Month: June 2008 Page 1 of 2

When we left for our annual family camping trip ten days ago, I entitled my post ‘Magic‘. A good number of you probably wrote me out of the book of the faithful with my use of such language. So be it.

We are back now, and whatever you call it, we are grateful. God was so good to us. At one point my wife and I stood back in wonder that not only all six children, one grandchild, and three ‘children-in-law’ were there – and that in itself speaks of the riches God has given us – but that also they all WANTED to be there. They all LIKE each other. That is not our doing, but is a gift of God, for which we are deeply grateful.

The trip (to the Cataloochee group campsite in the Great Smoky Mountains) was full of wonder. The isolation was marvelous, the beauty astounding, and the calamities bonding. Spent nearly all of one afternoon trying to fix an oil leak in my son’s car without the benefit of the proper tools. My grandson was off and on sick, and once fell into the fire pit. Ice was a two hour trip away. The listed ‘comfort station’ was not the expected sink and flush toilet, but four infrequently cleaned portables. And so on.

Barb and I once attended a seminar by marriage guru Gary Smalley. He said that the one constant he found among happy families was camping. His theory was that shared calamity unites us, and camping guarantees calamity. I can’t speak for the accuracy of his research or the validity of his conclusions, but my experience says that there is truth in it. We are not always a happy family and there are times we don’t all like each other. But we share some precious memories, often having to do with broken vehicles, excessive rain, poor trail map reading, or inadequate toilet facilities. After the fact, we laugh, and long to ‘do it again’.

My advice to families? Buy a tent and head for the hills. Works magic for us!

Technorati Tags: Family

No one likes to be caught napping. But, napping may be one of the smartest things we could do. I’ve often thought that a good 20 minutes asleep is better than 2 hours nodding off and being distracted. But I don’t do it. I’m too embarrassed that someone will walk in and find me asleep. “What are paying him for, anyway?”

I’m not planning on starting any new habits. I somehow think that walking would do me better in the long run. However, I did find this page in the Boston Globe intriguing. Read it, and then go take a good nap.

Technorati Tags: Work

I am convicted by this observation made by John Frame in his book The Doctrine of God.

“My perception is that gentleness and humility are among the virtues least practiced by Christians today. If God himself can serve his creatures, surely we, who can boast of nothing except the cross, should be able to serve without seeking constantly to maintain or improve our own status and reputation.” (Page 443)

It would not surprise me to find out that when he wrote this, Professor Frame was in the middle of some conflict or interpersonal struggle, either as a participant or an observer.

I see truth in the observation. I see it in my own soul – I’ve seen the cross and yet gentleness and humility are so hard to come by. Why might Christians have such a hard time with this?

Technorati Tags: Christian Life

We are camping this week. Each year the Greenwald clan packs up and heads for the hills. This year we will be at the Cataloochee camping area in the SE portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is great for the whole family to be together.

Every year is an adventure, and every year we have with us at least three very attractive teenaged girls who almost always attract attention. One year we were camped by a stream, and every teenaged boy soon learned that the quickest route to the stream was ALWAYS by our campsite. Yeah, right.

So, going into the wild with attractive females requires some preparation. A few years ago I stumbled across an article on the GSMNP web site which was originally titled ‘Bears and You’. So, I pasted it in my word processor, and replaced every occurrence of the word ‘bear’ with ‘boy.’ The results were not just humorous, but actually in many respects wise. I reprint this hear for your fun and enjoyment!

BOYS AND YOU!

Boys in the Park are wild and their behavior is sometimes unpredictable. Although extremely rare, attacks on humans have occurred, inflicting serious injuries and death. Treat all boy encounters with extreme caution and follow these guidelines.

Encounters Along the Trail
Remain watchful.

If you see a boy at a distance do not approach it. If your presence causes the boy to change its behavior (stops feeding, changes its travel direction, watches you, etc.) – YOU’RE TOO CLOSE.

Being too close may also promote aggressive behavior from the boy such as running toward you, making loud noises, or swatting the ground. The boy is demanding more space. Don’t run but slowly back away watching the boy. Try to increase the distance between you and the boy. The boy will probably do the same.

