Archive for the ‘Story’ category
December 15, 2014
WORDS FROM W.W. December 15, 2014
There are many pictures of Christmas that cross our minds or are caught by our eyes. Holly and mistletoe…egg nog and fruitcake…the mall Santa and front-yard inflatables. We use a number of things to convey the messages of hope, peace, love, and joy. Sometimes it’s hard to keep the proper perspective of things. My daily email box is full of on-line offers for everything from doormats to designer jeans. I’ve never had so many emails from Omaha Steaks!
A few days ago I was driving by the grocery store and I saw a sight that brought joy to my soul. In front of the store was one of the red buckets for The Salvation Army. I could hear the bell being rung.
But then in front of the bucket were nine Girl Scouts dancing round and round in a circle, laughing…enjoying…experiencing a sense of delight as they manned the bucket for a couple of hours. It was a picture of Christmas being lived out. Dancing with joy because of the season’s reason, while performing acts of charity.
Joy in child-like giggles.
Collecting coins and dollar bills to help the impoverished gain a step in the uncertainness of daily living.
Joy-filled charity. A picture of the blessed being a blessing.
Christmas is many things. On the day the girl scouts danced a “grandparently” couple at church lit the advent candle and shared how this past year had included many challenges but many, many more blessings. A dear lady who loves God and people brought me gingerbread cookies shaped like moosely-looking reindeer. In receiving we sought to give, and invited an African-American gentleman from church to join us for lunch.
Joy and delight…giving and receiving…being blessed and being the blessing…all of those are descriptions of Christmas that convey images, actions, feelings, and pictures.
God only knows how much delight those nine girl scouts brought to the customers coming and going from the supermarket, but I know that sparked a flame within my soul that warmed my heart.
Categories: children, Christianity, Christmas, Community, Humor, Jesus, love, Story, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: charity, collecting coins, dancing, Girl Scouts, grocery store, hope, joy, Peace, poverty, red bucket, Salvation Army
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December 10, 2014
WORDS FROM W.W. December 10, 2014
A wonderful lady in our church named Wilma, just a shy short of being eighty, blessed me in a delicious way last Sunday. Wilma had baked a pecan pie and decided that I should have it.
Now you need to understand that pecan pie is my favorite! Capped off with a scoop of Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean ice cream, it is a slice of pie heaven…if there is pie in heaven!
That night the “young guys” group that I lead were descending upon our house, so the food choice was settled. Pecan pie and ice cream for everyone!
I wasn’t expecting to receive a freshly baked pie that day, but some of the greatest blessings of God come at unexpected times. The even better news is that I still have two slices left after Sunday night, and Carol doesn’t care for pecan pie (What is wrong with her?), so I’m set for another couple of nights of lip smacking delight.
I don’t know if Wilma thought I was starting to look a little lean in the mid-section or what. I didn’t ask her for an explanation as to how I was the winner. Paul said that Jesus had once made the statement that “It was more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) I’m willing, however, to be the receiver to allow someone else to experience the gift of giving.
Wilma is a woman of God who has had a life of mountains and valleys, but God gave her the gift of baking. Her cinnamon rolls are craved. If she bakes anything to bring to a church fellowship function the baked goods are snatched up in a way that only hungry Baptists can achieve.
A simple pecan pie.
An unexpected blessing.
It makes me ponder how often I’ve been the giver of an unexpected blessing. My selfish nature says I’m always willing to have something surprise me, but how often do I look to give a surprise blessing?
Christmas has that underneath message of giving. It’s more than bartering for the best deal. It’s going a little further in helping someone else.
And…listen! It doesn’t have to be a pecan pie!
If you want to bake a cake or make some cookies, I’m open for them as well!
Just kidding…kinda!
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Christmas, Community, Humor, Jesus, love, Pastor, Prayer, Story
Tags: baked goods, Baptists, being a blessing, Blue Bell ice cream, cinnamon rolls, giving, It is more blessed to give than to receive, pecan pie, receiving, Wilma
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December 8, 2014
WORDS FROM W.W. December 8, 2014
Angels are well-liked. Many people see them as cuddly little bald-headed boys who fly around and sprinkle glitter. They’ve been portrayed by attractive Hollywood actresses who talk in sweet tones and sing with…okay, I’ll say it…angelic voices.
