This is how to get invited to events, camps, fishing and hunting trips and so on. This picture and pun will reveal all… Bring something to the table
We all have something to offer. We all have our particular ways to be in demand. To serve is a better way of understanding how to be invited. While it may seem to be self serving with this approach it is also a good personal measuring stick of our own character.
I met a couple of young gals (at a men’s retreat) who were invited everywhere. It seems they had bought the equipment from a coffee shop going under and were willing to be portable and serve. They had skills and great coffee. How about: they had skills and 100 kinds of really great coffee! They were also willing to take a stab at making anything requested with an adventurous smile. Side note: They were not single very long.
This morning as I plopped an easy made breakfast and some coffee onto the table I saw how the plate, cup, and book represented me. I cook, make special mugs (and a mean coffee) and speak in public at special events. I get invited. What’s more they invite me back (Remembering that journey will hopefully keep me humble).
What are you willing to bring to the table to serve others?
My day job keeps me very busy as well as home life. My heartbeat is summed up on the coffee mug of this second picture. This side of the mug says it all.
What Jesus brought to the table; The Hebrews 11 Hall of Faith Roll: Mine and Your part?
Gary
Credits: 3 eggs, 1/4 onion, 2 baby bell pepper, Men’s breakfast mug with thrice heated coffee and my bible opened to where I am at in my morning time with God (Hebrews 11). Oh ya, and bacon…don’t ever forget the bacon at a men’s breakfast.
I ask a coworker friend often; “How is your wife doing?” Before saying anything past “OH,” and a sigh; there is a telling glint in his eye that means more than words. A small deep glint at the core encrusted within weary, torn and sad eyes. The glint matches the smile on his face and humor held in check by 3 hours of sleep a night. “We pray for you often;” I say. “We know and feel it” He says and we go about our work.
Sometimes there is a Bond of Brotherhood that defies depth and definition. Pain has hunted us down and we are fighting it together. Lots of people have pain. Awful pain. It’s normal to just survive it the best we can, hoping for better days. As hard as it is, there is more than just a dark side. There is a side that produces my coworkers steely eye glint. The Aurora Borealis of glints in an eye.
It’s a choice.
Pain, especially ongoing never ending pain, causes people to pick a path. Some of us go numb for awhile, retreating into a shell. We play the “poor me” card. Some wave a big flag and call attention to all their woes. Many cards are usually played here including the “send me money” card, and there is a whole deck of personal reaction cards. I want to tell you about our friends who live differently in their pain than most. I will call them Mr. and Mrs. B.
Mrs. B’s story (short version)
Mrs. B has had a degenerative disease for many years which has led to her body not working correct on many fronts. She is bedridden and can sit in a wheelchair sometimes when seeing doctors and such. Her pain is so bad she is chipping her teeth from clenching her jaw. A mouth guard is now needed. Her pain triggers a PTSD type situation where she does not recognize her husband for time periods. Mr. B is the main caregiver as well as husband and is totally committed to seeing her through. Mr. B has long hair and a long ponytail (from the old days) that he will never cut off as Mrs. B can only be convinced that Mr. B is really her husband as he has her grab his ponytail. He gets about 3 hours of sleep a night after keeping any sharp objects away from her. God, humor and friends keep them going; mostly God. I asked my workplace to hire him and let him leave and come back as often as he needs for his wife. Every company needs a Mr. B with his work ethic, although he falls asleep in meetings.
Another side of the story
Early last sunday morning Mrs. B felt “weighed” to pray for our pastor. She was bedridden or in a recliner. She did not know he would have to quit in the middle of his sermon and ask our associate pastor to step in and finish. She seems to know things before they happen because of her unusual walk with God, this is normal. Her trust in God is a “redwood forest” of trust compared to a normal forest. Seeds grown in the soil of pain and nurtured by walking with God.
Mrs. B had her doctor in tears because of her reaction last week to all the bad news about how bad her body is doing. She assured her doctor that she was really OK because in the big picture she knows where she is going and life here is but a blip on the screen of eternity. She has that glint in her eye that is physically real. I believe (totally unsubstantiated) God has given this couple a glint connected to eternity.