If a boy persistently follows or approaches you, typically without vocalizing, or paw swatting, try changing your direction. If the boy continues to follow you, stand your ground. If the boy gets closer, begin talking loudly or shouting at it. Act aggressively and try to intimidate the boy.

Act together as a group if you have companions. Make yourselves look as large as possible (for example move to higher ground). Throw non-food objects such as rocks at the boy. Use a deterrent such as a stout stick if you have one. Don’t run and don’t turn away from the boy.

Don’t leave food for the boy; this encourages further problems. Most injuries from boy attacks are minor and result from a boy attempting to get at people’s food. If the boy’s behavior indicates that he is after your food and you’re physically attacked, separate yourself from the food and slowly back away.

If the boy shows no interest in your food and you’re physically attacked, fight back aggressively with any available object – the boy may consider you as prey!

Help protect others, report all boy incidents to a park ranger immediately! Above all, keep your distance from boys!

Technorati Tags: Family

Many magical things will be happening in the upcoming week.

First, the Greenwald family will be hiding out at a campsite in North Carolina and will be having a great time together. That in itself is magic. No it’s not. It’s the gracious providence of a very kind God. Imagine thirteen people who actually like each other and are actually related to one another. We are so grateful for the opportunity.

Second, we will be nearly completely out of touch. That should have a certain magical quality to it. We will be deep in the woods – out of reach of internet, cell phone reception, and hot water. Magical.

Third, and this is the real magic, I will continue to post. It will be by magic, but posts will appear. However, I will not be able to respond so your comments. So, if you ask a question or make some kind of comment that needs a response, it will look as if I am ignoring you. I’m not. I’ll catch up when I return. Well, I’m going to take a hot shower first.

Young men dream dreams. Sometimes, as older men, they fulfill them.

Mike is a man who as a young man dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail. The first opportunity he got, he tried, and he failed. The mental struggle of sticking to it for the full 2000 miles overwhelmed him, and he stopped.

That was years ago. Since that time, he met Marsha, who became his wife, who gave him Joshua, his son. But also, since that time, he met Jesus. There are few I know who find such joy in loving Jesus. In time God made him an elder at Hope Presbyterian Church, a role that he has filled with the same passion and joy that he brings to everything. I have called him the ‘soul’ of our session (the board of elders in a Presbyterian church is called a ‘session’).

His dream, though, remained unfulfilled. But now he is pursuing it afresh. With the encouragement of his fellow elders and the support of a wife who knows the importance of a husband being freed to pursue his dream, Mike set out at the end of March to conquer this trial. As I write, he is at the 1/2 way mark and none of us doubts that this time he will make it all the way.

But isn’t this a waste of time? Mike wrestled with that. Can one hike the Trail to the glory of God? We concluded that yes, he could. God has in this given Mike a sweet sabbatical from the routines of life, and He has given him an opportunity to pursue a dream that was once abandoned. I have no doubt that Mike will return refreshed in the reality of God’s grace and renewed in his passion to serve his God and King. To that end we are praying.

If you’d like to follow Mike’s progress, he keeps a journal HERE. If you are clever with these things, set up an RSS feed and you can track his progress with every post. Go for it, Mike! We’re with you!

Technorati Tags: Dreams, Sabbatical

I am planning soon to post two or three thoughts on the struggle of loving imperfect people. We all say that we love one another, but when we have so much trouble doing it in our homes, how can we really do it in the church?

As I’ve pondered this, this post floated past my radar screen. Ransom Fellowship is a wonderfully engaging ministry out of Minnesota headed by Margie and Denis Haack. In Margie’s reflections on forty years of marriage to Denis, she makes the following observations (I’ve highlighted the pertinent points):

“I used to think of couples married forty years as wizened in body and mind, the undertaker on-call, and living in apartments that smelled of boiled cabbage, but that isn’t exactly our life. Marriage is less and more than I’d imagined.

