finally asked to retrieve the password, and the system sent it to my email. Of course, it didn't show up at the first email account I opened - nor the second - but when I finally found it in my account from our church, only then did I realize that it was I with the problem, not the computer, nor the BlogSpot web site.

Don't you love it when you finally clear things up like that? And prove that you are to blame, not somebody else, not the computer, you? Yeah, it's pretty common with me. Let it go Chas, let it go...

So what I was thinking about as a topic today was not in anyway related to this - so I don't know if I am being redirected here or if I just haven't woken up enough yet. I did stay up late last night, and that has a way of making the morning come pretty quickly - as some of you know. But what I was going to write about was the way in which we tend to give God our leftovers. No, not everyone, every time, but often.

Perhaps if I get logged in correctly tomorrow, I can expand on this thought. But in the meantime - examine yourself. Are we giving God the best we have, or just the last, leftover, lost or the lame?

Cold. Bone-chilling, ear-freezing cold. The icicles, hanging from the eves of the houses and making a frozen fringe around the bottoms of the cars, even the power lines look like some sort of early Christmas decorations. And the frost on the lawns, ice on the windows, and the wonderful, smokey smell of fires in the neighbor's fireplaces - all lets me know that I'm dreaming and it's time to get up and go for a walk.

I get up, put on my shorts and T shirt, and go out to water the lawn and feed the dog before my walking partner - always just on time - rolls up. But it IS really cold - I add a sweatshirt, and a cap. But I must say, the cold got through. My ears were very cold by time we hit the first half-mile, and I was thinking about going in early. I had set out some gloves, but decided not to bring them. Bad choice. But I pressed on. Up the hill, heart pounding. By the time we reached the fourth mile, we started to jog just to get the blood flowing. And by the fifth mile we flat-out ran. Not working. We were still too cold. So, we pressed on even harder. There is a second hill nearby, which we refer to as "Widowmaker." We have never done Widowmaker, because you have to have completed about six miles of hard walking/jogging before you even get to the bottom of it. And it is so steep that you need four-wheel drive vehicles to drive up. You had better not be anemic if you plan to run up Widowmaker: the altitude will get to you - the air is so thin.

Eagles like to nest at the top. Clouds roll by and sometimes you lose sight of the coastline below. There is a red, blinking light to warn off commercial aircraft, but you can't generally see that from the foothills below. It is on all the charts - and we turned and began the ascent. I called work to let them know I would be late, knowing also that there is no cell service at the top. My walking partner called 911 to have them on standby...

And on we ran. Muscles pumped. Hearts almost bursting from our chests. Lungs on fire, feet pounding a steady rhythm. This is what it's like to be in shape. This is what I have been working so hard to achieve. This is my moment - I am all man, all muscle, a tool of power and speed, a finely-tuned machine about to bring this mountain into submission. About the twelfth mile I looked down. The thin air, was it playing with my mind? Was I about to hit the runner's 'wall?' No... The comforter was falling off my bed. I was slowly waking up - what an amazing dream: a dream within a dream.

I better get up and go for my walk.

But someday...

Naked

Ever leave home without some important part of your life? I'm talking about a credit card, a wallet, perhaps your cell phone or blue-tooth earpiece, or even your keys? I have just read a status update on Facebook of a friend who said she left town without her cell phone, and she said she feels 'naked.'

I have gone on trips and left things behind on purpose, but even though that was a choice I still felt like something was missing the whole time. We get so used to having our things with us that we do really feel lost without them sometimes. As I sit here typing, I see my blue-tooth earpiece plugged in to charge: it just turned green indicating that it is ready to go. And it will go - I take it with me when I go walking every morning. Why? I have no idea! I have never gotten a call while on a walk, that I can remember, and I have been doing this on and off for several years now... other than people in other time zones, I don't know very many people who are even up and around while I'm out walking, let alone calling folks.