But in everyday life how do we know it’s an angel that we’re seeing or talking to. In the Bible there were very clear angelic conversations between the angel Gabriel and Zechariah (Luke 1) and also with Mary. Zechariah becomes speechless as a result of the encounter, and his faithless questions. After Jesus’ resurrection there is an angelic encounter at the tomb.
The other side of the situation, however, is Hebrews 13:2- “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
Angels could be bald-headed or have a full head of red hair. They could be thought to be Pakistani or Irish, young or old, dressed well or shabby in appearance. The disturbing thing about the verse in Hebrews is that we may have shown hospitality to dozens of angels and not be aware of it until some time in the future or next life…or we may have refused angels and not thought a thing about it.
Perhaps the point of that verse in Hebrews 13 is to say that our attitude towards people, and behavior towards people, should have a consistency to it. The recent situations across our nation have shown that we have certain biases towards those who are not like us. Years ago a church growth consultant advocated for churches to be homogenous. In other words attract more people that are cookie-cutter images of the people who are already there. Diversity was discouraged. I wonder how many angelic visitations were met with cold shoulders and closed lips?
Angelic appointments are not like my annual physical with my doctor that I can schedule a couple of months ahead of time. When I make that appointment it usually includes a couple of “No, that time doesn’t work” answers before finding a suitable time that works. Angelic visits are according to God’s planning, and, hard as it is for me to believe, God doesn’t compare calendars with me before sending one of his messengers.
So how do we recognize angels? With great difficulty! Oddly enough, that may be the point, for God does not want us to treat anyone less than we would treat Gabriel. What a concept to live life by! To see each person we meet and relate to as quite possibly being one of the angelic beings!
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Christmas, Jesus, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: angelic beings, angels, diversity, Hebrews 13:2, homogenous, hospitality, Mary, the angel Gabriel, Zechariah
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December 8, 2014
“The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28)
It seems that so many of the people that we encounter in the Bible that are blessed by God in some significant way are men and women of humble circumstances. Think about it! Peter was crucified upside down because he didn’t consider himself worthy enough to be nailed to the cross the same way Jesus had been crucified.
Ruth was spotted by Boaz as she was gleaning in the field. Gleaning was a way that people who was poor- people trying to survive- could gather grain to feed themselves.
Paul was supported by the generosity of the first churches. He was the one who wrote Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing our of self ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider other better than yourselves.” And then in describing Jesus he wrote, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8) Paul had been humbled by the appearance of Jesus on the road to Damascus, an event that blinded him for a while.
Humbleness is not a quality that gets much print these days. Recently a college football player was thinking too much about his celebration antics for scoring a touchdown and dropped the football prematurely before he crossed the goal line. The defending team picked up the football that was bouncing around on the one yard line and returned it 99 yards for a jaw-dropping score. If the player who had been intent on being in the spotlight had put his selfish ambition to the side and simply crossed the goal line his team would have been ahead 14-0. Instead it was suddenly 7-7 and the momentum changed for the rest of the game.
Mary was called by the angel Gabriel to be the mother of the Christ-child. Her spirit of humility showed in her response to the angel in Luke 1:38.
“I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”
Two millennia later we celebrate the humble woman who was blessed by God. In terms of the blessings of God, he often goes against the grain and chooses the insignificant, the poor, the stutterer, the elderly, the common folk to carry out his greatest plans and purposes.
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Christmas, Jesus, love, Parenting, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: blessed, Gabriel, humbled, Luke 1:38, Mary, the angel Gabriel, Virgin Mary
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December 5, 2014
Christmas, more than any other season of the year, is defined by its music. As I write this I have my earbuds in listening to The Piano Guys playing “Angels We Have Heard On High.” It gets my fingers moving almost gracefully across the keys of my laptop. I feel like I’m almost playing the piano as I type.
Think about it! If you did an Amazon search of Christmas music you would find an incredible listing of possibilities. Lady Antebellum, Kelly Clarkson, Elvis Presley, James Taylor, Glen Campbell, Willie Nelson, Blake Shelton, LeAnn Rimes….the list goes on and on and on. Christmas music seems to be “in”, even with those folks that we don’t connect the Christian faith with otherwise.
Growing up in a one TV house we knew that if the Andy Williams’ Christmas Special was on at the same time as “Gunsmoke” or “The Beverly Hillbillies”, as kids we were out of luck. Christmas songs sung by guys named Andy or Perry pre-empted everything else.
