Hey, Everyone!
Wow! Guys!
I just saw daffodils by the side of ol’ Johnson Rd, O.S., TN, USA...blooming! Totally in bloom! I couldn’t believe it, but it’s true! I thought we were a ways away but...NOT!
Daffodils in bloom...coming to a theater near you! You heard it first right here!
I guess Tina and I weren’t jumpin’ the gun last week when we were planning where our veggies are goin’ to go in the garden this year. We were trying to figure the best way to keep our ‘maters off the ground. Y’know, trellises...stakes...those wire cages (what works fer you?) and some the articles we were reading said consistently that it depended.
“Are your tomatoes determinate or indeterminate?”
“Huh? Who knows? How do you tell? Where do you check?”
“I wonder what determinate tomatoes are?” Tina asked.
“Let’s find out! I’ll Google it!”
“Dear Google, what are determinate and indeterminate tomatoes?” (I didn’t actually put the “Dear Google” part)
BAM! There it is!
Determinate tomatoes are bush tomatoes and only grow to be two or three feet high. Good for pots. Indeterminate (Big Boys, Beef Steaks) grow continually to six to ten feet high. Need staking.
You’re welcome.
It’s amazing what you can find out nowadays! Ask your computer a question and...there’s the answer! Mostly...
I remember a girl trying to explain to her sixty-something aunt who had never even held a computer, how to Google something. “Go ahead, Aunt! Just type in a question!”
She wrote, “How’s my sister Mary Sue in Boise feeling this morning?”
Here’s some more info Google doesn’t know.
“What does God want me to do in this situation? How can I know what I should say? Should I talk to them about this or not? Would it be good to react or not? What is His will in this problem?”
How do you know what God wants you to do in a sticky...or touchy...or hurtful...or complicated situation? Maybe you’ve looked up all the Scriptures you could find and you’re still stuck. You don’t want to do nothing, but nothing’s better than the wrong thing. Here’s a suggestion...and a promise.
Ask God.
It’s simple, I know. Just ask God to tell you what to do or not do. What to say or not say. But I have a promise. Ready?
James 1.5 “ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
“Wisdom” is a word that means, “Just knowing what to do in a tough moment”. “...and it will be given to you”. If you want to know what He wants and you’re determined and decided to do that...nothing else...nothing less...nothing more...He’ll let you know in your heart what is best! That is an awesome promise!
So, if you want to know what’s the best for you to do or say in a difficult or delicate moment, ask God.
If you want to know the population of Slovenia, ask Google.
A Note from Tom: February 15th, 2011
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re having an awesome, joyous day! And how could you not? With spring almost bustin’ out all over! And supposably, it’s gonna be this way all week! At least that’s what Todd the weatherman sa…
Opps. I just saw a mistake.
“Supposably” isn’t a word. It’s really “supposedly”. I know this because I just read an article about 25 things people say that they shouldn’t…those things we say all the time that are not really grammatically correct. Y’know…things like “irregardless” when you mean “regardless”. “Irregardless” actually isn’t a word.
Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, to tell the truth, I could care less.”
Actually, that’s not right.
When folks say, “I could care less”, they really should say, “I couldn’t care less”, because apparently the point is that you care so little about it, that your caring could go no lower than that.
If you say you’re going to “try and do better” in your grammar, your grammer’s not going so well. What you meant to say is “I’m going to try to do better”, not “try and”.
I know someone might be thinking, “Well, who cares?”
Or is it, “whom cares?” (I think it’s “who”).
(If you say you’re trying to “hone in” on the right answer to that one, you meant to say, “home in”.)
This stuff ‘s on my mind because I read something this morning that Peter said when he was sharing the message of Jesus with a highly interested person, and I thought, “Are you sure you wanted to say that?”
This Italian guy named Cornelius in Acts, chapter 10, had a feeling that Peter was coming to see him and share Jesus with him. Actually, he had a vision about it. When Peter arrived, Cornelius was waiting on him.
“Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us,” he said.
So, Peter started in. “Let me tell you all about the One you need to know, Jesus of Nazareth!...how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him. We are witnesses of everything He did… They killed Him by hanging Him on a cross, but God raised Him from the dead on the third day…He was seen by us who ate and drank with him after He rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead…”
Wait! You sure you wanted to say that? Judge? Jesus? Didn’t you mean to tell this dude that Jesus is appointed to be the Savior? Didn’t you want to say that He has come to be our Good Shepherd? And the King of the world? “God with us”?
“Jesus the judge”? You’ve got one shot at sharing with this guy and you’re going with that, Pete? “Judge”?
Jesus gave His life so we can be clean and new and His! Forgiven and free! In fact, Peter continues right on to say, “…everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Apparently, Cornelius got the point, because he opened his heart to Jesus, judge of the living and dead!
Come to think of it, there could be no better judge to stand before. There could be no one sweeter to measure my life! What could be better than to be evaluated by the One Who gave His blood so that ALL of my failings could be wiped off my record! What better One to stand before than the One Who took all my judgment for me! And Who now says of me, “And you are clean!” (John 13.10) What a beautiful experience to stand before the Judge of all the earth Who informed us, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged…will not come into judgment… but has crossed over from death to life!” (John 5.24)
Now that there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8.1)…and since being declared already and freely righteous by faith, we have peace with God (Rom. 5.1)… all I really care about is how He sees me!
For some of us, it is suuuch a new, amazing feeling to think that for the first time in my life, I love folks, but I’m not worried about what they think of me. Or how some one might judge me.
In fact, irregardless of what someone supposably might or might not think, I could care less!
Jesus, the Judge of all, loves us!
Let’s just try and remember that!!
A Note from Tom: February 8th, 2011
Hey Everyone!
Hope you’re having a fantastic day! Hope your day started a little “fresher” than ours did! You know that feeling when you’re really totally asleep and all the sudden…you’re dreaming about…what is it?...”Why am I dreaming about…coffee? Why is this coffee so strong? In fact, it’s so strong…and I like it strong…it’s just a little much for me…” And then you’re awake and you know where the java smell’s coming from…
SKUNK UNDER THE HOUSE!!
So, picture this. Or better…get a whiff of this. It’s 4 am… your eyes are watering… you feel close to almost throwing up… both of you…and you look at each other and ask, simultaneously, “What do we do now?!” Sleep isn’t an option. We made coffee, but frankly I felt like I’d already sniffed a whole pot.
Then I remembered what we did last year when a skunk snuck (and stunk!) under 834 Johnson, O.S…
I went into the living room, turned on the Mac, clicked the itunes thingy, put the speakers on the floor, facing down and found my anti-skunk play list. Actually it’s my double-strength, no-kidding, straight-up, turbo-charged traditional bluegrass play list. I like Nickel Creek, Rascal Flatts and all that, but they’re not on that list. This is my Lester n’ Earl, “Shuckin’ the Corn”, Bill Monroe, “Goin’ Back to Ol’ Kentucky”, Stanley Brothers, “Uncle Pen”, Martha White Flour play list.
Cranked it up, and went outside to make sure it wasn’t rockin’ the ‘hood. And we let it play. As the yodels, high lonesome harmonies, and banjo breaks rolled, the piyew-iness diminished. After a while, we were convinced it’d worked. Ol’ Stinky had gone back home.
Funny, but apparently skunks don’t like bluegrass. Who’da thunk it? I would’ve thought they’d have liked it. Maybe all the singing out the nose makes their favorite defense less offensive. We love bluegrass and don’t like skunks under the house at 4:00. So …it all works out!
