It's OVER...and it's just beginning

Well, the election is over (finally), I can get off the anti-lottery campaign trail, and back to blogging. As far as the election is concerned, I am at the same time frustrated and hopeful. I will admit the three things I voted for that meant the most to me (presidency, lottery amendment, and foster-care issue) went the opposite way I voted...and therein lies the frustration. But I can honestly say that, even though I didn't vote for him, if the Barak Obama we saw last night at his acceptance speech is the same one who will live in the White House and work every day in this country, I want to live in an America like that. I want to live in a country that can finally put our differences and dividing lines aside, and work toward the common good. I am ready for this journey, reminding myself (and others) to respect our leaders (Romans 13:1 - "Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God." ) and pray for them (1 Timothy 2:2 "Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity). And, though some may not like it, I am already getting used to the phrase "President-elect Barak Obama..."

I'm quotable!

First off, let me tell you, I got my new laptop (from Dell; it is SWEET! meaning...it actually works). If getting everything else fixed was just as easy as ordering it and having it at your door a week later! So I am back to the 'bloggin...

I was privileged to lead two different retreats/seminars this week: one for pastors as a part of Connected in Christ, and one for regular people (we call them 'lay' people...I'm still not sure why) as they sought to follow God's call to be a lay speaker (a fill-in for pastors who are sick or on vacation). Anyway, at the pastor's meeting on Friday I was presenting, telling about our wonderful church, and said, "it's not a good idea to get off a roller coaster in the middle." Well, that became the quote then for the remainder of our time. I wish it was something I had planned, but it just came out of my mouth (much like many things not so quotable...).

So I have been applying this bit of accidental wisdom to several things over the last several days: to the stock market (don't panic; just wait for the next hill...) to church life (don't get discouraged, nor too encouraged; there's another hill or valley around the bend); to family and relationships (it's more fun to ride with someone than alone). Sure, sometimes you get nauseous, sometimes you get bounced around; but if you follow the rules (keep your hands and arms inside the ride at all times) you'll surely enjoy the ride. And when it is time to get off, you'll know. And if you're like me, you'll get back in line and ride the ride all over again.

A Grateful Passenger, arms in the air !:!

Requiem for a Compaq

OK, it's been a stressful week. First, the backstory: my 'new' laptop (less than 2 years old; as opposed to the 'old' laptop that I'm using now) just quit on me about 3 weeks ago. It was still under warranty (I bought the extended one), so I sent it to the company (lousy idea, where you have to mail them the dumb machine, leaving you with NOTHING) for the warranty repair. Well...last Friday I get a call saying that the warranty had been voided because they found BUGS inside the case. BUGS! That, evidently, is considered owner abuse or something. Like I can control where bugs can get into! And it's not like I left it in a 3rd world country or in the grass at the park or something; it was in my home and in my office! Anyway, the motherboard is fried, so the thing is basically a paperweight now. The one bit of good news is that my hard drive is still intact, so I can at least access the stuff on there. In the meantime, I've been trying to re-build my email list, some critical documents, and the like, while I wait for my NEW-NEW laptop (as opposed to the NEW-DEAD laptop) to arrive in the mail. I am a bit excited; I decided to go with Dell, since I've had nothing but trouble with the two Compaqs I've owned (or that have owned me...you decide), and because I've heard rave reviews about their warranty service (I bought the 4-year extended warranty on this one; if I can just keep it hermetically sealed so BUGS can't get in). In the meantime, I'm limping along with this one, slow of processor and void of memory. I did get the paperweight back in the mail yesterday; now to decide whether to rebuild it on a new motherboard (about $200 on ebay) or just cabbage it for parts (one of my more favorite endeavors). We shall see...

Sorry this isn't more 'spiritual', but I am beginning to agree with our Bishop, that these machines are instruments of the devil...

GPS

OK, I admit...I am a tech junkie wannabe. I would like to have all the techno-junk that comes out, but being frugal (or as others have called me: "cheap") I make myself delay these impulse purchases until I can rationalize it enough. So...I still play an original x-box (you know, the black one), I frankenstein together old computers to make them work, and I just do without certain things, until they prove their worth. Such as it is with the GPS. I always said "maps are good enough." "I have an excellent sense of direction already." "We don't need no stinking badges (wait, that didn't even make sense!)." And then we went to LA. David borrowed a GPS, and we had fun with it on the plane ("look, we're going 547 mph..." and it kept saying "turn right at..turn left at...make a u-turn...something about that on a plane was funny). But on the roads, it was a true life-saver, despite the fact that almost every day, as we turned out of the hotel lot, we had to make a u-turn to get going the right way. So...when we got home, I bought one (after researching them, and finding the best price, of course). And as I was traveling to Hot Springs for a preacher thing this week, and listening to another female voice telling me where to go (the voice on the GPS is female...for now) I started thinking about spiritual things (as I am want to do) and thought, "OK, now I can know where I am (within three feet) anywhere on the planet, but I can still be as lost as before; I can just fool myself into thinking I know where I am." And I also thought, "I wish there was a thing that would be a GOD-positioning system, telling me God's thoughts and will on issues (esp. considering there's an election upcoming). Anyway, I'm rambling now, proving there is no GPS to keep you on track on a blog. Still, I'm grateful...

The One Big Idea...