Our church always had a Christmas Cantata that brought in a crowd. Even though a couple of the older gentlemen had hard times finding the notes that were being sung, people enjoyed the festiveness and serenity of the occasion.
I’m partial to the song that The Piano Guys are playing, plus “Silent Night”, and “O, Come All Ye Faithful.” If we didn’t sing Christmas carols during Advent there would be a riot in the church. Many of the songs tell the Christmas story. In fact, we assume a number of things about the events of Christmas because of the words of Christmas carols…such as there were three wise men (“We Three Kings”), and Jesus was born at night (“Silent Night”).
But that’s okay! There is mostly truth in the midst of the melodies.
Christmas music prepares us for the reason for the season. It points our hearts and souls towards the divine-human interaction, the event that would change the world.
People who have minimal interest in God have an abundance of interest in Christmas. Someone who doesn’t know Jesus in a personal way can probably still sing the words to “Silent Night” without a song sheet.
There’s just something special about Christmas music. We often talk roughly in our day-to-day living, but it’s near impossible to sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and keep a high level of spite in your attitude.
So sing, my friends! Sing! Exercise those vocal chords and proclaim “Joy To The World! the Lord has come!”
Categories: children, Christmas, Community, Faith, Humor, Jesus, Pastor, Story, The Church
Tags: Andy Williams, Christmas carols, Glen Campbell, O Come All Ye faithful, Silent night, The Piano Guys
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December 2, 2014
WORDS FROM W.W. December 2, 2014
Each of us live in the midst of beginnings and endings. Our days are punctuated by both. We begin by ending the torturous sound of our alarm going off. We end the day by beginning another night of sleep. Seldom, however, do we consider that one event or one conversation could be the beginning of something God-inspired and ordained.
The gospel of Luke begins with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. When Zechariah went into the Court of the Priests to burn incense and offer prayers for the people he never would have considered that it was the beginning of a life-altering event. The honor of performing the priestly duties was incredible by itself, but who would have thought that an angel named Gabriel would be joining him in that inner place?
That encounter changed things! And it began things!
Zechariah receives the angelic message that he’s going to be a dad. His wife, Elizabeth, though she had not been able to have children before this and was well along in years, would get pregnant. His name would be John, though it was not a family name.
The end of Zechariah’s priestly duties was the beginning of a new story that would be echoed down through the centuries. Little did he know that the words of Gabriel carried hope and a new direction for mankind.
I was recently delighted to hear about a story that came out of La Salle Street Church in Chicago. The church had received $1.6 million dollars in a real estate transaction and decided to use $160,000 of it for the cause of good. Five hundred dollars was given to each of the 320 regular attenders to do good. The stories of what people decided to use their money for were incredible. One lady used her gift to gift other children at her daughter’s grade school with winter coats and clothing. One young man, who was from Jordan and a student at Moody Bible Institute, used his funds to contribute to the building a new skate park in Jordan.
Each gift was seed money for new beginnings. People were able to help others. It was a ripple effect of goodness filtering through a city and even into other countries.
We never quite know how our words, actions, and decisions will begin new stories in other lives, but God does!
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Christmas, Jesus, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: angels, beginnings, blessings, causes, Chicago, Elizabeth, Gabriel, gifts, La Salle Street Church, the angel Gabriel, Zechariah
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December 1, 2014
When Jerry opened the Christmas present that was from his mom and dad he was a little confused and perturbed.
He had graduated from college the previous May and had been fortunate to find a teaching position at a middle school in a rural school district about an hour away from the town he grew up in. It didn’t pay much, but he loved it. He loved seeing young minds suddenly understanding the mathematical methods that he taught.
He was thankful that he was able to be home with family for Christmas. His brother Silas, and twin sisters, Abby and Gail, were there also. Jerry was the youngest, but the only one who still lived in-state.
The box he had opened could have fit in his pocket. He reached into it and pulled out a key chain. He admitted later on that his first thought was “That’s all! A key chain!”
His siblings then each opened a present, and Jerry sat and battled with the conflicted feelings of anger and gratitude. Then his father said, “Oh Jerry! We forgot. You probably would like some keys to put on your key chain. Here’s one to get you started.”
His father reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny key and handed it to Jerry. It had an “H” letter on the end of it. “H” for Honda.