The hundreds letters of encouragement to missionaries, scores of college students and others in the community that have needed prayer have waned over the years. The ability to host a small group in their home is probably gone. A silent unseen spiritual warrior gaining more strength in the heavenly realm as the physical slips away. Who does this? Actually there are many stories, many silent lives strong in faith and weak in body. Mrs. B has been assured deep within her soul, by God; that she will someday have her body redeemed. Our Spina Bifida daughter is another and you may know someone like this. Should we not all have this faith and assurance in the depth of our being? Should we not all “Get a Glint”?
Romans 8:22-24 (NIV)
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
How do we learn? Teaching a grand daughter to fish. Picture by my Daughter Tracy Demarse
We are born with a brain in the physical sense. I am told that most of us only use a few percentage points of our brains capacity through out our lives. Huh! Funny word “capacity” . I picture a livestock water tank (from growing up on the farm) that can hold 200 gallons of water and most of us put in 10 gallons our whole life.
Reality check here. The brain is actually closer to being a water balloon with growing expansion room as we grow. Yes, it matters what you put into it! “But wait, there’s more” (to quote the overused commercials). Way more!
What if the brain grew more capacity as it was used? what if capacity (and it does) grows exponentially in the areas used? What if we were created in the image (and we are) and likeness (how much do you know about His likeness?) of God? That part of us that can have a close relationship with our creator and be-becoming like Him in proportion.
Here is my story…and a spiritual illustration.
Trying to get a grand son interested….this is going to take some work
When I was 11 years old a saw blade came off a machine and cut both my arms to the bone, cutting off the main nerves to the rest of the arms, hands and fingers. As I tried to function somehow a doctor told my mother I needed to either play the piano or learn to type; and do it a lot. I now had Hope to be able to use my fingers past being clothespins on the end of my hands. I chose piano. It was slow. Very slow. Somehow I began to use my fingers. After years of playing (even with a degree of proficiency) I began to wonder why I could feel the keys when I played. I could play songs in the dark and actually feel the keys. Hmmm. This is not possible…or is it? What happened?
A few years ago I read an article from a retired neurosurgeon that explained what happened. The brain can actually begin to fill in the blanks (it’s the nerves that tell the brain what is being felt and in essence we experience feeling through the brain. This is why a blind person can use their hands to feel your face and say with confidence “I can see you” and they really can! This is why, when I play the piano, I actually have a touch on the keys and do not just pound away (although pounding was a huge part of learning for me). I can feel the keys and yet get a wood sliver under my fingernail and not feel it until I see it…then the brain kicks in and then says “yep , sorry, this should be hurting….oh, sorry wrong finger. Sometimes my brain still gets the fingers mixed up.
Don’t miss the applications here. I have realized that knowing God and having a personal relationship with Him is way more than knowing about God. It’s like knowing about pianos. The hours spent on the piano for me are way beyond what most people would need to be able to play the piano extremely well.
We come to God, in a sense (pun intended), with our spiritual nerves cut off. The best we can do if we used 100% of our capacity falls extremely short of Gods requirement of perfection.
Our baby brain does not start out leaning toward anything but ourselves. fast forward into adulthood and we have no more capacity to play the piano proficiently or have a deep relationship with God without a “start” in our lives. With the piano the start was easy. Sit down and start banging away right? No I needed someone to at least start me in the right direction, Sit down on the bench, open a beginner’s book, point the way, keep pointing the way and then practice for hours on end every week for years. I started to “feel” the piano keys some time in my 20’s. The progression was extremely slow. Even now, if I quit playing for awhile my feeling of the keys deteriorates rapidly.
I believe a relationship with God is the same way. Our “Start” is when we realize we cannot even know God except through Jesus Christ, your most important relationship (Please see how this is explained in detail here).
Final thought and why I wrote this blog: Knowing Gods heart deeply takes time. Knowing God can be in the next few minutes. Knowing God and His Heart can begin right out of the gate. Knowing God deeply takes a lot of time spent with God. No short-cuts on in-depth relationships of any kind. I am still a beginner but alone time is essential.