Y’know, one thing the Scriptures say that it sometimes is hard to remember, is that we are in spiritual battles everyday. It might not always seem like it, but those who love Jesus have an automatic enemy. He’s mean and wants to keep you discouraged, frightened, and/or upset. I like how the Message puts it…
“So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way…
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet.” (Eph 6)
One of the weapons we have to stay encouraged is praise! Praise music and praise singing! In the chapter before the one we just read, Paul says that praise…and singing it…are the best and easiest ways to keep your heart full! And here’s another tip: The enemy of our hearts…you know, the one who wants to steal your joy…he hates to hear praise about as much as skunks hate bluegrass! Get your “praise on”! There’s someone who can’t stand to be around it!
Ahhhh! That smells better!
A Note from Tom: February 4th, 2011
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re having an awesome, joy-filled day! You know, the other day I was…
“So...what if I’m not? What if I’m NOT having an awesome, joy-filled day? What if I’m having a yucky day? What am I supposed to do about it?”
Well, there are some things you could do if you’re having a yucky day, depending on the reason for the yuckiness.
1) If you’re having a yucky day because of the weather, there ain’t a whole lot you could do about the wet, cold, is-it-going-to-snow?-iness except to remember...
…that tons of folks have had tons (literally!) more snow than we have...
…that whatever the weather, “God says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ (Job 37) and “lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds do his bidding...” (Psalm 148)...so, we pretty much have the weather God chooses for us!
…that no matter what the weather, in your heart, it can always be spring!
“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon... they will always stay fresh and green” (Pslam 92)
2) If you’re having a yucky day because of the things you see on the news...if it’s because of the suffering of so many people who have a difficult life that just got more difficult...like in Cairo, for example...there is something you can do! You can lift them to the throne of God! We could pray for brothers and sisters in Christ who are there, trying to be faithful, brave, and true to their Master in a tough situation. There are many believers in Jesus in Egypt, and their numbers are growing, even though they have been discriminated against, and persecuted a lot in the last twenty years. Many of them are strong and courageous! There is a church right there in Tahrir Square, where all of the demonstrations are. It’s called the Kasr El Doubara Evangelical Church. If we lift them up, we’re an active part of what God is doing in all of the confusion there.
I saw yesterday that some angry people were throwing fire bombs at others there in the crowds.
In Revelation 8, there is this amazing scene where an angel takes this golden incense ball full of fire from the altar of God and “...hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake!” In the golden ball, this angel had collected and included “the prayers of the saints” (Rev 8.3). In the middle of hate and animosity in the troubled places of the world, the prayers of the people of God become a bomb of love, goodness, and strength in God for those who are struggling to walk with Him!
If you pray, you have an important role there!
Amazing!
3) Maybe you’re having a yucky day because there is someone in your life who is driving you nuts. Maybe it’s because they have something going on that isn’t right and that God doesn’t want. You know it, but they don’t. Or maybe it’s because they just have some annoying ways that kind of make you kooky. You know how sometimes all of us can be irritating at times.
To have a brighter day, maybe you need to talk to someone about that something in their life that isn’t good. Especially if it’s something you know ain’t God’s will for them! We all need someone with the courage to confront us from time to time!
Or maybe you just need to ignore and put up with their little irritating ways, knowing that we’re all annoying to others at times!
“So how do I know if I should talk to them or just put up with them? How do I know if it’s something to confront or something to forget?”
Why not try the “Esther 4.16 principle”? She had to get the courage to face the scary king about a situation and decided that, before she made a move to confront, she’d pray about it for three days. Somebody breaking your heart? Or driving you nuts? You can’t tell whether it’s wrong or just annoying? Just pray about it for three days. Ask God to tell you whether you should speak up or shut up!
“Yeah, but...let’s say...someone cuts in front of me in traffic. If I wait for three days to decide whether or not I should tell him/her off and possibly point out through my gesticulations their short-comings, my opportunity would be gone!”
Yes, it would.
Have a joy-filled day!
A Note from Tom: January 20th, 2011
Hey, everyone!
Wow! I had an awesome morning! I had three cups of coffee and three fresh reasons to have a heartful of thankfulness before the sun came up!
Speaking of which…
One of my “thankfulnesses” was for the moon! I was out jogging early and the moon was beautiful and super-full this a.m.! Did you know that the gravitational pull of the moon is like a kind of brake on our earth’s rotation and it keeps us at just the right speed as we spin? If we didn’t have the moon, the earth would be spinning so fast, there would be major hurricane winds over the surface of the whole world, 24 7! Today the winds are variable and about 3 mph…So thankful for our moon!
And…when the moon’s full, it’s easier to see skunks nosing around by the side of the road! All you have to do is slide over to the other side and trot on by! Apparently, if you mind yer own beeswax, skunks are cool with that. Passed three during my route today! By the time I reach the house, I only smelled sweaty! Thankful for that!
And…I came across an awesome Scripture before I tied my running shoes on…Remember how a few weeks ago, it seemed like all across the country, and all around the world, folks were finding whole flocks of various birds dead in the middle of the road? In Arkansas, thousands of blackbirds crashed into houses and each other, and dropped dead into yards, parks, and streets. Then they found hundreds dead on the highway near Baton Rouge. Then in Italy and other countries, there were loads of…not bird droppings, but birds dropping. In one place they were cowbirds. .In another, it was red-winged blackbirds. As they say, birds of a feather, croak together.
Some scientists say this isn’t really unusual. 5 billion birds die in American each year. Without smoking. Red-wing blackbirds have flocks that grow to 2 million. 5000 is a small group in that cloud of birds.
I guess the thing that kind of made an impression on me was that, you heard a lot about this for a few days and then…nothing. They say that’s how the news works. It has “cycles” and folks lose interest. So birds might still be flopping down to the earth but you just don’t hear about it.
Only thing is…if it were only one starling or swallow a day somewhere in our world, God knows. Here’s my early morning Scripture…
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” (Matt 10.29)
In Luke, the same thought is put this way…
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.” (Luke 12.6)
Did ya catch the diff? In Matthew, it’s two sparrow for a penny. In Luke, they’re so cheap you get five for two pennies! Two for one penny or four for two…with an extra thrown in!
But God cares about that little bird! It doesn’t fall without Him knowing and caring!
And even better...our Lord adds, “Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows!”
Y’know, when Luke quoted our Lord, he was writing in the Greek language and translating what Jesus said in His Aramaic language. The word Luke used for “worth”…as in, “your worth more than sparrows”…comes from the word “diaphero”. It means, “to carry through”. You’re precious to Him! So precious, He knows when sparrows drop from the sky, but He’s going to carry you through! He’ll carry you home! You won’t flop, drop, or stop without Him! You’re in His hand! He’ll carry you all day and all the way!
It may not make the news cycle, ‘cause the populous in general may not care, but He does! He cares about you! And that’s awesome news!
A Note from Tom: January 12th, 2011
Hey, everyone…
Hope you’re having a blessed week so far!
I’m passing through this week with a heavy heart, feeling the sadness that has filled our nation because of what happened in Arizona. It has filled my heart, too.
A little girl celebrated her ninth birthday. She won’t have her tenth.
A couple celebrated their fiftieth anniversary of love. Only one of them will be there for the fifty first. How do you remember a wedding anniversary by yourself?
An astronaut is wondering if his mate will ever speak to him again. Or see his face again. Or take a walk with him again.
A young man had just become engaged. But he won’t be at the altar waiting.
I’m asking God to heal the wounds of those still left in the hospital, especially Congresswoman Giffords. And I’m asking God to heal, with time and love, the hearts of those left behind.