“Merry Christmas! It’s parked in the garage.”
Jerry was speechless. He walked out into the garage to see a brand new Honda Civic. The box with the key chain had only been the beginning part of the story.
How often do we become confused by the generosity of God because we only have the first part of the story?
Zechariah was confused by God’s promise that he was to have a son. In Luke 1:7 we read that he and Elizabeth “…had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.”
Zechariah was on priestly duty in the temple to burn incense when an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him that Elizabeth was going to have a son and he was to be named John. Zechariah questions this proclamation and is literally rendered speechless.
Zechariah didn’t see the whole picture. Sometimes God’s greatest gifts to our lives aren’t understood until later. Zechariah sees a wife who is past childbearing years. God gives a child who will go before his Son and proclaim the coming of the Messiah.
David’s brothers saw a boy who should have stayed home and been watching the sheep. God gave a courageous leader who would slay a giant.
Sometimes we only see a key chain and God is about to give a key. God is generous in the present and also in the future.
Categories: children, Christianity, Christmas, Grace, Humor, Jesus, love, Parenting, Story, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: Advent, Elizabeth, generosity, gifts, giving, Luke 1:7, Zechariah
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November 26, 2014
WORDS FROM W.W. November 26, 2014
It is the day before Thanksgiving. Hump Day in out-of-sorts week.
What do we make out of this week? A grand jury verdict that split the nation, protest marches in numerous cities across the land, looting and accusations. It’s been a week!!! And it’s only Wednesday!
Tomorrow we gather around dinner tables to…give thanks! It will seem weird, like a mystery movie suddenly becoming a chick flick, or Rambo turning into Bambi. Many of us will look at what has transpired the past few days and ponder what it was we were to give thanks for.
I do not have any Solomonic sayings to impress you with about justice and injustice, right and wrong. There is nothing I can write that will suddenly bring the world back into balance, but I do believe that the way we live needs to be a reflection of hearts that have been changed.
Thanks-living takes thanksgiving to a deeper incision. Thanks-living is not grasped by nearly as many people as those who demonstrate thankless living.
Thanks-living is pastoring a church that is echoed with baby cries and laughter. Thankless living is counting down the minutes of the worship service so you can get to lunch.
Thanks-living is knowing that this day, and then the next day, are beautiful creations of our God who loves his art. Thankless living is a sense of entitlement to have every day be warm and sunny.
Thanks-living is firmly believing that I have been blessed in so many ways. Thankless living is always asking the question “why isn’t me life better?”
Thanks-living is a grateful heart that we live in a country that believes in freedom. Thankless living complains that everything isn’t free.
Thanks-living is appreciative of the platter of mashed potatoes. Thankless living complains about the price of potatoes.
In essence thanks-living is about having an attitude of gratitude. A lot of people these days need attitude adjustments.
In a week where things have seemed out of control, and each of us is trying to figure out answers while still confused about what all the questions are, perhaps a step towards solution, towards a better place and a better world…is to live each day with a commitment to being thankful.
Thanks-living!
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Jesus, Nation, Parenting, Pastor, Prayer, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: baby cries, Bambi, dinner, entitlement, gratitude, justice, mashed potatoes, Solomon, thankless, Thanksgiving
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November 17, 2014
WORDS FROM W.W. November 17, 2014
I love snow days…and I hate snow days!
I love the unexpected freedom, the sudden opening up of my day’s schedule, and the surprise of a snow day.
But I hate the loss of rhythm that a snow day brings.
I have discovered that I am a person of routines and consistent behavior. I’m at Starbucks right now as I write this. It’s Monday morning about 9:00 and my day off. If you were to come to Starbucks next Monday at 9:00 you’d stand a very good chance of finding me sitting on one of the stools facing the windows drinking coffee and pecking on my laptop. I feel comfortable integrating certain routines in my life.
If it’s 2:00 on a Sunday afternoon I’ll be napping.
If it’s Wednesday night I’m at church.
If it’s Friday morning at 8:00 there’s a fifty percent chance I’m at a different Starbucks having coffee with Roger and Steve. The chances are only half as good because we meet every other Friday morning.
If it’s 10 P.M. I’m thinking about bed if I’m not already in bed.
I think you get the picture. Life has its patterns and order…and then the thermometer plunges to 0 and chaos blows into the day. Events get canceled, meetings get postponed, there’s a breath of fresh air in the uncluttered day…and I feel lost!
