Here Was My Day

Since I have posted an unusually small number of posts this month and since January has all but slipped away, I am making an unapologetic attempt at making my posting numbers look better but writing about nothing.

Well, it worked for Jerry Seinfeld!

I have some well planned excuses for not being so consistent with my blog posts:

• I was tired.
• I felt that I should spend more time with my family.
• My computer was sort of acting up.
• I posted a lot more stuff than I usually do in December - call it balance.
• I finally accepted an invitation to join Facebook, so I have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to come up with cute and snappy things to say to people I haven't seen in years.

January was rather foreboding this year. I began the month with something planned for nearly every weekend. . . some people like that. I don't.
Saturdays are meant to be left open to serendipity.

If I have my Saturday planned out ahead of time - it can take the wind right out of my sails by mid-morning on Monday.

Plan out the majority of my Saturdays for a month and I could go catatonic!

Well despite the severe deficit of free Saturdays, the month turned out to be okay.

Our first weekend was spent on a retreat that was so on time! It literally pumped some life back into this "warped, frustrated old man..."

The Lock-in that was planned for the following weekend was converted into a Friday night only event! For probably twenty years now, I have loathed Lock-Ins.

These all night affairs are an exquisitely designed form of torture for everyone but the kids.

I seldom remember getting any sleep during a Lock-In. If the kids happen to sleep (which is rare), I end up lying awake and listening to the other adults rattle the windows with their snoring. I also always seem to associate the aroma of a middle school boys' locker room with lock-ins.

The Lock-In that had been planned was with AA's scout Pack; but temperatures took a nosedive and cooler heads prevailed. Okay, so I dodged that bullet.

My wife - precious thing that she is - made it light on me when Ab's birthday rolled around the next weekend.... we didn't have a party. But we did celebrate in a variety of ways and it too was a refreshing weekend.

This weekend's event was a retreat for the office group with which I work. We always have a good time at these things - but we have them on Saturday!

Today's retreat was a Banning Mills near Newnan, Georgia. It was really great. The facilities there are fantastic - with the one exception being that they had gas logs instead of an authentic fireplace. The team-building sessions were fun and instructive (including the fact that we got to careen over the gorge on a zip-line!), and we got free stuff... you know, coffee mugs, sports bags and teeny weeny Etch-A-Sketches - important stuff!

So, while my Saturday was a wash as far as my family is concerned, it was somewhat profitable.

There - if you are still with me then you have just seen an example of what one can come up with when he really has nothing to say.

Thanks for stopping by!

Calling It Like He Sees It!

I haven't really organized my thoughts concerning this post, but organization was never really a noticeable factor in my posts anyway. Besides, I have something I want to say.

You know, I am in the book of Judges in my tour through the Bible (compare to children of Israel's "little stroll" through the desert).

Well I landed on Gideon a week or so back and have been reading through his story.

Oddly enough, AA recently selected Gideon as his Bible Hero for a school project - he said he wanted someone that was a mighty warrior so he could use his (plastic) shield when they have to dress like their chosen character in a few weeks.

And that "mighty warrior" thing is what I want to talk about.

If you remember in the book of Judges, the nation of Israel was behaving a lot like our nation these days. . . on their best days, they seemed to be confused about God; there were very few icons of righteousness - and when they did appear, they seemed to lack consistency of character; messages were mixed.

Because of the dismal nature of their allegiance to God, chapter six finds them in servitude to the nation of Midian. In particular we find, Gideon - hiding.

He's hiding because he has managed to grow a little bit of food and the marauding hordes of raiders known as the Midianites, hadn't found his stash yet.

As he hid out and tried to prepare his meager wheat harvest so that he could feed his family - he was startled when someone called out to him.

Do you remember that sinking feeling you get when you know you've been caught - I'm sure that's how he felt.

The Person that called out to him, was a Messenger from heaven. I believe that this was God, Himself or possibly Jesus - but it's okay if you don't buy that, it doesn't greatly hurt the outcome of the story.
Anyway, the Messenger called Gideon a mighty warrior. Now I like the old King James' English in which He called him a Mighty Man of Valour!

Gideon wasted little time in correcting Him. Gideon explained that his family was fairly insignificant among their people and he .... well, he was the least in his family (being the "baby" in my family, I can relate - his brothers probably called him "squirt" or "punk").

The Messenger was nonplussed. "I will be with you - " He said (this is one reason I believe this Messenger was God, Himself), " and you will smite the Midianites" - there's that word, smite - you gotta' love KJV sometimes!

If you read on you will see that God was right, Gideon was a mighty warrior! God also put together a really nifty battle plan so Gideon could take an army of 300 and utterly destroy an army of at least 135,000.

God was right. But in the beginning, Gideon seems to be right also - he was small, defeated, cowering.

There is the point: God calls it like He sees it. And He has the power to bring about the potential He sees.

We see ourselves as "inadequate", "inconsistent", "clumsy when it comes to spiritual things", "easily defeated" . . . . you fill in the blank. Yet God stands in the background as we are cowering in panic trying to capture some morsel of gains from all our efforts. And from the shadows He speaks . . . and He calls us names . . .

kings...
priests ...
chosen ...
precious ...
mighty ...
heirs of God ...
adopted ...
beloved ...
forgiven ...
justified ...