So why is it I can feel so 'naked' and incomplete by the lack of one little thing like that, and yet there are days I can leave my house without so much as a glance at God's word or a song of praise?

God's word - don't leave home without it.

Counter Culture

Did you know that you can find great-tasting recipes for the traditional Thanksgiving feast which contain much less fat? And far fewer calories? Why don't we, as a culture, pursue these things? We just tend to pour on the fat, add the oil, bake in the calories. Why? We have always done it that way...

I heard an old joke once: a young man and his grandfather were fishing in the stream near the old farmhouse. Every time the grandfather would catch a fish, he would quickly measure it, and to the surprise of the boy, he would toss back the big ones and keep the small ones.
"Why do you toss back the big ones, Grandpa?" he asked.
"Grandma's skillet is only ten inches," said the wise old man...
Some traditions just seem to make more sense than others, I guess.

So - I just downloaded a bunch of new recipes for our feast this year. We are inviting about twenty or twenty five people over for T day. Among them are my walking partner and my Weight Watchers partner. So, I'm hoping that if we offer some lower-cal recipes they will go over alright... But I'll update the blog after the fact and see if we lose any friends over it..

In the meantime - you'll have to forgive me if I have become a good-health evangelist. I don't mind that so much, but let me know if I cross the line and become a low-fat-vigilante or anything. I don't want to reach out and smack the cookie out of your hand... But I do care about my friends and relatives. And I can't tell you how bad it got for me when I was not caring about my own health. So I am putting the two together.

Go to Weight Watchers.com and look around for good recipes. Google "low fat alternative recipes" and find some for T day. Let's get radical! Let's go against the flow! Let's lose the flab, America!

I am going walking now...

Law breakers

I saw an ad for a new SUV which said, "Don't tell small that it can't do big." They were trying to say that their new vehicle was small on the outside, but huge on the inside. Cool. The laws of physics must have finally been repealed. I didn't get the memo. I wonder what other physical laws might no longer apply? Can I eat all the sweets I want and stay healthy and lose weight?

"Honey, I'm staying in bed today and eating!"
"What!?"
"I said I'm staying in bed all day and eating. Get me some ice cream, will ya? I'm starving. And pour some chocolate sauce on it. Any of those cookies left that Tiffany baked last night?"
"You have finally lost it - I'm calling the Pastor..."
"Why, does he have the cookies?"

OK - you and I both know that a car can't be tiny on the outside and huge on the inside. But we do sometimes make similar mistakes with God. I can't run my own life, and have God work through it at the same time. That would be the classic example of being small but expecting big.

I don't wanna!

I have been walking early each morning now for a month or so. I have lost twenty five pounds, and I have stopped being a type-II diabetic. I feel better, I hear every once in a while that I look better - though in all honesty I have a long way to go before I would say that I look slim again - and I can move about much more freely. I have more energy. I bring my lunch - In N Out may drop me from their Christmas card list!!

But the most amazing part is that I noticed that I enjoy getting up and moving. I will go get something at the other end of the building at work, or the other end of the house at home. Just to get up and move. I sat in my recliner for the first time in a long time last night after walking a mile and a half, then going to rehearsal and then walking home. It didn't feel right just sitting there, so I finally shut off the movie and went to bed, knowing that five O'clock was going to come around so very early today. This is a fundamental change, and fundamentally, I am mental.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Our pastor has been teaching on this for several weeks now - as part of a larger study. But I realized that if I allow my flesh to rule in my life, it will kill me. Doesn't seem to make sense right off the bat: so many folks seem to feel that our bodies are in touch with some various galactic forces which can guide all parts of their lives if they just 'get in tune with your inner self.' My inner self likes to eat. Not just eat until it is satisfied, but basically eat until it is tired. Or eat until my inner stomach hurts. Or eat until the food is gone. All bad.

