Trust

Trust

Now there’s a difficult word. Being sort of a control freak and overly responsible, this word tends to send me into a tailspin. Not being able to overcome situations that are out of my control gnaw away at me until exhaustion hits. My problem is that there are issues, at least for the moment, that are not resolvable.

By definition trust mean an instinctive unquestioning belief and reliance upon something or someone. All my instincts especially in times of trial command me to dig deeper into myself and try harder to resolve the problem. Having spent my adult life fighting through conflict after conflict, I have come to the conclusion that there must be a better way.

Now that I am older and lack the physical and emotional stamina to engage in prolonged stress, I am re-evaluating my problem solving strategy. Looking hindsight, I see that most of my “huffing and puffing” only added to my consternation. I am realizing that life is not a series of problems to be solved (by me) but a mystery to be lived and enjoyed.

Many years ago, when our adult children were school age, we taught them to memorize Scripture verses. There was one verse in particular that became our favorite. It comes to mind as I draw to a close. From the book of Proverbs:

 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.”

Now Dan, remember to practice what you preach.

Humor

Humor

A sense of humor is hard to come by these days. Could it be our world is taking itself way to seriously? Yes, we are faced with many difficult issues that try men’s souls. With technology and ability to communicate instantaneously, we often find ourselves overwhelmed. The ability to laugh brings a needed balance to life.

The word humor comes from Latin that has the connotation of health. Humor is a medicine that helps to control our physical and emotional health. A sense of humor helps reduce stress and enables us to cope with the painful side of life. The ability to see life’s quirks and chuckle is a real gift.

This sixth sense is not appreciated by everybody. On many occasions what I thought was funny others did not. Humor is an acquired taste. Most of us have to work at it. That’s because we take ourselves way too seriously. I found this adage helpful for my own humor development: “Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.”

Unfortunately, religious people aren’t known for their sense of humor. Often, they are characterized as people who for too long have been sucking lemons. Just to set the record straight here are a couple of verses from the book of Proverbs:

“A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day.”

“A miserable heart means a miserable life; a cheerful heart fill the day with song.”

“A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leaves you bone tired.”

If you are a serious minded person like me, take a minute and look at yourself in the mirror. If that doesn’t make you laugh, you need to call your therapist.

Springtime

Springtime

I know I am crazy. It’s only the first week of March and I have spring fever. As I write the temp is +66, the sun is shining, the gophers are out, and someone said the robins are back in town. Forget about snowdrifts piled high in parking lots. Forget that March is the snowiest month of the year in Bozeman. The fact is that spring is coming!

I talked Judy into getting the lawn furniture out of storage in preparation for the patio season which is still two months away. I rewarded her efforts with a burger and a beer at a brew pub near us. We sat on the patio in a sliver of sunshine with soft Salsa music in the background pretending we were at the ocean in Cancun (Montana Mexico). You develop a vivid imagination during long winters here.

February set an all-time snow record in Bozeman. In addition to snow came ice on the highways and sidewalks. Even though I live in a HOA, I ended up shoveling the white stuff. The outside Christmas lights are put away. The Christmas wreath thrown in the garbage can. A winter’s worth of dog dodo is appearing in the backyard along with a garden of mud.

Then I started humming an oldie but goodie cowboy song. I had to check Google to get the lyrics and hear Gene Autry sing it again. Now I am in the springtime mood here in the Rockies.

“When it’s springtime in the Rockies I’m coming back to you little sweetheart of the mountains with your bonnie eyes of blue. Once again, I’ll say I love you while the birds sing all the day when it’s springtime in the Rockies, in the Rockies far away. I fancy it is springtime in the Rockies. The flowers with their colors are aflame. And though I long to be back in the Rockies I’ll wait till the springtime comes again.”

The forecast for the coming week is snow!

Hands

Hands

Lately I have taken notice of my hands. They are old man’s hands. Not only are they wrinkly but they are covered with brown spots. Not freckles like they used to be but rather ugly aging spots. It’s not just my hands but the rest of me is slowly going the way of all flesh. I don’t have to look at myself in the mirror, but I can’t avoid seeing those hands.

That started me thinking about what I have done with my hands over the years. Remembering that they were once tiny like a newborn baby. Slowly they grew in strength to hold objects and the ability to feed myself. Later to write the alphabet in cursive. Then more complex functions like hitting the head of a nail with a hammer without bruising my fingers.

These are the hands that held Judy’s on our wedding day when I said, “I do.” The hands that held each of our children at birth and later each of our grandchildren. The same ones that labored to provide food, clothing and shelter for our family. Hands that blessed and disciplined when needed. Dexterous fingers that wrote checks that paid the bills and played a few notes on the piano.