In listening to the news, so many are wondering if this sadness and pain left by bitterness and hate, is just the final word of a new way of talking to each other and about each other in America that has become increasingly bitter, angry, and hate-filled. The sheriff of Tuscon received unexpected attention in remarking that “the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous," Some say the bitter, hateful ways people talk about others who disagree with them, on the news, on the radio and TV, and face-to-face, has finally led to this. Others say that, even though words in America are more aggressive, angry, and accusatory than before, there is no way to prove these are related to this that has happened.
Probably no one knows for sure.
But I do know that there is a reason why people are talking about this. Words in America are more aggressive, angry, and accusatory than before. And I also know that our Lord Jesus has strong feelings about this.
He doesn’t like it.
I know this because He also had strong words about the way people talk about and talk to each other.
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘you stupid’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You moron!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matt 5)
The Message puts it, "You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder… Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a brother and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.”
Whatever else others may say… and however else others may talk… followers of the King of kings don’t talk in angry, hateful ways. Let others talk however they want. But He doesn’t want it from us…He doesn’t want it from those who love and follow Him.
Whether or not it caused a national tragedy, angry, hateful talk isn’t right.
In Tuscon, they are trying to know what they can do to begin to heal the city. Some believe kindness and consideration are the answer. At a rally yesterday, a speaker said, “Say ‘hello!’ Say, ‘I hope you’re having a great day!’ Do it from your heart! Starting tonight! And for the rest of your life! Maybe it would have made a difference years ago n the life of this young man. Maybe not. But we can do better, going forward…”
Could speaking to each other with kindness and compassion have prevented this dark, sad week? Probably no one really knows.
But it is the will of the Lord God for those who love Him.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen…Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love…”
(Eph 4.32-5.2)
It doesn’t matter if folks don’t talk that way anymore. It’s what our Savior wants from us….from those who love and follow Him
Whether or not it would have prevented a national tragedy, kind, compassionate talk is right.
A Note from Tom: January 6th, 2011
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re having an awesome and blessed beginning of 2011!
We made it!
It took all of us 365 days 6 hours 9 minutes 9.54 seconds to do the loop! One lap ‘round the sun was almost 600 million miles! No wonder you’re feeling a little tired!
Almost everybody is agreed…2010 was a tough one! And it may get tough in ways we don’t even anticipate in ’11. One person said that if global warming continues the way it’s going, the only opportunity we’ll have to observe a real, live polar bear will be at the zoo! Doesn’t that sound terrible?!...Opps. I forgot. That IS the only place I have ever seen one.
But, still…we do have serious problems ahead to think about…
But I read the most beautifully hopeful verse…almost tripped over it without noticing it…in the Gospel of Mark. Here it is…”After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God” Mark 1. 14)
One version puts it like this…”Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God…”
The ol’ King James puts it…”Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God…”
Notice the diff? They put some extra words in there (“…of the kingdom of…”) to make it make more sense…but in this case, “less is more”!
The King James says Jesus was telling everyone about the good news of “the kingdom of God”…which is awesome news! God reigns! And the kingdom is coming!
But what Mark wrote was that Jesus told everyone “the good news about God”!!
HEY! GOOD NEWS!
GOD!
God is GOOD!
God is awesome! And no matter what happens, He reigns! And He loooooovvvveeeeesssss yyyyoooouuuuu! And in love and in 2011, He rules over all that will happen to me and to thee!
In nice and bad, happy and sad, God is good…all the time…no matter what!
That’s Good News!
Here’s something else I almost missed the other day…
I was chattin’ it up with an older gentleman, and he said, “Well, have a happy New Year!”
Did you get that!?
He didn’t say, “Happy New Year!”…as in, “I wish for you a Happy New Year!”…but, “HAVE a Happy New Year!...In 2011, you can have a happy one or a less-than-happy-one. HAVE a happy one! Make your decision! Decide to have a happy one! Have one! The choice is up to you!”
If God is good and loves me and is working out an awesome plan, in and thru all that happens to me in the coming year (that’s the good news about God!), than it just makes sense that I should, could, and can be happy all day…every day!
Here’s how two of my favorites put it…
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3)
How ‘bout making THAT your verse for 2011?
And then there’s this...
“Habakkuk teaches us that joy is not dependent on circumstances but can be embraced at all times. Happiness doesn’t happen; it involves an act of the will…Happiness is a choice. Rather, it’s a series of choices, a series of steps taken one after another in the same direction. You, no matter where you are, can take one of those steps right now….While suffering in inevitable, misery is optional. Pain can’t be avoided, but joy can. If you don’t believe in the power of choice, you won’t experience it…It would be cruel to expect anyone to be always happy apart from God. But in the Lord-why not? Who wouldn’t be overjoyed with a God who ‘has given us everything we need for life and godliness’ (2 Peter 1)? In the words of a Christmas carol, ‘Why on earth should men be so sad, since our Redeemer has made us glad?” (Mike Mason)
So, I’m not just gonna wish y’all a “Happy New Year!” in this first CCC Email of 2011.
Instead…
Since, no matter what happens, good or bad, nice or sad, no matter what the news brings in ‘11, the Good News that trumps all other news is this: God! He’s always good! All the time!...
…and since the choice to have joy in Jesus, no matter what, is yours and mine to make…
As far as new years go, I’m going to encourage you to choose to have a happy one!
That’s the Good News about God (Mark 1:14)!
A Note from Tom: December 29th, 2010
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re warm and toasty on this freezing day! Especially in your heart! Wouldn’t it be awful if your heart was like the weather map on the news…and they were showing a bitterly cold Artic system coming down from Canada… and Todd the weather dude was telling us to brace for subfreezing temperatures coming in overnight… INTO YOUR HEART!…and you just couldn’t do anything about it except get ready to shiver on the inside? Psalm 148 says that the “lightning and hail and snow …do his bidding” so if He sends us an Artic blast with snow, that’s His beautiful and perfect plan for us! And we accept whatever temperatures He sends us! But the temperature in our heart…bitter and frosty or warm and joyful…well, we have some say in that! Romans 12 says, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor…” Or as the “Message” puts it, “keep yourselves fueled and aflame…” The word for “fervor” the Apostle used when he wrote this, is the word for “heat ‘til you see bubbles!” “Praise until good, warm, and bubbly!” If it’s chilly in there, adjust the praise-astat!
Speaking for praise and “snow doing His bidding” we wanted to let y’all know about our snow policy. Sometimes there are cancellations due to snow, even on Sunday. At CCC we have the “two-or-more” policy.
“You mean you only cancel if there are two or more inches of snow?”
Nope.
The “two-or-more” policy means, just like Jesus said… “If two or more are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them.” No matter how much it snows, there are at least two…and more!…who will walk up to the hill to praise Him at Triple C! So, if it’s slick and dangerous, PLEASE don’t put yourself at risk! Stay home and praise! But…
Folks will always be there…same time, same place… singing and worshipping! And we won’t be just the few of us. There’ll be more than you can see! I love how Hebrews 12 puts it…”But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven!” Besides everyone in other nations and across ours who worship Him every week, there are always the “unseen” praisers, worshipping before His throne! Those who have gone to heaven already and angels who’ve been there the whole time!
Oh, yeah. I almost forget. Jesus promised (“wherever two or more…”, remember?) He’ll be there too!
Let it snow!
A Note from Tom: December 22nd, 2010
Hey, everyone!
“Merry Christmas!”
Or, if you really want to get spiritually committed, “Happy Holidays!”
I just found out that “Merry” comes form an Old English word, “myrige” that comes from an old German word, “murgijaz” which means “to make shorter”…Apparently the idea is that if something is “merry”, it’s a pleasure and makes the time go faster and the day shorter. So…if you wish someone a “Merry Christmas”, you’re hoping it’ll go by faster!