So - I am letting my mind take over for awhile. And in my case, my mind is in touch with God, through Christ Jesus, and that makes it a powerful force to be reckoned with. I don't want to do the things I used to do. Amazing. And I'm not some bank-robbing serial killer with a twelve-year-old for a wife, chained up in the basement. I generally fit the mold of normal. I just have a connection to the Almighty inside me. And that is helping me to get over myself, and begin to do the things that I should be doing.

In fact, the call to have a more active ministry at the core of my existence is getting stronger. All because I said "no" to my inner child. Get in touch with your inner child: smack it down.

Titus 2:11-14 (New International Version)

¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Good morning! I just got back from a walk of 2.4 miles, with one good hill on the route. My loving and gracious wife joined me this morning, and we laughed and goofed around as best we could in between gasping for breath. After all these years I can't tell you how glad I am that we are such very good friends. We are both still new to this "exercise" thing, or whatever it's called.. I guess the thing which has kept us from participating for so long is that it happens mostly outdoors. But we are working at it, and so far we have lost 40 pounds combined, that is, between the two of us. Cool!

I want to blog today about something closely related - self control. I have begun a quest for purity in my life, because frankly I have nothing to say in a blog, in person, or in public unless it comes from God. And I find that when I let the stuff of the world junk up my life, the conduit gets clogged. The conduit, that is, through which God can speak to the people around me.

I don't want you to misunderstand, I am not saying that I am anything special, or gifted in any way. Quite the opposite: I am only here to repeat what God says to me first. My pastor has a phrase which he often repeats, and it is absolutely worth repeating: "If God can get it through you, He can get it to you."

So - I get up each day before the sun. I do some time in the word, I do some time in the presence of God. I am working on incorporating worship into my schedule, but I'm going to have to do it in a way which will not wake the rest of the house. So I worship as I drive, or on those occasions when I walk alone. I bet I look perfectly amazing walking down the street yelling and singing with my hands in the air... not going to worry about it. And; I figure if I can remember to feed the dog twice a day, I should be able to remember to feed my spiritual growth every day.

So jump on board with me. Let's learn to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives, even in this present age. And then let's expect a miracle: God will begin to use us to bless those around us.

Can I count on you? Can God?

Vets

It's Veteran's day here in the US. For my readers around the globe who may not know it, that is a day, called into being by President Woodrow Wilson on November 11th, 1919, which is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice which ended WWI. Later expanded to honor all of our Veterans of all wars.

I have many friends who have served in the armed forces, and many who are currently serving. I have a nephew in Afghanistan with the US Army. I have a niece in basic training, also with the US Army. I have a family of good friends who have three sons in the Army and/or Army Reserves. And their daughter is an Army of one.

I have another friend who is a Marine. No, not actively, but he once corrected me when I said, "a former Marine."
"A former Marine means you have died. Otherwise you are a Marine."
OK, Sir, not going to argue...

My dad served in the US Navy and spent the war in the South Pacific building bases and rebuilding things that got blown up.

And I? Well, I served a year in Civil Service. OK - not the same, I know. But I worked at NASA at Moffett Field NAS (closed in 94). Since it was NASA, there were experimental aircraft from the Army, Navy, Marines and the pilots were mostly Air Force. As such, I have a good idea about the rivalry amongst the branches of the service. And the crew chief I was assigned to was in the Army reserve, and was the most active in pushing the rivalry, actually creating signs and banners which looked very official, but which provoked the other branches in a friendly battle which had raged for years and which is still alive as I write.

"Never Taxi an aircraft faster than a Marine can think" was a sign on the wall of the hanger. We used "Army Spec" when tightening bolts: you tighten it till it strips and back it off a quarter turn. Navy personnel were referred to as "Squid" because it was "a lower form of Marine life."

I will not repeat the various slogans which popped up on signs which came and went on the walls of the locker room, shower room and above the urinals... suffice to say that everyone took the rivalry in good humor, fortunately, but everyone still knew in their heart that the branch of the service they were in was the best one. By far.