Too often we try to correct Him with a "yes-but" ...
But just as in the case with Gideon . . . God calls us as He sees us ...

and He's right.

A Decade with Children

Tomorrow is my little girl's official tenth birthday, although we have been celebrating in small ways all weekend.

It just occurred to me that R. and I have now been married with kids for about the same length of time we were married without kids.

That is amazing.

It would not be a fair question for one to ask which decade I liked the best. For one reason, the memories of this second decade have almost wiped out the memories of that first decade.

For another reason - that first decade was not completely a joyful one.

R. and I started habits or ways of thinking, or ways of acting toward one another during those early years that culminated into an almost tragic seventh year.

I remember thinking "how did our marriage get into this shape?" ... there were numerous times that we could not seem to find a kind word for one another. I was a little like Paul when he said, the thing I should do - I don't; and the thing I hate - that I do. I knew that the patterns we were locked into were detrimental but I couldn't seem to step out of them.

Thankfully, God had other plans. . . plans for a future and a hope.

He sent friends that came alongside and helped us when we were utterly helpless. He taught us, through a small group, through books that we read, through His Word, through His voice in our prayers of introspection. He did not give up on our marriage when I thought I was about to - and was pretty sure R. already had.

Even after some period of restoration, we still had problems but we had some tools to work with toward fixing them.

Then in 1996, it all fell through. Our journey back seemed to have disappeared and we were back in desperation mode.

Somehow God used that end as a starting point for us to rebuild. . . and He did it.

By the end of the summer we were a new couple. Not too long after that, we wanted to have children - for the first time in our marriage, the time seemed right.

We struggled through two miscarriages, but God was with us to comfort and heal.

Then along came Ab in January of 1999.

I won't tell you that things have been perfect since then; our marriage still requires maintenance. But it has been a glorious time having a family.

I started this post with an idea of dedicating it to my little girl - my "fountain of joy".

But fresh from hearing news of another couple among our connections that is experiencing trouble in their marriage - the foregoing thoughts seemed to present themselves instead.

If you are reading this and you are at one of those desperation places in your own marriage - take hope.

Other folks have been right where you are, and I can vouch for the fact that even if you do not have the strength to fight for your marriage - God does.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

Take heart.

Piercings: Of Hearts & Ears

This post was a foregone conclusion.




My little girl got her ears pierced today. It was a part of a day of pampering and shopping with Mom that took place today in celebration of her tenth birthday.





I think little earrings on small children are the cutest thing - except on my children. Call it what you will, maybe a reluctance to see that step of maturity - or maybe just selfishness. But I have taken a firm stance for several years now against this step. I had jokingly told her that some time in her early thirties, I would be okay with her taking that step. Sometimes I would say sixteen was a good age ... but really, I have thought all along that when she reached twelve I would concede.

Frankly I have trouble saying "no" to either of the ladies in our household. And Ab has taken a very mature approach to this subject over the past year or so. In spite of the fact that she may have felt a little left out when her classmates have had earrings - some for years now, she has resigned herself to the fact that she would have to wait.


I know this sounds trite and prudish. But I want my children to be children as long as they can - and I have thought of this as something of a rite of passage, I don't want maturity to snatch away my lass too quickly.



You see, I remember vividly the day in which I first took notice of the harsh effects this world was beginning to have on my daughter: she was just beginning to crawl; prior to that she had been held and coddled and snuggled ever since God first let us hold this gift.



One day I happened to caress her chubby little knees and I could feel the way that her skin had been toughened by crawling. Those knees that had been soft and pliable, were now beginning to protect themselves against the harsh environment around her.



I thought then: this is the first of many times her softness will be threatened by the world.



It was a somber realization.



Now back to ear piercing, this willful puncturing of the earlobes - while very common - is still a small violence against my precious girl. That's why it bothered me.



My little girl - though still a little girl - is growing up. Her independence, her new interest in appearance, her maturity, these all give me joy but it's a mixed bag - they scare me too.


But I gave in early on this issue.



Honestly, I find myself doing that more and more these days (beginning with the kitten that is annoying me at this very moment! But that's another post). I hope that my leniency is based on a desire to be balanced and that I will not yield ground in the areas that truly matter.




I guess that is part of the dilemma of being a Dad.
But I wouldn't miss it for anything.

Speaking King James

Occasionally in my home, I declare "King James Mornings" these are brief periods in which we all try to speak in King James , you know - "thee's" and "thou's".... "Wouldst thou like Fruit Loops or Cinnamon Toast Crunch?"...

Actually it hardly ever catches on. . . . except with me, I just thoroughly enjoy myself ... everyone else just sort of stares at me blankly.

"Brother, take up thy socks from off the kitchen floor and cast them into thine dirty clothes hamper - dost thou abide in a pigpen?!"