”My first difficult disappointment way back was that he did not make me happy every moment of every day, in fact, I couldn’t believe he called to the worst in me and I gave it. I spent a lot of time, still do, actually, in confession and prayer, confession and prayer, repeat, repeat. I was also shocked that I should feel lonely. Ever. Of course, I was only twenty then and hadn’t read the books. Blame it on that. Over the years after we went to bed, I learned not to mention getting rid of the carpenter ants, which are attacking the back of our house as we lie here. And he’s learned to tolerate my allergic coughing and wheezing with just the slightest rattle of his magazine.

Marriage is more than I imagined. We share a purpose and calling that has made the years both intense and lovely. We’re friends and lovers, but we’re not the same. I’m still learning how healthy it is to be differentiated (he will never like gardening and I will never enjoy list checking) and how good not to be responsible for the mate’s ultimate happiness. In learning a little more of what it means that Jesus is the lover of my soul I find it easier to rest in darkness. He is steadier and more comforting than a man, or a woman. We just aren’t equipped to do what only God can do – love us to redemption. We actually love each other better knowing this.

Her wonderful testimony (which is better in its whole context) illuminates points which I hope to make later. But this is useful in its own right. Love does not mean fulfilling another’s ultimate happiness. Only Jesus can do that.

I was, by the way, first put on to Denis Haack through some wonderfully humble reflections on the church’s relationship to culture accessible here and here. Once you get past the fact that he sounds like the insidious creep Ben on TV’s Lost, you will find that these are helpful messages.

Recently one of the questions I was asked by a family new to the area and looking for a new church home was this one:

“What are your top three book recommendations that you’ve read over the past few years?”

That’s an excellent question to ask a pastor. But I’d like to ask all of you that same question, but let me put it in these terms:

What are the top three books that you would recommend that I read?

The categories are wide open. Fiction, non-fiction, self-help (even Blogging for Dummies!), theology, children’s books, whatever.

My stack of books to read is towering, but I’m always on the lookout for hidden gems.

No need to think deeply about this, either. Give me the first three that come to your mind. You can always revisit and give me three more.

Technorati Tags: Books

A good friend of mine is a man born out of time. He is 29 and he is an connoisseur of the music I grew up with.

When he was in high school, he and his twin brother heard for the first time a Beatles song and they were captivated and started a Beatles cover band. A Beatles cover band in the 90s by a couple of high school kids. Go figure.

Over the years he has nurtured a love for all kinds of pop music. He knows more about the music of my high school days than I do, and I lived it. And now, he wants to share his knowledge, and he is having a blast doing it.

Keith has the ability to see the quality and the artistry that can exist in popular music. To pass this appreciation on, he has started a blog called Snowbot. His intention is to daily post a brief analysis of a popular song from the past fifty years. He discusses it, gives a link to where you can stream the song to hear it, and provides purchase information for those who would like to add the song to their libraries. (He is old fashioned enough to think that one should pay for his music!)

The blog is new and it is unique. I have had the joy of being introduced to music from eras with which I am unfamiliar, and of being reintroduced to music that I grew up with.

Check it out!

Good work, Keith! I’m sending all of my readers your way. Both of them.

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Music

Monday of this week was one of those days. In fact, this has been a week or two for the record books. But Monday was especially tough. But three things encourage me nevertheless.

The first is friends. I have guys I can turn to in a heartbeat. Geoff at Be Thou My Vision gave recent testimony to the power of community. For a pastor, community is especially important, and yet for many, elusive. I’m grateful for what God has given me.

The second is the gospel. I do not have to despair. There is a gospel that points me to an historic reality that, contrary to all sense, God has given to me Himself through his Son. What need any of us fear losing when we have ben given such a treasure?

The third was a word given in its proper time. After dinner Monday, for family worship, I was to read Psalm 3. A more appropriate Psalm could hardly have been chosen. But I did not choose it; God did.

If I’ve had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, my wife has had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad couple of weeks (friend battling cancer, daughter suffering a miscarriage, sister diagnosed with a brain tumor). But a friend called her today. And she sees the cross. And she holds up.

God is good. He has told us there would be days like this. Weeks, too. And months. Even in Australia, and even in Bradenton.

And if you do not understand the allusions in the title and conclusion of this post, get thee to a library and find Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and read it immediately. I think you’ll find it more accessible than Crime and Punishment!

Technorati Tags: Ministry, Struggle