Monday, October 26, 2015

Herding Cats


Herding Cats
I confess that cats are not my favorite household pets. Although I have had a few over the years, I still prefer dogs especially Shelties. Cats have a mind of their own and don’t take to being told what to do. They are not easily intimidated by loud threats or scolding. They like to cuddle and snuggle but only when they decide. No, dogs are a lot more to my liking.
There are two exceptions to my cat feelings. They were not cats that I lived with but ones I observed from a distance. I met Elmer back in 1974 while moving from Minneapolis to Bozeman, Montana where we going to manage a ski lodge. Hauling our earthly possessions in a U Haul, Judy and I stopped in Medora, North Dakota for the night. When I went into the office to register for a room, an overweight calico cat was napping on the counter. This was Elmer’s perch. With those big feline eyes he checked out anyone who came in the door. You could pet him and he would purr but nothing more. Elmer of Medora is probably no more but he was a cat with a class act.
Fang was a whole different kind of cat. I met Fang early one winter morning.  I was making breakfast for our lodge guests. I happened to look out the window. There, on the very small ledge, sat this huge, grey Angora cat. As I looked closer, this cat had one eye gouged out and only one large tooth that hung outside his lip. This was a wild cat that had seen better days. He appeared on the windowsill every morning. After awhile I built a shelf so he could sit there comfortably. I could not touch him but he loved my pancakes. Fang is no more. Somewhere along the way he fell to the bottom of the food chain.
Several years ago, I saw a video on the Internet. The title was “Herding Cats.” If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to look it up. It reminded me of pastoring. In fact I showed it at one of our Sunday services. Not an easy job to get everyone going in the same direction.
The Bible records in the Book of Judges a time when Israel was in disarray. “At that time there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing.” Sounds like a lot of cats to me!



Monday, October 19, 2015

Blogger


Blogger 
For years people have asked me to write a book about my experiences in the ministry. Apparently, some feel that my journey from being a Catholic priest to an Episcopal priest to pastoring in non-denominational church life would be of interest. I confess that I don’t have the interest or gifting to share my life in a book.
Interestingly enough, this past year, there was a lady who asked to write a book about me. I turned her down several times but finally agreed to a series of interviews. We met in a local coffee shop. Being a good interviewer, she asked questions that forced me to bring back to remembrance my years of trying to follow God. The more questions she asked the more uneasy I became. Why was I struggling so much?
At my age, looking back at the past can be a mixed blessing. Although, I know that God ordered my steps, I carried the guilt and shame of dragging Judy and my kids through some painful situations. Until these interviews I did not realize the impact of these emotions on my life. During my last interview, I suddenly saw that the collateral damage that I though I caused was my problem not my family’s. With that revelation came a release of guilt and shame.
Although, the book is not written and may never be, the process of looking back and seeing God’s goodness every step of the way is more than enough reward. This is a good reminder that my view and God’s view of life may be and often are two different things. The Bible says, “He knows us better than we know ourselves…That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”
Now that I am released from the guilt and shame of the past, I am free to share my life with you, my blog readers. I have been writing weekly for little over a year. I hope you have had as much fun reading them as I have had writing them. Thank you for your encouraging responses. I will keep at it as long as I have stories to share.



Monday, October 12, 2015

Cruise Control


Cruise Control
It was an early spring morning as Judy and I drove through the Columbia River Gorge on Interstate 84 heading back to Bozeman. We had left Portland about 4 am after spending a week visiting our oldest son and his family. Judy and our dog Sparky were fast asleep. I was trying to stay awake myself. I had the radio on, my window open and cruise control set at 65. When I woke up all I could see was metal!
I could not have dozed off for more than few seconds. Startled by the fact that I was about to rear end a semi, I jerked the steering wheel to the right slamming on the brakes. I heard the crunching of metal, the squealing of tires and the pounding of my heart all at once. By the time I stopped on the side of the road, I knew I was in real trouble.
As the semi kept on going, I got out of the car to look at the damage. The hood was bent like a tepee. The front left headlight was gone and the front bumper was sagging toward the ground. Judy was screaming, the dog was barking. I though I was having a heart attack.
Amazingly, the motor kept running with no clanking or fluid running out from the engine. I drove to the next exit, ran into the convenient store to get a cup of coffee to calm my nerves. Believe it or not we drove the remaining 650 miles home without incident and wide-awake.
I share this story as a reminder that whenever I am tempted to put my life on cruise control I am probably heading for disaster. Procrastination is a tough taskmaster. I am learning the discipline of dealing with life issues up front not putting them off. Tomorrow can be a long way away.
The Bible says: “A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy; do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest.”
By the way, I now use my cruise control sparingly.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Goal Posts of Life


Goal Posts of Life
Judy and I were driving down Highway #101. It was early spring and we were on vacation exploring southern Oregon and northern California. I had the windows down and the radio loud listening to Country Western.  Taking in the beauty of the day was our agenda.
Then a song came on that I never heard before. The title was “Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goal Posts of Life” by Bobby Bare. Since it was Sunday morning and I wasn’t in church, I listened with an expectant ear. Here is the refrain: “Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goal posts of life. End over end, neither to the left nor to right; straight through the heart of them righteous uprights, Dropkick me Jesus through the goal posts of life.”
I darn near drove off the road laughing so hard. The analogy of a football field with a goal post at both ends and Jesus catapulting me through the uprights was a new one. When I got home, I asked several friends if they ever heard of this song. They had and asked what I thought. I told them it would make a good theme song for our church.
Reflecting on my walk with the Lord, I can verify that he indeed, upon occasion, took drastic action to move me in the right direction. He ordered circumstances that seemed, at the time, like a good kick in the pants. Although unpleasant, it had the desired effect to keep me from wandering off on my own way.
There doesn’t seem much left in our world that embraces discipline. We are told not to spank our kids. Everybody is a winner and nobody a loser. Drink the Kool-Aid of correctness and all will be well. We are entitled and empowered. Affluence will deliver us from all adversity.
Here is what the Bible has to say: “But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction. It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this.”
Whatever happened to the visit to the woodshed?