Last night for youth group (since only 3 youth actually came!), we decided to take a little ‘field trip’ to play disc golf. If you’ve never played this sport (I guess if golf is a sport, then this is as well), it inolves throwing discs which are similar to frisbee’s-0nly smaller and heavier-into a chained bucket on top of a small pole.

I resisted the trend for a while, but it really is a good time. Anyhow, the course where we play is often littered with big trees and branches that regularly knock down any disc which tries to pass through. Someone may throw a really good hard straight throw, and it might just barely nick a branch, and totally have its course redirected for the worse. Other times someone may throw the disc, which barely misses hitting 5-6 branches, and lands exactly where the thrower desired. Or it might hit a branch and actually have its course positively redirected.

No one is good enough to actually intend for the disc to do such things. And so when it does, we always say, “Its better to be lucky, than good.” Of course, by luck, we mean that God has providentially blessed the flight of the disc so that it lands in a commendable spot near the basket.

It’s hard to argue that it’s not better to be ‘lucky’ than good. Outside the disc golf course, we are so dependent upon God’s providential (that He powerfully preserves and governs all that comes to pass) involvement. Sometimes that can be comforting, and sometimes it can be humbling. We who are Christians are ‘lucky’ people because God promises to work all things for our good, which ultimately means making us more like Christ-which is a really good thing.

And when we succeed, we have to recognize that while God used our planning, gifts, skills, efforts, we are in the end ‘lucky,’ not ‘good.’ There are always many scenarios, often unseen or unrealized, that we end up passing through.

We are like the disc that just barely makes it through the branches. We don’t operate or depend upon our skill, but on ‘luck.”Good’ gives praise to the thrower; ‘lucky’ gives praise to the one who directs both the thrower and the disc. So in the end, “it is better to be lucky than good.”

On my last day in Richmond, my wife and I, and in-laws visited the Pamunkey Indian reservation. My wife Amy is 1/4 Pamunkey Indian, and her mom is 1/2, but they hadn’t been out to the reservation in some time. When we arrived at the Pamunkey museum, my mother-in-law began chatting with the ladies running it. They both knew of her mother and aunt, who at one time lived on the reservation. As we began to talk to these ladies, I was saddened over a number of actions taken against the native Americans.

My mother-in-law’s mother went to a public school, and was repeatedly sent home (in first grade!) because the teacher wouldn’t teach Indians. Another woman had to go to an Indian boarding school in another state to receive education.

Another of the women currently living on the reservation had to get married in North Carolina, because Virginia had a law against Indians intermarrying (she married a white boy). I also found out that my in-laws marriage wasn’t really legal either because that law wasn’t changed until 1968! Fortunately for them there was no documentation! Unfortunately for our kids (who would be 1/8 Indian), we can’t prove Indian blood for college scholarships!

All in all, it was a fascinating journey into the history of a forgotten people. But it was also a journey into some of the history white people like me would like to forget. Perhaps some repentance from the Christian community may put a few more Pamunkeys back in the pews (there was a small fairly unattended Baptist church on site). I’m sure much of the prejudice came from people claiming they knew a thing or two about Jesus. But I wonder if they really did.

“Are you ever really on vacation?
I mean you wouldn’t take a vacation
from reading the bible and sharing
the gospel would you?”– A para-church ministry leader

Someone shared these words with me after I gave a brief lecture on rest. Of course my thoughts, at least coherent thoughts, came together only after (isn’t this always the case!) our lovely conversation had ended.

Why not? Why can’t I go on vacation and not read my bible? Why can’t I go on vacation and not share my faith? What would happen? Would I come back from vacation, having to ‘make up for lost time,’ the way one would return to his/her work after a week away from it? Would God’s Kingdom ‘be put on hold?’ Absolutely not.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t bring my bible on vacation, nor do close myself off from non-believers and sharing opportunities.

I must confess that I’ve never had a vacation where my personal bible study has been more frequent than my normal attempted daily routine. I’m off my schedule. And that’s fine. I can still return refreshed, and God loves me just the same.

On the contrary, I have shared the gospel with folks several times because opportunities presented themselves while on vacation. But I didn’t do it because I ‘had’ to do it; I did it because God had arranged such an opportunity, and I felt led to do so. But I still ‘felt’ like I was on vacation.

So there comes a time when we can take a vacation, and it can be a real vacation. It may be a vacation where you don’t read the bible (although I would encourage you do so because it points us toward God’s grace and His goodness-I just read and prayed before writing this, but not for a long time!) or engage yourself in personal evangelism. If you do neither, God will still love you just as much, even on your vacation.

“Vacation…All I ever wanted
Vacation…Had to get away”- The Go Go’s

About a year ago my wife asked a church visitor, “Are you on vacation?” Her response was a little ditty that went something like this: “Heaven will be my vacation.”