And you know, as far as I am concerned, that is the way it needs to be. I am proud of our military. As a country, we look good in uniform. And I am equally glad that the men and women in each and every branch of our armed forces look at their branch as the best.

Hoo rah!

November, and the water is fine.

I loaded up the boat, a couple of good friends and headed for the lake yesterday. Note that it is November the 10th, and that there are lots of people across our country who would have to include ice skates in their collection of sporting goods if they were to head to a lake nearby at this time of year. But living in Southern California has many charms, and one of them is that we can waterski and wakeboard year 'round. So for us, the day was spent blasting around in my ski boat. We would stop every once in a while back in some remote canyon, and make sure the boat was in the shade of a tall canyon wall so we didn't get too hot. No bugs this time of year, and being a Monday, very few other boaters out and about. It was silent, except for the "Oldies" cranked on the stereo, three men who know how to enjoy the outdoors and know who to thank for it. I even had my faithful and loving dog by my side. It couldn't have been better.

I stopped to think about the canyons and back bays of this large lake - it is a part of the California Aqueduct and helps to feed the drinking water from the north to the south in our state. It is a large lake, with plenty of room to enjoy boating, fishing, camping, picnics and the like. But I couldn't help but wonder at the amazing amount of planning and engineering which had to have gone into the design and building of this vast body of water. As we see it now, it makes sense. But how does anyone see the potential for a lake, before the lake is there? How do you wander around a bunch of canyons and gullies, empty and dry, and say, "this would be a perfect spot for ten gazzillion gallons of water. We can put the dam over there, and it will fill up right to there. Perfect."

The engineering and the surveying I'm sure spanned years before the thing was built. But what gets me it the thousands of variables. I mean, soils had to be good to keep the water in place. Canyons and cliffs had to be strong enough as the water level rose. The dam itself would have to be strong enough to handle the earthquakes common to our area. Rain would have to be added to the lake while not washing away the parts needed to keep everything in place. Launch ramps and other access would have to be provided, there are huge mechanisms to raise and lower the level of the lake, including a connection to the Cal Aqueduct, a hydro-electric plant, a lower lake and a spillway to handle overflow. In fact yesterday we saw the inlet - a huge underwater pipe which feeds water from the aqueduct actually makes a turbulent froth of the water five feet high and thirty or more feet across. We didn't dare get too close or it would easily have tossed our boat around or even flipped it.

What's the big deal? It's a lake, not a space shot. Well, whenever I see something that requires a lot of thinking on the part of man, something which amazes me with it's complexity, I stop and ask myself, "why do I ever doubt that God can take care of the dizzying details of my life?"

If man can plan and execute the many amazing things we do - from a water system which feeds all those millions of people in the lower part of the state, to traveling around in space, then I think I can begin to strengthen my faith in God's ability to handle some details. I think He can weave the hundreds of little choices I need to make into a tapestry of glory for Him.

OK God, I surrender. I think I'm going to let YOU handle the worrying about details today. I wanted to type, "from now on," but we both know me. I may try to take over the running of my life again from time to time. Help me with that Lord - I really can trust you, and I want to do better. So let's take it one day at a time. Today, I give you the details. Work in them.

Weekstart

Why do we so worship the weekend? I have always worked weekends. When I was in the ministry, Sunday was my big day. Now, as part of the worship team, it is not much less so.

I own a chain of one retail store, and now Saturday is my big day. Sunday would also be our big day but we made a decision long ago to be closed on Sundays.

So I don't get all excited about the 'weekend.' However, my little Chas brain did some work on the word "Weekend" itself, and I realized that as a people, we Americans seem to be excited about putting things behind us, more than we are excited about what lies ahead.

So I thought up the word "Weekstart" to use for Sunday from now on. If you one day see this in the new dictionary, I want you to remember: you heard it here, first.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled life. Thanks.