But “holiday” is really short for “holy day”. “Holy” means “belonging completely to God, preserved whole or intact for Him, never transgressed or violated”. So…a “holiday” is a day dedicated to God…praising Him, loving Him, and loving Him!
That means, if you say, “Happy Holidays” (plural!) you’re saying, “May you have many days that are totally for God! It’s awesome you love Him so much!!” If you say “Merry Christmas” maybe in a way, (in the Old German way) you’re kinda saying, “May Christmas be fun and get over soon!”
Maybe.
Kinda.
This has been a tough week for certain kids across the nation and around the world. I’m thinking about all those boys who have to be the innkeeper in their church Christmas pageants. It’s not the coolest part for young dudes (that would be “Joseph”…duh!) You wonder how it effects kids in the pre-formative years to have to be the one who tells the Holy Family that you have no room for them. Hope it doesn’t mess them up! I remember one kid who was so mad he didn’t get to be “Joseph” that he decided to highjack the whole thing. When the Holy couple reached the cardboard inn in front of the church, the ten year old innkeeper said, “Sure! C’mon in! Shoot! We got tons of rooms empty up in here!”
The li’l Joseph was so flubberghasted, he didn’t know how to handle it! Then he thought…took a few steps in…looked around…stepped back and said, “I can’t bring my wife into this dump!”
Ever heard the inn keeper’s song from one of the greatest Christmas records of all time?..(The Statler Brother’s Christmas, of course!)
No reservation at the inn
Didn't know that you were coming in
We're all filled up you see
We got no vacancy
No reservation at the inn
Yes I understand it sir
It's only you and her
But I'm sorry to admit
We overbooked a bit
No reservation at the inn
Excuse me sir what did you say
She's in a family way
Of course out back we have a stable
We'd do more if we were able
No reservation at the inn
No reservation at the inn
Didn't know that you were coming in
You have our apologies
But we have no vacancies
No reservation at the inn.
It’s funny but when you look for the innkeeper in the Christmas stories of Matthew and Luke, you don’t find him. He’s not written about anywhere. It just says “there was no room in the inn.” (Luke 2.7) To find the innkeeper you have to look somewhere else. I found him in the mirror. John, in the first chapter of his book wrote, “…though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1.10-11)
Nobody naturally had room for Him.
I didn’t for a long time.
In the book of Job, when Job’s defending himself against all the mean and accusing things his friends are saying about him, he said he hadn’t done anything wrong. Some stuff that he said about himself wouldn’t really be true of that innkeeper…or me!
In chapter 31, Job said,
"I haven’t withheld anything that the poor desired. (31.16)…
I haven’t seen anyone perish for lack of clothing…
the needy have been warmed with the fleece of my sheep (31.19-20)…
...but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
for my door was always open to the traveler (31.32)…
…the contempt of families hasn’t terrified me,
to the point that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors (31.34)…”
But if we didn’t have room for Him…if all of us like the innkeeper had no place in our heart for Him (and I sure remember when I didn’t!), then, we did leave Him outside…
We did “withhold from the poor”, from Him!
We didn’t “open our door to the traveler”…we did let Him “spend the night in the street”. Thankfully they found a stable!
We have been afraid of what the families would think and “we keep silent”. We didn’t go “out of doors to Him”!
I remember when I played the innkeeper. Not in a church play. But lots of other times.
Job said, “If I did any of those things…then let my arm be separated from its socket (31.22)
If I did have an indictment against me, I would carry it on my shoulder!
I would wear it on me as a crown…” (31.36)
But I have done that stuff!
And that’s why my Savior was born at Christmas! I left Him outside in the street.
And amazingly! He was born and Bethlehem and grew in Nazareth to one day, carry my guiltiness and my indictment of HIS shoulders through the streets of Jerusalem! He wore it like a crown…of thorns!...on His head! When His (my) cross was slammed into a hole in the ground with Him nailed to it, His arm was separated from the socket! (Ps 22. 14)
He did it all for you! For me! For the ones who left Him outside! For those who had no room in their inn…or their hearts! He did it for those innkeepers everywhere that He loves so much!
He does!
He really does!!
That’s why, at this Christmas time, I have room for Him!
Merry Christmas everyone! We love you!
A Note from Tom: December 17th, 2010
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re having an awesome, carol-singing, hall-decking, joy-to-the-world week of Christmasy-ness!! And with folks getting stuck in the frozen, frigid, treacherous, icy winter wonderland, it’s an awesome opportunity to show the love of Jesus and do something really Grinchy for someone, somewhere near you!
Well, this has been a …
What?
Oh, sorry.
“Doing something Grinchy” means doing something kind and helpful, for peace on earth, goodwill toward men.
“But I thought the Grinch was the meanest, coldest, most hateful, most spiteful creature ever!”
Yeah. But only at the beginning. Not in the end! In the end he wasn’t that way! He was different! He’d changed! His heart grew three sizes in one day! He brought Christmas back to Whoville, after risking his life on the top of Mt Crumpit! And he, the Grinch, carved the roastbeast!
I wish folks would remember him for what he became, not what he had been!
That song still says, “You’re a mean one, Mr Grinch!”
It should say, “You WERE a mean one”!
Even worse, it goes on to say stuff like,…
“You’re a nasty wasty skunk
Your heart is full of unwashed socks,
Your soul is full of gunk
Mr. Grinch…
You’re a rotter Mr. Grinch
You’re the king of sinful sots
Your hearts a dead tomato splotched with moldy purple spots
Mr. Grinch…
The 3 words that best describe you, are as follows, and I quote
Stink, Stank, Stunk”
Maybe he WAS those things (“the king of sinful sots”…wow!), but not by the last page!
If you met him today, he’d be the sweetest creature you’d ever know! To do something “Grinchy” is to do something loving with a heart full of Christmas! Because that’s who the Grinch is now! (Except that he doesn’t actually exist.)
Take ol’ Scrooge. Sometimes folks say, “What a Scrooge!...You ol’ Scrooge!”” It’d be an awesome world if everyone were like Scrooge! What if everyone was what he was at the end of the story?“…as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world... and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!”
It’s not about what you WERE! It’s about what God is making you now! The past is gone! It’s past! That’s why they call it that! You’re not who you were! You’re new! Our God doesn’t see the mess of before! He looks at us and sees saints! (Eph 1.1) Sons and daughters! (Rom. 8.14) Holy ones! Whole ones! His choice! Beloved! (Col 3.12) Beauties! (Song of Songs 1.15)
One psychiatrist wrote, “I could never see why people were so happy about Dicken’s Christmas Carol because I never had any confidence that Scrooge was going to be different the next day.” In other words, “I don’t think people really change for good…or even for long. It happens in stories, but not in life.”
Sad.
Because it DOES happen!
And not just in stories!
All because of a story!
The Christmas story! That story is different than the Grinch story…or the Scrooge story. It’s a true story! It’s a “story” in the way they talk about a “news story” in the paper or on CNN…the story of something that really happened! As Linus reminds us each Christmas, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people…That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” The words “bring good tidings” translate one word from the Greek language. “I euangelizomai you!”…which means, “I tell you good NEWS! Something has happened!”
It’s true! A savior has come! He really has! We’re not who we were! And a heart really CAN grow three sizes in one day!
Makes you just wanna sing with all those Whos down in Whoville, the tall and the small…
“Fah who for-aze
Dah who dor-aze
Welcome Christmas
Christmas Day!
Welcome, welcome
Fah who rah-moose
Welcome,welcome
Dah who dah-moose
Welcome Christmas, fah who rah-moose
Welcome Christmas, dah who dah-moose
Christmas Day will always be
Just so long as we have He!
