VOTE!

The folks at the polling booth told me that the turn-out has been very good! I voted at 7:30 this morning. They gave me a little sticker that said "I Voted". I usually do not wear the sticker. Seems a bit ostentatious to me. But, today, I am wearing it. My conversations with a Chinese student in my seminary class has created a deeper appreciation and impression about the privilege of voting. Later, I am going to talk about who I voted for and why.

Latest "Adventure"

Jerry Sanders, a man from our church, had asked me about riding with him to Starved Rock State Park. Starved Rock is 100 miles north of Gibson City. Apparently, it is one of the state parks our governor has chosen to spare. Connie and I had been there once before, but it was at night because we had driven to the lodge with some friends after eating at the Cajun Connection (great place!) in Utica. The park does look different during the day. It is a spectacular place to go and see, especially with the leaves having turned. It was also fun to watch a push-boat and barges run through the lock.

Jerry and I climbed up to the peak of "Starved Rock". Afterwards, we ate a delicious lunch in the beautiful lodge. The only bummer about the lunch was the group of high school students eating near us that had two boys threatening to beat each other into oblivion. The group leader seemed oblivious until the boys stood up and started really getting into each others face. Nothing like a good rumble to spoil a lunch! They were separated and calmed down. All this happened behind Jerry and he was as oblivious as I was nervous.

The trip was all the more adventurous because we road motorcycles to get there. It was sunny and 74 degrees. We had attempted to ride up twice before, but weather and schedules got in the way. Jerry is a great guy to be around. His enthusiasm for life and the Lord is contagious. But, I was a bit nervous following him on a bike for 200 miles. For one thing, I have some fairly vivid memories of experiences in a vehicle with Jerry. We were in Canada on a short-term missions trip and I was in a van Jerry was driving. He almost got in a fight with a home-less guy and he drove a bit close to the folks in front of us. Jerry use to drive race cars and it shows. None of that was evidenced yesterday, other than riding through a school zone at 55 and passing a policeman at 65.

The glory of the Lord is all around us, if we but look. The changing of the seasons recall His faithfulness. Spring time and harvest declare something about Him if we but listen. You don't have to go to Starved Rock to see that majesty.

Pastoral Tension!

There was a cartoon in a magazine called "Leadership" that sticks in my mind. A pastor is sitting in his office preparing a sermon with a guilty look on his face. He is thinking "I should be out spending time with my people". The next panel shows the pastor balancing a coffee cup on his knee visiting with a dear senior saint in her home and he is thinking "I should be in my office preparing my sermon"! I know the feeling.

Every week I go through the dilemma of seeking to balance preparation and personal ministry. Right now, I am a bit over commited on the preparation side. Sunday A.M. and P.M., Wednesday P.M., and teaching a seminary class Thursday P.M. requires a lot of office time. But, I find when I spend too much time in the office I begin to become dull (perhaps the correct word is "duller") and lethargic. I love the people at our church. It is energizing to be with them. Visiting with them gives me perspective. It keeps me humble and helps me to understand how to apply the text.

Today is Wednesday. I have made 5 visits since Saturday. Some of them fairly long. I am feeling the tension. Sunday is looming. Tonight is looming! The question is, of course, what am I doing writing on this blog when I could be studying? Why am I studying when I should be visiting? And, what about praying, being with my family, getting a haircut, and raking leaves! Tension, we all live with it.

Surrounded

I took this picture outside of Vancouver, B.C. It was in 2005 and I was auditing a class at Regent Seminary which is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia. It fascinated me that there was a building in the middle of a lake with what appeared to be a garage door on the front of it. (Be sure and click on the pic for an enlarged view) Imagine the conveniences of living in this house. You would not have to worry about raking leaves or mowing the grass. You would not have to pick pop cans out of your yard. No squealing tires would awaken you in the middle of the night. You would not have to travel far to go fishing. There would be no cranky neighbors to worry you. Walking the dog would be interesting. It would also be a bit of a job to get the morning paper and the afternoon mail. The UPS driver may be hesitant to deliver your packages. Where would you plant the garden?

Do you ever feel surrounded? In 2 Kings there is the record of Elisha and his servant awakening in their cabin and discovering they were surrounded. Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" The apostle Paul sometimes sensed that he was hemmed in - We are hard pressed on every side is the way he described it to the Corinthians. If someone lived in the building in the picture they may become weary of being encircled by water. But, they are also surrounded by the grandeur and glory of God. The Bible says we are surrounded - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. It is easy to feel pressed in by troubles and hardships and worries. I need to remind myself to lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. In this world we will have tribulation, says Jesus, but He has overcome the world. The tribulation does not vanish, but His grace can sustain.

God and the Arts

Last evening we at GCBC celebrated the glory of God through the personal testimony of people and their artistic gifts. God is the God of Art. Not that all art glorifies God. The infection of man's sin has impacted everything, including the arts. Philip Ryken has written "Christians are suspicious (of art) because so much modern and postmodern art wallows in depravity. Anyone who doubts this should visit the senior exhibition of virtually any art school in the country." (p.100, My Father's World) I believe that God is an Artist. Perhaps it would be better said that God is THE Artist. He traffics in beauty. And He created the capacity for man to reflect His glory by creating art as well. Art gives us insight into the world around us. Art points us beyond ourselves. Art slows us down, draws us out, and makes us think. A lot of the Old Testament is written as poetry. Most Christians love the Psalms. The Scripture speaks of the beauty of the Lord and says the heavens declare His glory. Who would not say that the night sky is breathtaking? What a canvas! What an Artist!