2 Chronicles 7:14

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

There is so much amazing truth in this promise of God - I really don't have much to add. I didn't say I have 'nothing,' to add, just not much.

First - it is a call to the church.
Second - it is a call to humble ourselves - we are not perfect. I, chief in that regard.
Third - it is a call to repent. Turn means to go a new direction. It implies that you leave something else behind.
Fourth - "Then" means that God is literally waiting to bless us, when we start the process.
Fifth - God is listening. He hears us, He hears us - He hears me, He hears you. You do not weep in the dark alone.
Sixth - His blessings are not just for me, but for me to pass on to those around me. He has enough blessing that if He can get it through me, He can get it to me.

And more - let the Word speak to you today.

Full Speed Ahead

I was working on my boat the other day. I was working around the throttle cable - this is the cable which relays the movement of the control lever under my hand when I am driving the boat. If I push it forward, the boat goes into forward gear and as I continue to push it farther forward it gives the engine more throttle and away we go! Until the skier falls on his or her face, then I pull back - slowly or quickly according to who it is that we are towing.

But the engine on my boat sits in a box. It has no windows, which is fine because it has no eyes. It has no connection to the outside world other than that throttle control which is also fine, because it has no brain or intelligence. So the engine simply obeys the tugging and pushing of that cable. If I turn the engine off, it will sit in darkness in it's little box for minutes, hours, days, or sometimes months if I have put the boat on the trailer and parked it in my warehouse. But at the touch of the starter and the push of that cable, it is ready to go. Exciting life, no? For all it 'knows,' I could be aiming the boat over a thousand foot waterfall, or I could be about to ram it into the sheer rock face of a tall cliff. But if I push that lever, the engine responds with all it has. Ok, you say, but an engine is not a thinking being. Not a human. And you would be right. Though I am in love with it, but that's a guy thing and blog for another day...

Many years ago I took my kids on a tour of the Queen Mary, down in Long Beach. One of the stops on the tour was the engine room - specifically the control area. We had already been up on the bridge, and we saw the controls used to command the engines. They are called "telegraphs" because they don't actually control the engines, they just send a message. There is no connection between the telegraph and the engines on the Queen Mary or any large vessel. Instead, the telegraph simply relays the command to the matching telegraph in the engine room. When the indicators jump - and there is a bell or buzzer to let the crew know some new command had been initiated - it is up to the crew to make all the various adjustments to valves, levers and controls to get the engines to go the direction and speed that the bridge had requested. And once that is done, they walk over to the telegraph in the engine room and move the levers on their end. That moves a set of indicators on the telegraph up on the bridge. It is called "answer back" when the bridge shoves the levers to full throttle ahead, and a moment later the indicator also goes to full throttle ahead to show that they got the message way down below. So at any time, you want to be able to look at the telegraph and see a perfect match - the handles are at a setting - perhaps "Ahead Full" and the indicators are also at the same: "Ahead Full."

So what if the guys in the engine room don't want to go to full speed ahead? What if they only crank one engine up to speed, but leave the other one going astern? Or what if they all take a coffee break at the same time and nobody hears the bells? The bridge officers would know in a second, of course, because two things would happen at about the same time:

1.the telegraph would not 'answer back,' and
2.the ship will continue doing whatever it was with no change.

These are bad things.

Ironically, the day we were on the Queen Mary, the telegraphs were not synchronized. It has been too many years for me to safely venture a guess at what they were saying, but I distinctly recall pointing out to my kids that here was the handle, that's what the bridge was calling for, and here is the indicator, and it was not answering back the same command. The Queen Mary is a hotel and tourist attraction now, and they don't run the engines at all anymore, so there was very little danger of the ship running aground anytime soon. As a result, our panic level was quite low.