A group of six of us just got back this afternoon from LA (that's Los Angeles, not Lower Arkansas) after attending a three-day Celebrate Recovery Summit. It was INCREDIBLE. The worship, the speakers, the testimonies, the encouragement...all of it was fantastic. Oh, and did I mention it was in Southern California? One of my favorite places on the globe...

My rule for any of these conferences I attend is that I must get one grand idea, and it is all worth it. If I spend $1000 on travel, hotel, meals, and get one $1000 idea out of it, I'm well ahead. Well, I'm going to give you my one grand idea...for free! It came on Thursday afternoon, from Dr. Henry Cloud, psychologist and author (and a pretty darn good speaker too). It had to do with the difference between the URGENT and the VITAL. To sum it up, VITAL things are those decisions/actions that are not immediately gratifying or frutiful, but produce LIFE-SUSTAINING results. URGENT things are those that may produce short-term satisfaction or results, but end up robbing you of LIFE. For example: you choose to work late again because your boss has asked you to; as a result, you miss your son's baseball game. The immediate payoff is that your boss is happy and you earn some overtime; the long-term payoff is that your son does not trust or expect anything from you, even in times when he may need his father the most.
Why is this a grand idea? I was very convicted in that, while I would love to spend all of my time on the vital things, oftentimes I spend a majority of my days doing the urgent things, and especially doing the urgent things that either a) other people have deemed urgent for me, or b)others have left undone. And, when it does come time to do the VITAL, I find that I am doing them just to check off of my list, therefore relegating them to the urgent. "There is a way that seems right to man, but it ends in death..."

there's more to this concept, but if you want to read more about it, I guess you'll just have to get Dr. Cloud's book, The One-Life Solution, and read along with me.

The storm before the...

It rained yesterday. Big, buckets of rain. Lightning (at least we think it was lightning) struck a tree next to our driveway, and felled a huge branch that landed right between our van and our car (thank you Jesus!). The church's fellowship hall flooded (again), but on a bright note, the one place where we've had perennial leaks (around the vent hood) was dry, after many months of non-dry days. Back at home, our above-ground (with the little inflatable ring top) reached critical mass, and started to overflow (before I caught it; still a mess). And then, to top it off, we think a skunk somehow got either under our house, or sprayed into one of the crawlspace vents, or something, because our whole house smelled like skunk when I came home for lunch yesterday. And to top it all off, Brett Favre got traded to the Jets. ENOUGH ALREADY!

As is usual, if there was a calm before this storm, I missed it. But sometimes, when I feel like I'm just moving from storm to storm with little or no calm in between, I have a moment of clarity, reminding me that I am POWERLESS over these things, and can only be responsible for how I respond to these things. I can respond with frustration and anger, or disappointment and sadness, or any combination, OR...I can acknowledge that I am NOT in control, and confess my faults for ever thinking I was. I really think that God sees us juggling, and just keeps chucking balls into the fray as if to say, "you think you're tougher than me, eh?" until we can't keep it all in the air any more, and we HAVE to drop everything and look to Him. And it's these moments that I am reminded once again that I am a passenger on this journey, and am working still on the grateful part...

Back from vacation, at least, physically

Without going into too much detail, we spent a week in Wrightsville Beach, NC. A wonderful trip, a wonderful, relaxing place to be (see pix on my facebook page). And then, the drive back: after a short 7 hour drive Tuesday, a very nice overnight visit with Denni's cousin Dan and his family, and a LONG drive yesterday from Atlanta, we're finally back home from vacation. At least, my body is. My mind woke up this morning wondering where I was, and wanting to go have a cup of coffee on our third-floor balcony overlooking the Atlantic. I had to settle for a cup of coffee overlooking the above-ground swimming pool in our back yard that was a subtle green tint after a week of ignoring it. Oh well.

The trip back was interesting though; it was a combination of remembrances (Elvis and Martin Luther King Jr.) and Nascar. We passed through Darlington and Talladega (the Nascar part), Tupelo (Elvis' birthplace) and Atlanta, Birmingham, and Memphis (Atlanta being the final resting place of MLK; Birmingham where he was jailed, and Memphis where he was shot; also home of Graceland). Of course, the girls were less than interested in all this historic stuff (they did "wow" the Talladega speedway) but all in all they were good until the last hour or so, when they got very antsy.

OK, this is getting too long. To summarize, it's always good to be gone, but it's also good to get back. I'll let you know when all of me gets back...

GP

I'm a grateful passenger

I struggled with what to name this blog. Isn't that kind of silly? I mean I really struggled. I thought about the obvious (like "Pastor's Blog) or a variation on that theme (like, "Pastor's blog, stardate 062308), but that wasn't inspiring, even for me. I thought about the obscure, the humorous, the spiritual; all a part of who I am, but none that were really me. So I settled on "the grateful passenger." When I say I am the grateful passenger, I am acknowledging that I am not in control of my life, but One who is much more qualified is. Granted, sometimes I am the "disgruntled passenger;" I have a very human tendency to try to wrestle away the steering wheel, which He allows me to do, until I put the whole thing in the ditch. It is those times I realize I'm like a five-year old trying to drive a car: I can choose for my feet to hit the pedals OR to see over the steering wheel, but not both! So I am daily learning to live in grace, and learning to be thankful for just being along for the ride. This blog will be a regular look at the view from the passenger's side. After all, God is doing amazing things in our midst and He gives us all a great view. I call shotgun!