Welcome Christmas
Dah who dah-moose
Welcome Christmas
While we stand
Heart to heart
And hand in hand
Fah who for-aze
Dan who dor-aze
Welcome welcome
Christmas, Christmas Day!
A Note from Tom: December 9th, 2010
Merry Christmas, everyone!
I know it’s a little early to be saying it, but someone said it to me (the girl ringing the Salvation Army bell outside Kroger’s at Cedar Bluff) and it was still November!
“Thanks!” I said. “That’s the first Merry Christmas of the year!”
But you could tell it was already getting Christmas-ish over there in West Knoxville. You could see it on the faces. You could feel it in the air. You could hear it in the horn-blowin’ holiday traffic. There was a lotta Yuletide…grumpiness!
You know how it is at Christmas…it’s the season of love, giving, “peace on earth, good-will towards men”. I praise God so much for every ounce of that! How we need it, now and all through the year! As Scrooge’s nephew, Fred put it, “… I have always thought of Christmas time, when it comes round…as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time…”
But with the shopping pressure, the baking pressure, the financial pressure, the time pressure, well, folks just get pressured! Seems like they could have been making steamed Christmas pudding with all they were letting off! Somebody said Black Friday should be called Black-and-Blue Friday!
I guess Christmas stress and pressure have been around a long time. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a Christmas story (before she finished “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”), where someone says, “Oh, dear! Christmas is coming in a fortnight, and I have to think up presents for everyone! Dear me, it’s so tedious! Everybody has already got everything that can be thought of…It’s impossible to decide what presents to get for people who have more than they know what to do with now…” She said that in the old days, a child would have been “perfectly delighted with a single piece of candy…Nowadays things are different. There are worlds wasted, at this time of year in getting things nobody wants, and nobody cares for after they are got!”
One ad in a Boston magazine in 1823 said..
“ ‘There is a time for giving’, says Solomon the king, and had that preacher lived in these days, he would have acknowledged that there is no time like the present and never a better assortment of gifts. If he could have just peeped into the Bookstore of Monroe & Francis, he would have found a book for each of his wives and all of his concubines, and each of their children!”
The Ghost of Christmas Presents has been haunting us a long time!
It would be awesome if the remembrance of the coming of the Prince of Peace was a time of peace…if during the whole season, and not just for one night, “all was calm, all was bright.” Sometimes folks get so compulsive, I feel like they need to go to Deck-the-Hall-ics Anonymous meetings!
What if we decided that this year would be the Christmas of Going Slower!...Singing More!…Spending Less!...Baking More!...Buying Less! (Average American spends…$750 at Christmas! Each person! Wow! In some countries, that’s more than the average income per year!)
Sometimes, it makes my heart so sad that Christmas is not about the “retelling of the story”, but the “retail-ing of the stores”.
I’m not trying to be a Scrooge about Christmas. But really Scrooge was the one who wouldn’t stop buying and dealing, in order to (as Bob Cratchit, quoting Tim, said..) “remember upon Christmas Day, the One Who made lame men walk and blind men see”. All Scrooge cared about was buying, deals, savings and profit. If you say, “I’m not going to get carried away with it all this year!”, you’re not the Scrooge.
In a world of Christmas Scrooges, you’re Bob Cratchit!
“God bless us, everyone!”
A Note from Tom: December 3rd, 2010
Hey, everyone!
Wow! What an amazing morning! This a.m. early I was out jogging. You see so many wonders early in the morning in the “Springs”! When it’s really dark, horses I can barely see are galloping in the fields beside me…at first I thought it was me going faster than I thought I was! Lately the moon has been so bright! There’s a little bit of woods I run through and the moonbeams shining through the trees…well, it’s just out of a poem somewhere! I’m not sure which poem (don’t know much about them!) but you probably remember which one! (The one about the woods and the moon…?)
I’m learning that skunks standing by the side of the road will let you jog past unbesquirted if you just mind your own beeswax and trot on by. At least for the fall season, I’m about seven-for-seven! Hope my record holds up! If it doesn’t we’ll all be holding our noses!
Wednesday morning I ran through…snowflakes! December 1! Unbelievable! It was sooooo cool! (Cold-as-all-get-out, actually!) I almost burst into singing, “Christmastime is Here!” from “A Charlie Brown Christmas”…but I didn’t. The cows in the fields thanked me for this!
I love my running time! All alone…under the stars! And flakes! But before I left the other day, I read an amazing scripture. It was in Acts 16, when Paul and Silas were arrested for talking about Jesus. They were not only thrown in the “slammer” for their faith, but they got really beaten up for it as well!
Somebody apparently didn’t like to hear about how much God loves us! Go figure!
But they weren’t discouraged or down-hearted! All shackled down and locked up, they just started “prayin’ it up” and singing praises! “…and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
It must have really been an unbelievable thing! To hear two bruised and abused brothers in Jesus, talking and singing to their Lord, Who was invisible to their eyes but more real than air to those two hearts!
Then the next unbelievable thing happened. Suddenly, at the stroke of twelve (mas o menos), there was an earthquake! The jailhouse rocked!
Then the next unbelievable thing happened! All the doors of the jail flew open and the chains on guys’ ankles “disenshackled”! They were all free to go!
Then the next unbelievable thing happened! None of them went anywhere! They all stayed right there! With Paul and Silas!
“Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: "Don't do that! We're all still here! Nobody's run away!"
I wondered why. Why didn’t they “hightail it” down the road towards home? Free after all this time…and they just stood there!
Amazing! Maybe…
…Maybe, Paul had shared with some of them in between praise songs, the Message of how to trust in Jesus! The guard was asleep so Paul wouldn’t get in trouble for it. Maybe, those dudes opened their hearts to Jesus! And maybe, when they had the chance to run or stay, they hung around because they realized, “I need these guys! I just accepted Jesus, and it won’t be easy on my own! Friends who love Him too, are my greatest treasure right now! I’d rather be in the “pokey” with brothers around me, than outta here without ‘em!”
We really need each other! There’s a war going on out there for your heart! We need each other to stay encouraged and strong. There are guys who meet at CCC on Saturday morning at 7:00am for that purpose. There are folks who meet at other times. There are community groups and small groups. There are people who get together because they need each other. And they need you! And you need them!
Got friends?
A Note from Tom: November 24th, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Hope you have the most beautiful day ever! Hope your day is as stuffed with thanks and joy as your turkey is stuffed with stuffing! And a big thanks goes out to Abe Lincoln! We owe so much to him! Lincoln Logs, LMU, one country instead of two, and…Thanksgiving Day! He was the one who decided that we really needed a day for nothing but thanking God!
Actually, it wasn’t his idea…
Sarah Josepha Hale, editor (she liked to be called “editress”) of Godey’s Ladies Book (as well as the author of the epic poem, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”) thought that we reallllly needed a day to thank God for how much He has blessed us all. And she thought the idea needed to come from the top! So she wrote to President Zachary Taylor, saying, “Y’know, we really need a day to give thanks to God in America!”
No answer.
She wait ‘til he was gone and wrote the next Chief Exec, Millard Fillmore. “We really should have a national thanksgiving day!”
He didn’t write back either.
So, she waited ‘til there was someone else in the White House.
Franklin Pierce didn’t answer either.
Her next letter was to…
“President James Buchanan
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC
(they didn’t have zips yet!)”
Nada.
It wasn’t until the 6’5” Kentuckian from Illinois was sitting in the Oval Office, that she got an answer back! As he leaned back in his chair at the desk and propped those huge boots on the desk (as he usually did) he sliced the envelope open, puffed into it, pulled the letter out and read…
“Philadelphia, Sept. 28th 1863.