To the myriad of reader (the plural is omitted intentionally) who might not hail from the Bible-Belt - I should explain that I am referring to the King James Version of the Bible.

I grew up reading the KJV and preferred it. In fact only over the past eight or nine years have I moved on to other translations.
My wife prefers The Message - which I like on some occasions but usually I read it too fast... it reads too much like a newspaper or something common. The KJV forces me to slow down to try and figure out what is being said.

And you just can't beat some of the King James words!
In fact that is how this post originated: this morning I was thinking about a great KJV word.

It just kept rolling over in my head - the word is smote... as in "David smote Goliath" ... see, that just says so much more than "clobbered" or "pounded". What color! What pizazz!

Smote of course is the past tense of smite ... and one "could have been smitten last week".

I would like to create a tidal wave of support to bring back smote. Please feel free to join me in this cause. Perhaps you can find ways to casually insert the term into your conversation.

"BEHOLD! Martin really smote that presentation!"

Can't you just hear news broadcasters... "Hamas terrorists were smitten today by Israeli troops..." or sportscasters -"The Westdale Hawks smote the Tooterville Bears in a high-scoring battle..."

I just think smote is a "tough" word.

But alas, I will probably be forced to relegate smote to the occasional King James days in our home ... I'm sure R. and the kids are smitten...

Update - Contact Me (if you want to)

I have set up an email account now for the SoJourn blog, so if you want to contact me feel free.

It is sojourn4amocs@gmail.com

When Leaders Lead

When leaders lead in Israel,
When the people willingly offer themselves,
Bless the LORD! Judges 5:1 NKJV


What a time to Bless the Lord... when leaders step in and LEAD. When people then step up to the plate and say "send me, I'll go!".

This verse comes from a song sung by a little duet in the book of Judges (in case you haven't noticed, that's where I am right now in my reading). The duet is composed of Deborah-a prophetess and a judge of Israel, and Barak (not Obama), he is the guy that lead 10,000 Israeli troops into battle against the nation of Canaan, and a war lord by the name of Sisera.
The song is sort of a summary close to the story you can read in Judges 4.

You need to read that story for yourself, I think you will find it interesting, but here are just a few highlights:

village life ceased ... Deborah sings that until the battle began, people stopped traveling the highways, they had to stick to the back roads because of the perils on the main roads. The people were oppressed so much that "village life ceased in Israel".
It sounds to me like you couldn't trust your neighbor - perhaps you didn't even know his name. People stayed behind closed doors, afraid to venture out. . .
. . . That is, until the battle ensued.

God deployed the enemy ... For twenty years, the Canaanites - though once defeated - rose to power and eventually ruled over the Israelites. They had CHARIOTS ... 900 of them. The Israelites had not treated some of the Canaanites very kindly during that original conquest of the Promised Land, so I suppose these guys were bearing a grudge.

Deborah was instructed by God to call Barak to take the lead and go up against Sisera, the commander of the forces of Canaan. In the instructions, God - through Deborah - commanded Barak to deploy his troops. In the meantime, God said He would deploy Sisera and his army against them.

Did you get that?

God said HE was going to deploy the bad guys against the fledgling army of Israel!

Does it seem strange to you that God would sic the enemy on His own people?
Do you remember that it was God who sort of taunted the devil with His servant Job? "Have you considered my servant Job," He said.

The rest of the story is that God added at the end of that same verse - "I will deliver him into your hand." You cannot really win a victory unless you actually engage the enemy. So when God puts the enemy in our path and he's hungry for a fight - it could very well be because God has a plan.

the recruiter's staff ... Deborah's song reveals some facts that weren't apparent in chapter 4 and the events leading up to the battle: it seems that not everyone in Israel went along with this idea of taking on the notorious Sisera and his army. In fact, Barak ended up leading an army of 10,000 coming mainly from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon.

Zebulon's tribe was said to bear the "recruiter's staff" - Now this phrase caught my eye because much of what I do in the field of Health care Human Resources involves recruiting.
Some scholars have translated this to mean "the pen of the writer". Some say that Zebulon was known for scribes, clerks and writers and yet they put down the pen and took up the sword; another theory is that it refers to Zebulon supplying those that kept up with the muster roles.
The bottom line is that they showed up for work and they contributed.

The tribe of Reuben had "great resolve of heart" - they had good intentions... but they contended among themselves so much that the battle had ended before they could agree to answer the call.

Ouch! - that's me sometimes. It's a good cause, I really think God is in it... I just don't know for sure if He wants ME to be involved... let me see ... in steps the "paralysis of analysis" and the opportunity passes me by.

Gilead never got across the Jordan to help; Dan - a maritime tribe, stayed in her ships; Asher, remained at the beach... they ALL probably had good reasons for not showing up to help.

God delivered anyway ... I like the fact that not so many showed up for the battle. It proves that God will not go AWOL on us.

Somehow, Barak and his army routed the troops of Sisera and they chased down all those chariots.

Sisera's demise was particularly interesting, I want spoil if for you here ... suffice to say that you might want to be wary of women offering a glass of milk and a place to take a nap...

Read the story in Judges 4 & 5.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.