But I so clearly recall thinking about those men and women who had to work in that engine room. They sure had to have complete faith in the people up on the bridge. If that bell rang and that telegraph called for All Ahead Flank, they really had no option but to obey. They couldn't look out the window, there were no windows. They couldn't second guess the captain. In fact, their life could be in greater danger if they did not obey: for all they knew, going forward right now may be the very thing which gets them out of danger. Think of a war vessel - instant changes to the speed and direction could mean life or death for hundreds on board. And every man on that engine crew had to know how to respond to any orders from the bridge instantly.

One more thing - there was also a backup steering system in the engine room of the Queen Mary. A small ship's wheel, on a bulkhead. With the turn of a valve, the engine room crew could take over the control of those vast rudders, and steer the ship from right there in that blind room. They would only do so in time of greatest need: if the bridge system failed, or in war, if the bridge was blown away. But they were blind! How could they hope to know which way to go? They would listen for a call from somebody - anybody - who was topside. Any surviving member of the bridge crew could call down and be the eyes for that engine room crew. Just give them the direction they needed to go, and all the controls of the ship would be at your disposal, instantly.

Seems like a good analogy to Faith. God says go, and all we need to say is "how fast?" He says turn left, and all we need to say is "how much?" We don't have to see our path, we don't have to know our destination nor the obstacles in our way. He takes care of that part of it. He sees what we can't.

OK God - help me. Guide me.

Get OUT of the Kitchen...

My dog - by "birthday dog" that is - has settled into our little strange home quite well. From a dog's perspective, we have a challenging home to live in. Not just being 'raised by Wolves,' the traffic is higher than many homes. We have people who live with us, from daughters (when not away at school) to nieces (this IS away at school for her) to friends who rent rooms and make the coffee. Over the years we have had nephews, sons, and a lengthy list of people in need and people who just passed through. Some even have keys - those are the very special ones.

Then there are the people who we love - friends and relatives alike - who we tell not to knock. While it is an honor of sorts, it is not as much of an honor as you might think. I just don't like to get up and answer the door, and since I already can't roam the house in my skivvies - see above - it doesn't bother us at all to have folks just walk right in. In fact, it feels good to know some of our friends and relatives are close enough to walk right in and say hello.

But it all adds a bit of excitement to the life of a dog who wants so badly to be the Alpha around here. I have explained in simple terms that I am perfectly happy to be the Alpha, that she doesn't need to take the burden of being a guard dog - we have gotten by for a long time without one, and I think we'll keep doing just fine. Plus there are so many people coming and going that any thief or burglar would be better off trying just about any other target in the area. Unless they just walk in, take my stuff, say hello and leave... Hmm. Hadn't thought of that - but in any event, I just want the dog to relax and soak up the love. Lot of that around here.

So one of the areas we would like her to stay out of - speaking once again of the dog here - is the Kitchen. I have watched "Dog Whisperer" enough to get some great results, and one of them was to simply tell the dog to "get out of the Kitchen." She backs up immediately, and stands just at the edge of the room looking in. Then she will heave a very heavy, very emotional sigh, and lay down without ever taking her eyes off of me.

But the funny thing is - she has no idea what a "Kitchen" is. So if I find her nosing about in my bedroom, I give the same command, and she leaves the room. In other words, that command makes her leave whatever room she is in. I was at work and she followed me into the bathroom. I turned and said, "get out of the kitchen," and she got out of the bathroom. But the people around me thought I was more than a little nuts... And they laughed all the more when the dog obeyed! "You're both nuts!"

So - when God tells us "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Why is it that we expect something less? If God says he has plans for us, I don't think it means, "only if the economy can support it." Or whatever else I may try to put there to limit that promise.

If my dog can understand a simple string of words, and apply it globally to her little life, why can't I do the same for a promise of God?

Progress

I had a very interesting thing happen to me yesterday. First, let me say that I have worn out a pair of walking shoes, and was starting to get some pain in my lower back when walking anything over a mile or two. So I went to the store to get some new shoes. I was glad to have worn out the old ones, I have lost twenty pounds (19.6 officially at Weight Watchers and a few prior to joining) and I am moving around and breathing much better. And my blood glucose numbers have dropped to normal. Yes folks, there is now one thing in my life which qualifies as 'normal.'