Sir,
Permit me, as Editress of the "Lady's Book", to request a few minutes of your precious time, while laying before you a subject of deep interest to myself and -- as I trust -- even to the President of our Republic, of some importance. This subject is to have the day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.
For the last fifteen years I have set forth this idea before the Governors of all the States and Territories -- also I have sent these to our Ministers abroad, and our Missionaries to the heathen -- and commanders in the Navy…it has occurred to me that a proclamation from the President of the United States would be the best, surest and most fitting method of National appointment.
…Thus the great Union Festival of America would be … forever secured.
Excuse the liberty I have taken.
With profound respect
Yrs truly
Sarah Josepha Hale,”
So he did!
In his 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation, he wrote..
“…It has seemed to me fit and proper that God’s blessings should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. … In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of October, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.
A. Lincoln
But, it wasn’t really his idea. It was hers.
Actually it wasn’t her idea, either.
The Apostle wrote long before that…
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
“Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“I pray…that you will be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father…”
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I think those Scripture say our Lord wants us thankful every second! Even tho’ I’m super thankful tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year, maybe one Thanksgiving Day a year isn’t such an awesome idea after all! Every day is supposed to be Thanksgiving Day! …(The menu can vary)
One wise person said,…
“If you’re so low that you only have one prayer, let it be a prayer of thanks. It is the easiest way to pray and often the most powerful…In some circumstances, thanksgiving, like forgiveness, is both the quickest and the only route to joy…Imagine yourself in a meadow gathering wildflowers-violets, let’s say. When you’re finished, do you have a fistful of stones or twigs? No, you have a bouquet of violets. If you’re looking for reasons to be grateful, you’ll find them! …Give God a standing ovation every day. It’s what He’s waiting for. It’s what you’re waiting for too…Years ago, realizing I needed to develop gratitude, I began the practice of saying thanks to God for five things before I went to bed. I still do this whenever I feel the least bit low. Looking for reasons to be thankful, instead of focusing on worries or fears, is like putting on a new pair of glasses. Life looks better through the lens of thanks.”
Being thankful…It’s God’s idea!
It’s the best idea!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
(By the way, we’re super thankful for you!)
A Note from Tom: November 19th, 2010
Hey, everyone! (Phil 4.21)
Hey, Brothers and sisters in Jesus (Eph 3.15)
Hey, Brothers and sisters OF Jesus (Heb. 2.11)
Hey, Priests of the royal family (1 Pet. 2.9)
Hey, Heirs and heiresses of God the King of all (Rom. 8. 17)
Hey, Alive from the dead! (Eph 2.1-5)
Hey, Stars shining in the firmament (Dan 12.3; Phil. 2.15)
Hey, Judges of angels and the whole world in the coming Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6.2-3)
Hey, Bearers of the new name that no one knows but he who receives it (Rev. 2.17)
Hey, Pillars in the temple of the Living God (Rev 3.12)
Hey, Participants of the divine nature (2 Pet 1.4)
That’s right! I’m talkin’ to you!!
Those are just SOME of the ways the New Testament describes you!
Those are just SOME of the amazing ways God sees you!
That’s HIS assessment
You might feel like a dufuss today for some bonehead thing you said…
You might feel like you’ll always be that thing someone called you when you were ten…
Maybe someone in traffic, out of his car window, called you something other than one of the above titles today…
But the Almighty One sees you differently! He has different names for you!
I was reading yesterday about the beginning of Paul’s new life with Jesus (they called him “Saul” at the time…along with other things!) He had been sooooo much against the followers of Jesus, hating on them at every opportunity while looking for new chances to hate them…
Until he didn’t!
Jesus blazed out of Heaven and Paul was on his knees (or maybe his face!) in the middle of the road, giving his heart to our Lord!
He gained some things and lost some things that day. He gained a new life, new names, new titles, a new purpose, and a new home. He lost his guilt…and, temporarily, his sight!
So…Jesus appeared (somewhat more quietly and gently!) to one of His followers in the town named Ananias. He told him to go and put his hands on Paul’s eyes to heal them. Previous he had wanted to punch those same eyes to blacken them. Ananias protested that Paul had been so hostile to them. But Jesus said, “True! But now he’s a chosen instrument to Me!”
“Wow! I would have called him plenty of things but not THAT! ‘A choice idiot!’…’a major chump!’…but not a choice instrument!”
But that’s how God saw Saul…er, Paul…now!
New titles! New names!
When Ananias knocked on the door and walked in, he might have wanted to call Paul all kinds of things. “You jerk!”…”You creep!”…”You #@$%#!”…But he didn’t.
He said, “B…b…b…b…brother Saul!” (Acts 9.17)
Wow!
“God says that you’re His child, so you’re my family! No matter what others call you, from now on, you’re my brother!”
Y’know, every Sunday morning at 9:30 we get together to talk, share, and encourage each other before we worship our Lord together. We call it “Community groups”. It’s just about being together with important people.
What if you could spend an hour on Sunday hanging out with…
Peyton Manning?
…or Derek Dooley and Coach Pearl?
…or Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood?
…or Ronald Reagan? (Reminds me of the guy who asked his class, “If you could spend an hour with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?” and a girl said, “The living one!”)
…or if you could spend an hour with Prince Andrew and his new fiance?
What if you could spend an hour with an heir of the world to come? Or with someone Jesus calls His sister or brother? Or with a royal priest of the Living God? Or with someone who has come alive from the dead?
You can!
C’mon!
Community groups…every Sunday at 9:30!
A Note from Tom: November 12th, 2010
Hey, everyone!
Wow! What a time we had on Wednesday night! Hee-hawin’ to Devo’s skits…spinnin’ squares, dancing round ‘n round…hand-clapping to corny bluegrass…
Can you imagine the whole Triple C sanctuary rockin’ with…
“Wish that I was on ole Rocky Top down in the Tennessee hills!
Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top ain't no telephone bills…
Rocky Top you'll always be home sweet home to me!
Good ole Rocky Top, Rocky Top Tennessee, Rocky Top Tennesseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
Now, THAT’s corny!
The Dictionary says “corny” means “overly simple and sentimental.”
If that’s true, “Rocky Top” is the national anthem of Corn City!
Talk about “overly simple”…”Rocky Top” isn’t really “home, sweet home” to anyone! It’s a hill near Thunderhead Mtn. (elevation 5,440 feet) on the Appalachian Trail, overlooking Cades Cove…and nobody lives there! And about the fact that there ain’t being no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top, “…in the Great Smoky Mountains, our most polluted national park, ozone pollution exceeds that of Atlanta and even rivals Los Angeles!”
Rocky Top…it’s more complicated than you think.
So…we went with overly simple and sentimental the other night! It was basically a corn-fest!
There’s a reason why bluegrass music is simple…er, corny. “Corny” was first used in 1932 to describe something that appeals to “country folk…to the corn-fed”. When folks lived in the country… grew their own vittles… made their own corn bread (or they didn’t have any bread at all)… life was simpler. Either God sent you rain or you didn’t eat. Either He blessed your garden and fields or you went hungry.
It was as simple as that.
Simple is good. No matter what happens, I know God loves me. I know He knows what He’s doing. It may sound corny, but “I know He has a wonderful plan for my life.” It may be simple, but it’s simply all I need to know.
Psalm 123 says, “My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother…”
I don’t understand much but those simple things I know are enough.
One day I was listening to an old album of bluegrass Gospel songs by one of my favs- Doc Watson. He is an unbelievable guitarist, who was blind before his first birthday. He’s totally da bomb! Amazing! He has a humongous bluegrass and Americana festival in Wilkesboro every spring. It’s called “Merlefest”, named for his son Merle who was killed in a tractor accident in 1985.
