>Can’t wait to read the book. Never has she seemed more human to me.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1655415-2,00.html
>Word of the day: Ruckus
>How much fun is this? Ruckus is one of those words that makes me want to run around, especially now since I am at the office, messing up desks and dance with trash cans. I am the only sales person (other than the president of our company but he doesn’t count on one level…he does alot more) so I am often the one causing the ruckus at Sinometrics.
Most of my life is about ruckus. Just the other day a friend of mine who has four kids was talking about how he realized that his kids are loud. At that moment my wife chimed in saying she thought our daughter was loud too. My friend interupted his thought, turned to my wife and said, “Oh yeah, your daughter is really loud.” Then after finishing his though state that he thinks she might be louder than his four kids combined! Karin and I agree with huge smiles. Our family loves to cause a ruckus, whether it is signing, dancing, or telling jokes something is usually going on. Amazingly the tenants that live in the unit under us renewed their lease, they must be hard of hearing!
>Psalm 103:15-22
>15 As for man, his days are like grass;he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,and his righteousness to children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenantand remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,you mighty ones who do his word,obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,in all places of his dominion.Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Nothing more humbling then really thinking about how much our lives add up to. There is no reason to be fatalist about it, but we really get through all this quickly. Hopefully we leave a mark. That is one of the appeals of spirituality to people, it makes them and their lives feel special and full of purpose. Christianity says that God has adopted us as children, that is pretty special, and for many it brings meaning to our lives. Some my critize that, calling it weak minded, I fall more into the camp of saying it just is what it is. We need purpose, and I found it in this area of my life. Thank God.
One blog I read regularly the writer seems to be shifting into lining up his life on this purpose of a greater meaning, “In my Facebook Hotel anyone who just attacks me would be deleted. So, if that’s your idea of fun, hang out somewhere else cause I’m starting to delete comments from people who don’t add any value here. Get your own blog if all you want to do is attack me.” One collegue of mine here in Seattle and friend who happens to be a Muslim said to me the first time we met, “I do wish more people in our business believed and acted on their faith in God.” He had read my blog, and I really appreciated that. With my broad background as a pastor I often wonder if that isn’t a disadvantage, yet if my spirituality means anything it will change the way I act for the good. That means in my entire life, including my work. Let’s keep searching and asking the questions, we blades of grass.
>Psalm 103:1-14
>
103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
Bless the Lord. That is a funny phrase. To think that I can give something to God, for me is hard. Isn’t the nature of God that he doesn’t need anything, yet he can be blessed by me? Well, yes. When my heart is in line with who he is and what he is doing, we call that worship, he is blessed. There are good reasons for doing this: 1. he forgives our iniquity, 2. he heals our disease, 3. he redeems our lives from death, 4. crowns us with love and mercy, 5. Satisfies us with good, and 6. he renews our youth.
The list continues to go on, but shift into what he does and what he has done. 7. Works righteousness, 8. justices for oppressed, 9. made known his way to Moses. 8. merciful and gracious abounding in steadfast love. This is one that I like to camp out on. That God does not give us what we deserve, but gives us blessing and that blessing is his love. Knowing that you are loved is one of the most important things in this life. If the love is perverse and calls you to do crazy things, okay, that’s bad. But then that isn’t love it is manipulation. Love is the key. Everything in this list and the rest of it is based on God’s love for us. He knows who we are, where we come from, and he is loving and gentle with such fragile frames like ours.
>Psalm 102:18-28
>
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;
he has shortened my days.
24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away
in the midst of my days—
you whose years endure
throughout all generations!”
25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.
The story is not just for you but for those to come. It is up to us to pass it down, that is one of the great shortfalls of God’s people in the bible is they went through generations not telling the story. He sets the prisoners free, he brings life so that all will worship him.
It’s not easy though. Just because you serve God does not mean life will work out in your favor or you will simply be ‘happy’. There is a harsh reality that sometimes knowledge of God makes dealing with the brokenness in this world even harder. Because you believe there is a point to it all but we aren’t there yet, to get the point. God pushes us, and sometimes in the Bible that lead to not being able to have children, jail, and even death.
The Psalmist isn’t going to let you get too far down that road without coming back to God’s faithfulness. He will be around longer than all of us, it is in his favor to work things out for the good. We may pass on, but he will remain and he will continue to raise up the faithful. I know that this is God’s work, if it were just up tot he people in the church to keep it running it would of failed ages ago, remember I worked in one and know how crazy it is.
