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.