An old waltz-time song on there, called “Gathering Buds” is about how when kids die before they’re grown, it’s like God is gather flower buds before they bloom so they can flower in Heaven.
Doc was singing this ¾ time ol’ timey hymn with Alan O’Brien of the Nashville Bluegrass Band doing a high, lonesome tenor harmony…
“Jesus has taken a beautiful bud
Out of the garden of love
Borne it away to the city of God
Home of the angels above.
Gathering buds, gathering buds
Wonderful care will be giv'n
Jesus is gathering, day after day
Buds for the palace of Heaven.
Fathers and mothers, weep not or be sad
Still on the Savior rely
You shall behold them again and be glad
Beautiful flowers on high.
Gathering buds, gathering buds
Wonderful care will be giv'n
Jesus is gathering, day after day
Buds for the palace of Heaven.
“Wow!” I thought. “That is corny! I guess back in the day, people had to deal with kids dying young more than today…all those little graves in the Cades Cove cemeteries…It’s so awesome to know that in all we don’t know, at least those parents could be sure that our Lord has taken their kids home with Him…but ‘gathering buds’ seems like a really corny way to say it…”
And then…as Doc was singing this last chorus…”Wonderful care will be giv’n…” it happened.
His voice cracked.
And I cried.
No one would ever know why Merle was crushed by a tractor. The mysteries are deeper than our minds can reach. But to know that God had simply gathered him home. He wasn’t lost…just gathered.
Corny…er, simple…is good.
A Note from Tom: November 5th, 2010
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re having the most awesome Friday ever! Hope it’s filled with praise and laughter all day! Y’know, the other day I was going to…
(Wait a sec. I didn’t really mean to say some of that stuff. I need to start over…)
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re having the most awesome day ever! Filled with praise and thankfulness and joy! But if you have a heart that needs to break, or a tear you need to shed, or someone’s hurt you need to share, that’s OK, too! A day with pain in it…sometimes feeling yours and sometimes sharing someone else’s…doesn’t make your day a bad one.
I was reading this article the other day about the history of anesthesia. This young British doctor, Humphrey Davy (that sounds like a name out of Gilbert and Sullivan!) was trying to find a cure for tuberculosis. He fixed up a makeshift gas chamber and was inhaling different gases in there (risky!!) to see if they helped him breath better. He tried a cloudful of nitrous oxide and found that he didn’t breath better but he did see better. In fact, he saw things that didn’t exist!
"…Trains of vivid visible images rapidly passed through my mind…I was now almost completely intoxicated. The sensations were superior to any I ever experienced. Inconceivably pleasurable. I seemed to be a sublime being, newly created and superior to other mortals."
He thought about this goofy feeling the next time he had a throbbing toothache. “Maybe if I breathe some of that nitrous stuff, it’ll calm this pain…”
He tried it. And it did! They changed the name of nitrous oxide to “laughing gas” and dentists started using it for screaming patients around the world ever after.
But not until decades after!
It had never occurred to doctors or dentists to use anything to take pain away from anyone! Extractions and all kinds of surgeries were done with no anesthesia! English didn’t even have the word “anesthesia” until 1846! The only word they had for pain relief up ‘til then was, “YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!”
The reason was that doctors thought pain was good. All the screaming encouraged them to work faster (seriously!) and they thought it was a sign the body was fighting back and healing!
Pain is really a gift from God. Pain in your mouth tells you something about your tooth. Pain in your heart tells you something about yourself. Pain in your friend’s heart because you are going through a hard time tells you something about love.
Heaven will be the place where there will be no more tears or pain. But somehow, it isn’t yet. Jesus feels and shares all your tears, hurts and pain.
It would mean the world to someone to know that you hurt when they hurt. Two girls, Yaguine Koita, age fourteen and Fode Tounkara, age fifteen, were found frozen to death in the landing gear bay of a Belgian airliner, where they, so desperate for a better life, had tried to hide and escape Guinea, their country. They wrote this note in case they didn’t survive…
“We suffer enormously in Africa. Help us. We have problems in Africa. We lack rights as children. We have war and sickness. We lack food…We want to study, and we ask you to help us so we can be like you, in Africa.”
What it would’ve meant to know that someone somewhere knew…and cared…and shed a tear. Or many.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12.15)
Or as the Message puts it, “Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down.”
Hope you have a joy-filled day! But if someone needs a hug from you, give it! If someone needs a “listen” from you, do it. If someone needs a tear from you, shed it!
That WILL make it an awesome day! For them!
And for you!
A Note from Tom: October 29th, 2010
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re having an awesome Friday before the big holiday weekend! I’m getting pumped! We still have to buy all our snacks and stuff, but we’re almost ready! I don’t remember when the “Day” has landed on a Sunday but…
Huh?! Halloween?!
No way! I’m not talking about THAT awful holiday!! I’m talkin’ ‘bout Reformation Day! Every year! October thirty one!
I don’t mean to be all “opinion-y” but I think that a holiday when folks put freaky, creepy stuff in their yards and freaky, creepy stuff hanging out of their trees so that sweet little kids see all that freakiness and creepiness and wake up crying from freaky, creepy dreams, well, I think the whole thing is freaky! And creepy!
Why would you have a holiday where the whole point is to be scared?
Wanna know where Halloween comes from? Ready? Sure? Well, a long time ago…Oh, forget it. It’s not worth talkin’ about.
Speaking of a long time ago…
A long time ago, the normal lives of normal folks were scarier than ours is today. They thought there were goblins and spirits, ghosts and devils behind trees and rocks. They believed God was impossibly angry. Their best hope, after escaping this dangerous world in death, was to spend years and years in a dark and painful somewhere, waiting to make it to heaven when they were purified and qualified enough of all their lingering yuckiness.
They were scared every day of the year. Not just on one day.
Some took advantage of this and of them, promising less dark years between death and Heaven, if they’d donate money to this church or that cathedral.
But a young German monk of the Augustinian Black Cloister was reading…reading…reading the Bible…the New Testament…Paul’s letter to the Romans. And he discovered something few knew. When you believe in Jesus, you’re forgiven for good and forever! When you die, you don’t stop over for centuries in any dark place! You go home!! You don’t even really die; that’s when you really start to live! The moment you believe, the God Who loved you every second all along the way, becomes your Dad! He cares for you all the time! You never have to be afraid again! You don’t have to fear today or tomorrow!
"At last, meditating day and night, by the mercy of God, I ... began to understand that the righteousness of God is that through which the righteous live by a gift of God, namely by faith… Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open."-Martin Luther
On October 31, 1517 “All Hollows Eve”, the day before “All Saints Day”, he nailed 95 thoughts to the big wooden door of the Wittenburg Church. “God’s righteousness is free! You can’t buy it! You just take it! And it’s yours! And it isn’t right, true, or good that someone would make money by telling you that you could try to pay for it!” (More or less that’s what he wrote)
Those thoughts “went viral” and hearts were freed of their fears, knowing Jesus was all they needed!
When he was put on trial for writing these things, he could have been afraid, but with Jesus in his heart, he wasn’t! In front of the court and the Emperor, he said…
"Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures or with open, clear, and distinct grounds of reasoning ... then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me! Amen."
Paul says that when you accept Jesus, you don’t have ”a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear” (Romans 8 15)
Why not dress up like Luther or Calvin this year?
Why celebrate a holiday where the whole point is being scared?
Happy Reformation Day…the holiday for those who (praise Jesus!) aren’t scared of anything!
A Note from Tom: October 20th, 2010
Hey, everyone!