>Psalm 102:1-17
>
102:1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
2 Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!
3 For my days pass away like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of my loud groaning
my bones cling to my flesh.
6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
like an owl of the waste places;
7 I lie awake;
I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
8 All the day my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread
and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
you are remembered throughout all generations.
13 You will arise and have pity on Zion;
it is the time to favor her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold her stones dear
and have pity on her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord builds up Zion;
he appears in his glory;
17 he regards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer.
It is hard to keep believing when God is silent. Silent areas of my life are where they become the most questions. While those questions can be good, and lead us to deeper faith, it doesn’t feel good. What feels good is having a response. Answer quickly, when I call. Karin and I went for years without cell phones, and we had many frustrated friends who wanted us to respond immediately!
Even with such great demands being asked of God, the Psalmist doesn’t forget his position in the world. It’s not very high. Really what is being created each day that will last? How many of the people who make headlines today will be remembered in 100 years, much less 50, much less 10. We are not even them, just normal people doing normal things. We feel the entire spectrum of emotion. And our days are like an evening shadow (you know during the best light), or withering like a blade of grass.
Then we look to God. Amazing. He has been there and seen it all. Sort of the way we think of vampires living throughout so many generations, experiencing all sorts of sights and sounds. That is God. Yet he does not feed upon people like prey, but rather cares for them. He is reaching out to them when they cry and offering them hope.
>Helpful Hints for a Friday
>Try these, might get you out of work early today…
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/08/16/the-not-to-do-list-9-habits-to-stop-now/#more-121
Tim Ferriss helps me expand my thinking. I like it.
>Psalm 101
>
101:1 I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
2 I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not endure.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the Lord.
Love and justice are where the two most profound ideas of God come together. So much that I have a really hard time explaining it because there is a mystery. Love is what mothers feel for their son no matter if they are great people or lacked up in jail, they will always be their baby boy and the mom will always love them. Justice is the idea of righting wrongs, always doing what is good and right on behalf of others. Often times these two ideas in my limited wisdom and insight are incomplete, yet with God they are perfect. The come together at the cross, was their another way God could have done it, of course. Why did he choose to do it this way? I have a few answers but none of them seem complete.
Once these two things meet in your life, it changes you. While selfish motives might hijack the program occasionally, they become the exception. Rather we desire to do good, walk with integrity, and seek that which is of value. This means to trust that things will be okay even if I don’t get my way. That’s hard. I had a situation last night at work where I asked someone for a favor and they said no. I have never asked anything of this person and I simply wanted to write them off, I was so frustrated. Then I had to trust. There is no need to be more of a butt to this person, they are already enough of a butt. Just trust.
God is working out his plans. That plan is good for those he loves, and not so good for those he is showing justice for their actions. When you are in his love, that justice has been satisfied through the cross, that leads us to a conversation on atonement which we don’t have enough time for.
>Phrase of the Day: sick house syndrome
>It amazing the things I learn with my job. We did some translation for a company named Barn Pros. They are expanding to Japan and need a PPT Deck translated for a presentation. While doing QA (Quality and Assurance) on some questions that were sent them from Japan. I came across this term. It is real and it cracks me up. Sounds like SBS is generic enough that you could blame anything on it.
The term “sick building syndrome” (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified. The complaints may be localized in a particular room or zone, or may be widespread throughout the building. In contrast, the term “building related illness” (BRI) is used when symptoms of diagnosable illness are identified and can be attributed directly to airborne building contaminants.
-http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/sbs.html
>Psalm 100
>
100:1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
You know the Geico marketing campaign, “So easy a caveman could do it.” This Psalm is that easy. It is the first Psalm I ever memorized, and our family memorized it together when my daughter was only three.
This is a party Psalm. God is inviting us to enjoy, to experience his goodness. Like the sheep at a rave, we are in the courts of God, no longer held out of the gate by the bouncer, we are singing and dancing and enjoying him.
I love that this Psalm reminds us that this blessing is not just for us. Everyday I go through my life thinking it is all about me, and at my best thinking it is all about those in my life. God’s plan is much bigger than that. It is for all generations. I am just one part of that huge mysterious story.
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