In an effort to honor the gift and the Giver, we asked people to come and share their art with all of us. Some brought paintings, some poetry, some weavings, some carvings, some music, some photos, some sewing, some drawing, some glass-work, some writing, - all wonderful. And, I shared. To the degree that it is artistic is attributable to Bonnie Arends putting the music and photos together. All the pictures in the above movie I made. I used a digital camera and a telescope. Most were from my back yard though there is a moon rise picture from Larry and Linda David's back yard in Missouri and a moon rise from Copper Island, Canada. Click on the black "arrow" to run video. Let me know if you have any problems. The heavens declare the glory of God. Click here for an online photo gallery of Arts Night.

Camping with the Boys

This past Friday evening, Andrew, Aaron, Hoss and I tent camped at Sangchris State Park which is located 20 minutes from Springfield on Sangchris Lake. The name "Sangchris Lake" is derived from the fact that it lies in both Sangamon and Christian counties.

Everything seemed to come together for us to take this adventure this past weekend. Connie was in Chicago with a couple of girl-friends and 6000 other women at a Women's Conference. Aaron had Friday off from school and I was not preaching Sunday. And the weather was suppose to be gorgeous.

It had been a while since we had been camping together and I really was looking forward to spending time with my sons. (Lydia was invited but was unable to attend - she said she was baby sitting) Through the whole process I learned some lessons.

1. Lesson #1 It is easier to pack for a week in Florida not camping than 1 night at Sangchris Lake camping. Tent, tarp, food, utensils, coolers, camp stove, lantern, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, fire-wood, bug spray, fishing poles, etc, etc. It was no small chore to cram all the gear into my small car and still have room for Aaron, me, and a nervous 80 pound Old English Bulldog. I will never get all the white hair out of my car, ever. There had to be something illegal about how we were traveling down the road. One significant thing I overlooked about tent camping - you cannot drive up to your camp site. So, Aaron and I had to lug all of our camping stuff to where we would be spending the night. And, all the while, we had to deal with dear ole Hoss.

2. Lesson #2 Hoss the dog is fun to be around at home, but he does not belong on a camping trip. Aaron and I knew we had made a potential error when we took Hoss out of the car at the lake. He was on sensory overload. All the sights, sounds, and smells that greeted him tripped some sort of latent trigger in his doggy brain. He wanted to run to meet all his doggy neighbors, run to every tree, chase every squirrel, and meet all the other campers - all at the same time. And, Hoss has poor leash etiquette. On this trip I was imagining a shock collar in his future. The low point happened when a couple walked by our camp site with their dainty lap dog dancing on the end of its delicate pink leash. Hoss was pouting under a pic-nic table to which he was tied. He spied the prissy little canine and all of his adrenalin came flooding back. He lunged at Trixie almost dragging the table behind him. The couple stormed away throwing epitaphs over their shoulders at the barbarians with the wild-dog for a pet. That is why, in the above picture, you see Hoss in his new home. And, going to bed with Hoss in the tent with us, that is a whole other story.

3. Lesson #3 Spending time away from almost everything with your sons is a good thing. Andrew arrived about five, following his Friday afternoon class. We were all delighted to see him. Aaron and I had not gotten much beyond setting up the tent because we were too physically spent from dragging 500 pounds of camping baggage to the site and emotionally traumatized from having to cope with Hoss. So, Andrew promptly started supper. Getting a hot meal was a real pick-me-up and we all relaxed a bit. We all three laughed, a lot. We built a fire and played cards into the night. We talked about sports, and politics, and girls, and faith, and a myriad of other topics, large and small.

Aaron and I arrived back in Gibson at noon on Saturday. Andrew had school-work to get to and Aaron and I would need most of Saturday afternoon to unpack. Next time, I will plan at least two nights - because of so much work in a 24 hour period. And, I will leave Hoss at home. I am prayerful that there is a next time. All the work and aggravation was overshadowed by the joy of spending time with my sons. It is humbling to see how good the Lord has been to me. And, I am sure that Lydia and Connie are most anxious to join the fun the next time we go. There is nothing that excites them more than the prospect of spending the night on the ground without a bathroom and sleeping in a tent now filled with dog hair.

The "Common" Cold

The "common" cold. It does not feel so common to me. Headache, sore throat, fever, cough, and a variety of other unpleasant ailments have made life uncomfortable for the past week. It is no fun being sick. It started on a Tuesday, put me in bed on Wednesday, and has kept me up for at least two nights barking with Hoss the dog. I know the Sunday morning cough while preaching is a bit aggravating for folks listening. Not that I cared - I had taken so much cold medicine that by Sunday morning I felt like it was all an out-of body experience.

I guess the cold is common because so many of us suffer with it. There are those exceptionally robust folks who have "never been sick a day in my life" types. Good for them. It simply is not the way it works for the rest of humanity. We get colds and flu and stomach aches, even when we wash our hands continuously.

There will be no colds in heaven. Viruses arrived with the fall of man, I think. The Bible says that while we are in these bodies, we groan. Indeed. For me, another week will probably make a big difference. I am hopeful that my energy will return, my head clear, and my throat quiet down. For some people, a week won't make much difference in their suffering. It has come to stay. Being sick helps me remember how good it is to be healthy. Being sick helps me pray more earnestly for those whose hope of being well comes with the promise that the follower of Christ shall be changed, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. Until then, we all live in a world populated by cold viruses, and arthritis, and cancer. We cannot expect to escape unscathed. But we can expect grace in our very time of need.