Hope this Thursday is starting out praise-filled and thankfulness-filled (“thankfulllness-filled” may not actually be an English word…but it outta be!)…Before we get to the news, at least we have an awesome weather forecast for today! “…Plenty of sunshine returns with comfortable temperatures in the lower 70s. Overnight lows will be colder near 40 degrees each night!...The weather this weekend calls for very mild temperatures in the middle to upper 70s…”
Mid to upper 70’s for the weekend! Perfect! Especially since it’s predicting the weather and not the score of the Alabama game!
And now (finally!), we got some good economic news this morning!
“What!? I didn’t see any!!”
Oh, I know! I didn’t find it on CNN… The news is that economic growth is so sluggish that it’s like a…well, a giant slug! Unemployed are almost one in ten... The economic rebound is not bouncing as high as hoped. The future might not be so smooth for the bank we go to. But I’m not talking about something you’ll read in the Wall Street Journal, the News Sentinel, or on CNN.com. I saw this news flash just this morning in the Letter to the Hebrews. Check this out…
Breaking news…
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. "So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Heb 12.5-6)
And then this…
“God is my shepherd! I don’t need a thing!” (Psalm 23)
“Well, what if you’re having trouble staying afloat, economically?”
Here’s this news report from Isaiah…
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you…”
“But what if inflation heats up?”
“…When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (Isaiah 43)
“But what about the consumer index and what it indicates about the health of our economy?”
Don’t know ‘bout all that, but we can know this f’r sure…(take a minute, along with a deep breath, and read these words to yourself…aloud if you can)
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…
Here’s how the Message puts those words…
“Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds…walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
“"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (Matthew 6)
Now THAT’S what I call news! Good news!! It’s what the Message calls, “absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you!” ( 2 Pet. 1.4)
There’s no way we could ever thank God enough for promises like those in times like these!
And here’s one more…
Y’know how they say, “Offer good while supplies last”? His supply will never run dry! Check this out!
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.!” (Phil 4.19)
I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout consumer price indexes, but my prediction is that if you invest (some time with Jesus) in these promises, your believers peace index should increase 187 points by noon today…or more!
That’s the weather and your financial report.
A Note from Tom: October 15th, 2010
Hey, everyone!!
Hope you’re having an awesome, beautiful, praise-filled day! Today, we are…
What?!
You’re not having an awesome day? What’s up? Having problems you didn’t anticipate?
Bummer.
Probably wouldn’t help to let you know that it could be worse.
But it could be.
I was telling the dudes at the jail that one guy said that the way he makes it through tough times is to always remember that “it could be worse!...”
“When I’m having a tough time at work with the boss, I just remember…it could be worse! When I’m criticized for things I do and don’t feel appreciated, I just remember…it could be worse! When I feel like my car’s not as shiny and/or new as someone’s I know (who doesn’t work as hard as me!) I just remember…it could be worse! When I feel I don’t make as much as I should, I just think…it could be worse! Sometimes I wake up in the morning, look over at the Mrs. sleeping there, and remember…!”
Speakin’ of…
I was reading the Book of Job the other day and…it really couldn’t have been worse! You know the story of all the million terrible things that happened to him because (he didn’t know this of course!) God was showing Satan what faithful people are like. Job had a lot of “consternation” (as they used to call it) but he never lost his trust in God. He did express plenty of anguish, however. And one point he said, “Why did God give me life if I’m always going to hedged in? There’s this hedge around me and I can’t get around it!” (3.23)
“…I just wish God wouldn’t pay so much attention to me! Every morning You just…watch me! Will You NEVER look away? And leave me alone…even for a second?!” (7 17-19)
Nope.
And you wouldn’t want it any other way!
Y’know that hedge that’s got you so flustered? In chapter one, Satan, the “father of lies”, said one true thing. “God, You’ve put a hedge around Job! And because of it, nothing happens top him that you don’t permit! Because of that dang hedge, I can’t do a thing to him if You don’t give me permission! It’s humiliating!”
Job was right! He was hedged in! By his heavenly Dad! For his safety and protection! And if anything got through it, it was because, for His own wise reasons and for Job’s ultimate good, the Father allowed it!
Job, do you really want God to look away from you? Think about it. He’s not just watching you. He’s watching OVER you!
The other day at the ol’ jailhouse, Lee led the guys in singing the most beautiful song…
“I lift my eyes up to the hills.
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord…
He is watching over you, even while you dream!
He is taking care of you.
He never falls asleep…”
“Guys, did you know that God watches you all night? He never gets tired.
Better than that…He never gets tired…of you! He watches over you and never gets tired of what He sees when He sees you!”
“Mmmmm…”, they said.
Got that right!
A Note from Tom: October 1st, 2010
Hey, everyone!
Can’t wait to get to this email ‘cause I have a hilarious story to tell y’all! But before I do, I just want to wish you a day full of joy! Just a joy-filled day!
Really!
I really mean it!
I realized the other day that I almost always start these emails out with those words…”Hope your day is filled with joy and praise!...”
But there’s NOTHING more important than that! I learned this from an unlikely teacher…especially if you’ve ever seen a picture of him! Remember Jonathan Edwards? Y’know…the ”Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” dude from high Western Civ…If your text book had his picture, you wouldn’t forget it! Talk about grim!
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but nobody smiled for pictures back then! Maybe it’s because it’s too tiring to keep the corners of your face turned up for the fourteen hours it takes to paint it. Maybe dentists didn’t have it together yet. But pretty much everyone was sour-looking back in the day.
Problem is…we grew up thinking Mr. Edwards’ heart was as dour as his face. Not true!
Sure, he could preach a heated sermon on occasion, but most of his talks were about the beauty of the grace of our God…love (ever read his sermon, “Heaven is a World of Love”? Wow!)…and joy!
You’d never know it, but that ol’ Puritan looooved chocolate! Once he wrote to a friend to remind him to not forget some on his trip to the Edwards home…” If you will bring what chocolate remains, you will much oblige your humble servant."
And he loved joy even more! It’s why he loved Jesus!
He said over and over that joy is the most essential heart ingredient for a healthy vital faith!
"It would be worth the while to be a Christian, if it were only for the pleasantness of it…it begets love and peace, good will one towards another, brotherly kindness, mutual benevolence, bounty and a feeling of each other's welfare…it sweetens" the fellowship of those who believe!”
He first felt this “sweetness” the day he opened his heart to Jesus. "My soul," he reminisced, "was led away in pleasant views and contemplations of them. And my mind was greatly engaged, to spend my time in reading and meditating on Christ; and the beauty and excellency of his person, and the lovely way of salvation, by free grace in him."
He believed that knowing and loving Jesus was the most pleasurable thing the heart can know, and our number one duty is “seeking our highest pleasure”
“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here…”
Wow! How could a guy with a heart like that look so grumpy? Maybe the painter was the grumpy one! Maybe he just didn’t believe a person should be as happy as Jonathan!
The very Apostle Paul felt the same joyous way! He told the Corinthians that he was a “worker for their joy” Not the “head pastor”, “youth pastor” or the “small groups pastor”, but the “joy pastor” was his job title!
He told the Philippians that his only reason for not going to Heaven immediately was so they could have more joy in Jesus! (Phil. 1.25)
His prayer was for joy (Rom 15.13)
The Kingdom is about joy (Rom 14.17)
The fruit of the Spirit is joy (Gal 5.22)
Joy! Apparently there’s nothing more important!
So, as I was saying… I hope you have a joy-filled day!
Oops! With all that, I don’t have time for my hilarious story…Oh, well. Probably wasn’t that funny. And these verses will give you more joy than a joke would, anyway!