Waking Up...

It feels like my brain is just now beginning to stir after two big feasts in three days over this past weekend. Great time with family, but really...what kind of chemical do they put in those turkeys? Everybody ends up snoring and drooling like we were having a Homer Simpson sound-alike contest.

What to be thankful for...

There's too much work piled on and around my desk. Thanks be to God for a good job.

There's too much fat packed around my mid-section. Thanks be to God for plenty to eat.

The dog insists on sleeping with her claws in my back. Thanks be to God for a warm bed under a solid roof.

We'll spend eight hours in the car later this week in order to "do" Thanksgiving with our families. Thanks be to God for families with which to celebrate.

Come to think of it, I have life so good that it's almost embarassing. Oh, sure. There are always things to complain about. But they pale in comparison to the fact that I woke up this morning...conscious and able to see another day. And I have a choice. I can spend this day complaining or I can live it in gratitude. The latter doesn't mean overlooking the frustrations and disappointments; it does mean not giving them a bigger place in my life than they deserve.

After all, God is good. Life is good. Not perfect, but good. There's a lot to be thankful for.

Why Wait?

Just home from the hospital...with more blood tests and scans and scopes to come in a few weeks: "This is going to be the best Christmas ever!" she said. "A big tree, lots of presents and music and time with friends and family. I love this season. And if it's going to be my last, it's going to be good."

A wise teacher once told me: "The mortality rate among human beings is 100%." So when cancer came calling for him this past year, he decided to live with it instead of die with it.

It's good news and bad news, huh? We already know how this is going to turn out. So why wait? Why decide to live life to the fullest only after the doctor hands you a death sentence?

Just an Old Tool...

I have my grandfather's hammer. It's one of my prized possessions...a connection to this man who was so important in my growing-up years. But it's not the kind of treasure that sits on a shelf. It is the hammer that I use whenever I need one. The head is dark with age, but still strong. The ash handle likewise has taken on a different color over the years and is almost too smooth from wear. But it feels great in the hand and does not fail to do the job when called upon.

I want to be a hammer in the hand of God. And indeed, is that not our calling as Christians? We are those who are to be ready to go to work at the master's bidding...letting his hand guide us and his will use us for the work and witness of Christ. I want to be comfortable in his grip, knowing already that I am a prized posession...not a treasure on a shelf, but an old reliable tool in the hand of the Master Builder.

Grace Happens...

I love this picture. It shows everybody's best side. :)

Seriously, though: in a world where shit happens all too often, isn't it good to know that something as simple as pancakes and sausages can open up a whole new range of possibilities?

This little gathering provided some much needed support to a soldier's family after he had been injured in Iraq. They got help. We got to help. God gets the glory. It's a good arrangement.

Getting through Monday...

Low power today. Lot's to do. Not much energy to get it done.

Somehow, I need to learn how to let the disappointments slide off more easily. Not bury them or ignore them or dismiss them. That would be psychologically stupid. But learn what can be learned from them and then let 'em go. Most of the time, the things that I percieve as arrows and insults are not even intended for me. They're simply the by-product of someone's frustrations...and I happen to be the target conveniently located close by. It's one of the tougher parts of doing what I do for a living.

On the other hand, there is no shortage of deep joy in singing Isaiah 6 and Revelation 7 from behind the table each week. Indeed...we would be better, kinder, gentler with each other if we could remember in Whose presence we gather.

Thickening on the Dregs...

Have you noticed that more and more folks are opting for complacency as a life strategy? Politically, socially, religiously: it seems that fewer folks are really actively involved. Which means that those who are involved often represent the kind of kook-fringe that exists at the edges of every human endeavor. In the end, society is the poorer...for we no longer benefit from a public discourse that is both passionate and informed, both challenging and respectful.

The brewing hub-hub in Washington over Samuel Alito is a perfect case in point. I'd love to hear more about the man's rulings and qualifications. Instead, we're treated to an endless barrage of blah-blah-blah over how he might rule on the issue of abortion.

Maybe I'm missing something. But it's possible there is more to the court's agenda than that one issue. Yes...it's important. But it's not the only yardstick by which we measure a person suitable for such office.

And the by-product: beyond the kook-fringe yelling at each other about Mr. Alito as baby-killer or baby-savior, no one else can get a word in edge-wise. So more and more simply retire from participation, and the extremists of every ilk get to set the public agenda.

This is not a good idea. It's time to get off our fannies and take our public institutions back from the strident and the overly-agendized. Think. Do your homework. Respectfully ask challenging questions. Hold public leaders accountable at the voting booth and in the newspapers. We can be a fairly reasonable people, if we choose to work at it.