Hands that years ago were anointed with oil to bring healing and hope to the sick and dying. Hands that would comfort those who mourned the loss of loved ones and clapped with joy at festive occasions celebrating life and happiness.

Aging has a way of making one face the reality that this life is but for a season. The truth is that these hands still have work to do. I am blessed with good health that enables me to do the work of the ministry that God has given me. These hands can still grab ahold of life with the best of them.

I take seriously these words from the Bible: “So take a new grip with your tired hands, stand firm with your shaky legs, and mark out a straight, smooth path for your feet so that those who follow you, though weak and lame, will not fall or hurt themselves but become strong.”

Ninety-Nine Cents

Ninety-Nine Cents

It started out simple enough. I switched credit card accounts. For years I had a Delta American Express card which accrued flight miles with purchases. There was an annual fee that I paid in the years that I did a lot of traveling. Recently the increased fee wasn’t worth it, so I transferred everything to my Visa card. It all went well except for a ninety-nine cent charge to Apple iTunes that kept appearing on the old card.

Knowing it would be a hassle to contact Apple and work through the quagmire to delete the charge, I was tempted to call AmEx and let them take care of it. But I chose the more challenging option that began with an online chat with Apple, then two phone conversations on my new iPhone 11 with live Apple reps that totaled three hours to resolve the issue. It was a blessing they spoke California English.

Obviously, the problem was of my own making. I forgot that I had set up an iCloud account on Judy’s iPhone. It was here, through the gracious patience of the Apple rep that I found the ninety-nine cent culprit. After jumping through several security checks on my iMac screen with the prompting of the kind lady from Apple I made the credit card change.

My takeaway from this time consuming exercise was that I need to write down every password, security question, and monthly credit card charges because my aging brain does not have enough bytes to remember it all. As you can surmise, I am deep into Apple land. Not sure how I got here but if it weren’t for my Apple Watch I wouldn’t know the time of day.

As I come to the end of writing this blog on my iPad Mini, I am remembering Job of the Old Testament, who in his misery cried out: “the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” It took Apple to take away my ninety-nine cent charge on American Express.

Praise the Lord!

Truth

Truth

A rare commodity these days. We are in the midst of an election year and have just come through a highly publicized impeachment process. Everyone in front of a TV camera says they are telling the truth. Forget the obvious fact finding flaws of the media. Would it help to remember the story of Pinocchio whose nose grew longer every time he lied?

One of the responsibilities of parenting is to teach children to tell the truth. It is amazing that children have the predisposition to protect themselves even if it means lying. It can be a painful lesson learning to tell the truth the first time and not distort the facts in their favor.

Pilate, the Roman ruler who pronounced the death sentence on Jesus, asked this straightforward question: “What is truth?” Since that time humankind has endeavored to answer with a wide range of philosophical, theological and political arguments. To this day our world struggles with the truth.

The Bible records these words of Jesus: “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life. Responding to a question from his disciples, Jesus explains that truth is not a statement of fact but a person! All other ideas of truth are subject to the one who is the truth. A challenging word for an unbelieving world.

Today, Jesus’ disciples are admonished to live a life of truth. “What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body, we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.”

Learning to speak the truth in love is a lifelong process.

Encourage

Encourage

I confess February is not my favorite month. The holidays are over, and winter is in full swing. There isn’t much to look forward to for the next couple of months. Spring doesn’t come to Montana in earnest until May or June. Oh, there is Valentine’s Day, Lent, St. Patrick’s Day, April Fool’s Day, Easter and Tax Day! Not a whole lot of excitement there.

That’s why my favorite winter word is ENCOURAGE. You don’t hear this word a lot. No wonder our world is full of negative, polarizing and bleak commentaries on life. When warm, sunny days are nowhere to be found, an encouraging word is better than a sun lamp at the spa.

The word ENCOURAGE  comes from a combination of Greek and French meaning “fill with courage.” Whenever a kind word is spoken the heaviness of life is diluted. A smile while speaking encouragement can melt the coldest heart. That’s why an encouraging word is a tonic to the soul especially in February.

Unless you think I am blowing smoke, I want you to know that I purpose to put ENCOURAGE into practice this month wherever I go: home, hospital, church, Walmart (the hardest), the brew pub (the easiest). Yes, I have to push myself because encouraging others doesn’t come easy. I don’t want to fake it.

My February song is Home on the Range. Sometimes I have to hum it just to get in the mood. “ Home, home on the range where the deer and the antelope play. Seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day.”

Put on that smile and find someone to ENCOURAGE today!