In fact, the thing which happened to me yesterday actually gave me a little scare: my blood sugar dropped so low that I felt bad. I was shaking, my vision began to close up just a little, and I had trouble getting the key into the door of my truck to get home. Relax, it just means that my diabetes has gone away, and I need to stop all meds. My body will sort out the rest!! I tested this morning and got a number of 76.

Why am I giving all this information? Because Diabetes is a terrible disease. I was beginning to get to the point that there was a threat that I might lose parts. My right foot is getting numb, starting with my large toe. This is called "neuropothy," and it is not reversible. Many Diabetics lose some or even all of their extremities. Vision can be next to go, heart problems crop up and it gets really ugly from there. How do I know so much about this? Two reasons:

1. it killed my sister
2. it was trying to kill me.

So I did the research. There are two main types of Diabetes, and the one I have is generally controlled by diet and exercise. Yes, I have lost twenty pounds in one month. You now know why I am so motivated. I am thankful to God that I don't have to take any more meds, as long as I keep in shape.

So, do you know of a man - men are more at risk than women, but don't count on that to give you a better chance ladies - a man who is over 40 and who needs to lose more than 30 pounds? More than 40 or 50 pounds? Tell them. I had nobody who cared enough to actually tell me, except my wife. And for some reason I was not able to receive it from her. Don't know why, don't know if it is the way things generally go, but her concern didn't motivate me. I wish it wasn't that way - she cares! She loves me, and she would have to bear the brunt of anything which cost me any part of my life. But that's the way it went.

Now? I see people all around me and I want to become an anti-flab evangelist.

Get out there - move around
Eat better. Fast food is not your friend - it may very well take your life.
Watch what you eat - write it down and figure out how many calories your main food items contain: that alone may scare you straight.
Get accountable. Not everyone has a blog, Facebook and a bunch of friends, but you all have somebody you can talk to. Somebody who will hold you accountable and that can give you an amazing boost. I'll even offer to be that somebody if you really don't have anyone else.

And you people who are naturally thin? You still need to be sure to make healthy choices about what you eat. Balance that diet. OK - I'm preaching here. Yes, and I don't apologize. Jesus said that he came that we might have life, and life more abundantly. So anything which takes away, shortens or limits that life represents disobedience. That's not a good choice.

Let's do it!

Borders and Boundries

Boundaries are things of man's creation. I have to almost weep, sometimes, at the wars large and small which have been fought over boundaries. Lines on a map. Land wars, civil wars, world wars, turf wars, gang wars, even my wife and I with the division of the blanket at night.

At my age you would think that I would have learned a little something about the futility of fighting a turf war. I don't want to admit it, but I am so territorial. We humans are. We so badly want to stake our claim and then die protecting some line which we consider so important, but which God must consider irrelevant.

Well, what about a plan, made by man and defended to the death? The plans we make for our lives very much represent boundaries and borders. They often mark our territory in ways we sometimes don't even see. They can be freeing, motivating, and good for us, but they most often are very limiting. They set the boundaries of just how far we plan to go in certain areas of our life.

To a person who wants to reflect God in every part of their life, what are we doing allowing our kingdom to have borders worth fighting over? Especially when we may very well be fighting with God. The borders of my life are in flux right now. I have many plans which are now proving to be impossible to execute, as our financial situation changes almost daily. So - what do I do with these boundaries I have set up in my life? Do I let God into the space I have reserved for my own sovereign kingdom? I do want to, but will I forget the lines I have drawn? I am comfortable with my space - my life - just the way it was. Will I see that these plans I have clung to for so long are, in fact, boundaries which are holding me in when God may very well be moving me out?

We'll see.