Every morning I get up and put my book (not the piano book) in front of me and read my Bible. I ask God for understanding, guidance and honestly have a staff meeting with God. Side Note: God seems to like “obedience” quite a bit. We talk and listen to one another. It’s taken years for this time to not be so one sided. My “feeling” capacity for God and for others has changed me to be more like Jesus. I may be quite slow to love God, others and possibly even my enemies but hey my nerves were cut off as were yours. I suspect that is why there are so many “One Another” commandments in the Bible, sigh, that’s another discussion.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
Teen wilderness canoe trip day 2.
Nine of us woke up before daylight, ate an instant breakfast, packed up our camp and began the longest day of any wilderness trip I have ever led. It was a day representing life. Mostly great mixed with pain tainted moments. Every teen ended up crying at some point before we set up camp in the dark. We crossed through two large bays into a fast-flowing river. By noon we had found a rocky island in the little river. A beautiful little place to stretch and eat something. We didn’t know this was a potentially deadly place. How could we?
I remember three things. Lunch was really good and the pop-up storm that hit without warning was really harsh. It was such a nice day that most of us had their raingear packed on the bottom of our huge packs. Lightening was continuous and close. I encouraged everyone to stand on a rock under small trees and not touch a tree or the roots. I was talking with two teens and then one just disappeared in the wicked storm. Evidently, he was standing in a puddle of water when lightning struck a tree about 50 yards away. We found him on the ground with no ability to speak or move in the harsh rain. Gradually his neurons and muscles started working. He seemed fine and we were able to move on. 9 miles later we found a campsite in the dark. “Grateful” was no longer a surface word for any of us that night. We didn’t know there would be a harder day ahead. How could we?
In life we swerve. Constantly reacting or making adjustments to the weather and seasons, we navigate life as a canoeist navigates a winding wilderness river. Deadheads, sandbars, rocks, rapids, sink holes, log jams and a host of unseen dangers blend with the beauty while the currents push us around the next corner.
After 60 years I look back and vividly remember when I paddled my life’s canoe off the big river through a narrow opening between some big rocks with a little sign at the entrance “Follow Me”… Jesus. It wasn’t to be an easier river, but I chose to follow the only qualified life guide. A good guide. “Grateful” is an even deeper word now.
I know something about swerving. I have an aversion to obstacles in life while my canoe seems to seek the unseen and unavoidable things. I also know something about studying the river ahead with a diligent eye, at least until I get distracted or get lulled into complacency. I have a lot of experience dumping the canoe, patching another hole, getting back in and shoving off into the current. I know I know…It’s my life, my canoe and like you I didn’t choose the river.
One paddler to another, this is what works for me.
I sit down for breakfast with some coffee and open up my Bible to where I left off yesterday. I usually see a word, phrase, concept, story or just some encouragement for direction for the day or for the season in life. God knows what I need. I have come to know the living Word of Life in the scripture as well as the Person of God in presence each morning. I have come to realize that each morning I pack up camp, get in my canoe and paddle more of my river stretch of life. The spiritual journey has become one with my physical journey and I have a guide.
I am a follower of Jesus and He has led me deep into the wilderness. My canoe has many wrecks and patches. Each day requires trust and my friend Jesus has the map.
I know of many who seem content to make camp and never go further down the river spiritually. Some of my friends stand on their last wreck and demand that God apologize and explain why he does not remove the rocks we wreck upon in life.
It is my prayer that at the end of life (our last inevitable crash on the river) we will have a ton of stories to tell forever. Getting to where I want to be forever is an intentional journey. Jesus not only has the map, He made the map.
Each day we packed up camp, checked our canoe for any patching needed, spent some time with Jesus, put on our life jackets, lashed the gear into place and shoved off. Yes, do swerve around the potential wrecks if possible but above all be unswerving in your walk and trust in the ultimate guide. Jesus Christ, our guide, the only one who has been there before on our behalf.
Gods Ways are...Different 