I find myself trying to figure out what day it is, what’s on the schedule, and what I’m about. We are creatures of habit whether we want to admit it or not. If given a choice the Hebrew nation would have chosen to return to Egypt. Egypt offered steady work…yes, also enslaved work, but a person knew when he woke up in the morning what he was going to do that day!
It also makes me wonder about those who become followers of Christ during their adult years, and slip away within months of their conversion. Spiritual transformation for many people is a tremendous change, leaving the old and accepting the new. We use terms like lost and found, “the old has passed away and the new person has been born.”
And yet such terminology, freeing on one hand, is difficult on the other hand. It’s like the ratty blanket that I sleep with each night, and have slept with for about 35 years. It doesn’t really offer that much warmth, but it feels like home.
Conversion, though it offers freedom and forgiveness, a new start, a fresh beginning…is out of rhythm for us.
On the other side, I’ve been a Christ-follower since I was 12. I’ve always gone to church on Sunday. In fact, growing up I was in church Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night. I thought Sunday night services were mandated by the Bible. I remember asking Dr. James Payson Martin, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois why the church didn’t have Sunday night services. I was serving there as a youth director while i was in seminary. I’ll always remember what he said to me. “Well Bill, what it takes you Baptists two services to do we can do in one service!” A few years later when I was pastoring at First Baptist Church of Mason, Michigan, I brought Sunday night services to a close.
I’ve always gone to church, been involved in ministries, participated in leadership as a member and pastor. My Sunday morning seems to have gone haywire if I’m not in worship. I don’t quite understand Saturday night services. If I went to one I’d be lost on Sunday morning!
The longer I pastor the more obvious it is that there aren’t many people left who see things like I do. The church is populated with an increasing number of people whose life rhythm is not centered on Sunday morning worship as a consistent part of their lives.
Understand that I’m not whining about that. I’m just coming to grips with what is the reality. My understanding of having a conversion experience is a different picture than most people now have. Being aware of that has given me more of an open mind and listening ear to those who are still trying to find that spiritually healthy rhythm of life.
Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Pastor, Prayer, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: cancellations, Delays, Egypt, habits, rhythm, routines, snow days, the rhythm of life, traditions
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November 10, 2014
WORDS FROM W.W. November 10, 2014
This is the 400th post to the Words From W.W. blog! Four hundred…a four followed closely by two zeros! To many it may not be that big of an event…but considering I write a post for the blog on average about one and a half times a week it means that I’ve been going at it for six years…like an ultra-marathon runner seeking to make that next mile!
My first post was on December 30, 2008. It was entitled “Missing Mary” and dealt with a nativity scene that had the mother of Jesus get stolen. What’s a nativity scene without Mary? Awkward!
In the next 398 postings I wrote about my parents, about troubling cultural situations, bad theology, people that have influenced my life, children, three year olds, misplaced priorities, and personal confusion. I wrote a few on growing older, getting my senior discount card, and camping with a bunch of young guys.
It’s been fun! I ponder and figure out things best by sitting down in front of a lap top and pecking out about five hundred words. When I say peck I mean peck! I use three fingers in my typing. Don’t ask me where I learned that. I have no clue, but oddly enough I use two fingers on my left hand and one of my right.
Weird!
Here’s another weird thing. I flunked my first quarter of English Composition at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. I guess I didn’t compose very well! I also didn’t go to class very well! Since then I’ve had two books published, written several magazine article, and now do this “blog thing.”
Some day I want to write a third book. I’ve started and flushed it several times. Currently, I’m back in the starting phase again and it is hidden deep within my files on this lap top.
Speaking of lap tops, when I started Words from W.W. I had a Dell. About two years ago it had to go into lap top hospice care and the tech repair guy advised me to say my goodbyes. I watched it cough its last and then headed to the Apple store. Grief does not run deep when you are dealing with Dell!
Later this week I’ll write post #401. It will deal with something that God puts on my mind. I don’t know what that is yet. With the election over there’s not much to write about…false! My next post may deal with falling gas prices, raising expectations, why did God create beets, or Starbucks…which is where I’m writing these words!
Time for a refill!
Categories: children, Christmas, Humor, Parenting, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: 400, Apple, blog, blogs, Dell, English Composition, lap top, Miami University, posts, writing
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Words from WW Blog 