I’m sure heaven will be quite the vacation, but that does not eliminate the need for vacations of some sort now. Even in the OT, Israel was supposed to give the land a break (literally a Sabbath-Lev 26:34). Jeremiah prophesied that the people wouldn’t return to the land after exile in 586 BC until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths (II Chronicles 36:21). If the land itself needs a break, then I could argue that people ‘working the land’ (and that involves our vocations) would need it even more. Vacations, provided we have the time and money to take them, are wise investments.

I was visiting my father-in-law’s church this Memorial Day weekend, and was blessed by the sacrament of baptism (although it looked a little different than presented in this picture! ). If you happen to be presbyterian, then you embrace the covenantal nature of baptism. The child is entering into a covenant with God, and is now a member of His covenantal community: the church (of course he/she needs to express faith to enjoy all the rights of membership). But one thing often overlooked in baptism is the community’s responsibility to that child. We actually VOW (I know vows don’t mean much to most folks-but they should) to assist the parents in raising the child (that’s why we don’t have god-parents in Presbyterian circles). But how often do most of us abdicate any responsibility in nurturing that child? Volunteering for nursery, teaching Sunday School, assisting in youth ministry, mentoring, developing relationships with child and family, are all part of our covenantal responsibility. The question is how are we actually participating in, and living out what we say we believe, and have vowed to do?

I just witnessed an interesting interview on one of the morning shows. There was a 60 year old mother of twins, ecstatic about this time in her life. But the conversation didn’t really center around the newborns as it did around her (I know infants are notoriously bad interviews-that’s not what I was expecting).

The question asked by Meredith Vierra was something to the effect of “Why did you decide to do this?” Her response primarily dealt with one motivation: empowerment for women. She already has a 29 year old daughter, who has publicly voiced her disapproval of her mother’s actions. But this was an action to empower women all over, and we should get used to seeing more things like this. She was sending this ‘positive’ message to her daughter, even though it had presently fallen on deaf or perhaps ear wax filled ears.

Empowerment to do whatever you want despite the consequences or counsel to the contrary. This is the idol Covenant Seminary professor Jerram Barrs believes is most present in our society. I would have to agree.

I find it interesting that two different women can find the same motivation (empowerment despite counsel or consequence) and do two incredibly opposite actions: abortion or giving birth. By the way, I’m not a mysoginist; I struggle with this myself-of course it looks a bit different for me since I’m a dude.

By the way, that man in the picture isn’t the father, but the doctor. The husband was cropped out. Interesting, eh?

I just filled out my tax information with the ever popular turbo tax (I had to file for an extension, but it really wasn’t my fault). But as I printed out the necessary information to mail to the IRS, the 1040 x form informed me that I owed 127 dollars. But the tax calculator in the corner of the screen said a refund of 1,144 dollars.

So I was stressed all afternoon, seeing as I still had (and still have) a sermon to complete before I skip town. So after a few hours of stressing (I was out of the office for a while), I decided to call Turbo Tax and talk to “the man” himself. After only a few minutes of ‘mood’ music, a friendly gentlemen told me that the only form I needed to pay attention to was the 1040. That form stated that my refund was 1,144 dollars. Quite a big ‘point swing’ I would and do say.

Someone just had to explain the truth to me. I was enslaved to a fear of something that simply wasn’t true. How often is this the case. I guess I should trust Turbo Tax next time, or rather God, who through the gospel, has a little better ‘track’ record. Every fear is a faulty fear in Christ.

Before I went out fishing the other day, one of my Dad’s friends offered to pray for our fishing trip. I usually feel weird about publicly praying for fish. But I must say, that I appreciated his prayer because it focused mostly on the God’s gracious provision for our us, his atoning sacrifice, the beautiful day He’d given us, and finally “if it be your will, allow us some fish. “And it just so happened that it was His will to give us some fish, as evidenced in these pictures. Thanks Jesus for making these fish bite!

I visited an elderly church member in the hospital last week. I got a birthday card for her son, since she hadn’t missed one in 60 years, and didn’t want to ruin that streack. ‘ Since she couldn’t write, I filled in a few words and then offered to put a bible reference.

“Do you have any particular one you would like me to write down,” I asked.

So I reached for my pocket PC (which housed my electronic bible) to get a reference appropriate to the situation, but my reach was all for naught.

But before I continue, I must say there were some noticeable anachronistic ironies at play. First of all, I was breaking out a fairly high tec gadget in front of someone who probably hadn’t been on the internet before. Secondly, I was using that high tec gadget to read from something so ancient, yet always remains relevant-unlike my pocket PC which is already behind the times: many phones can do more than I can. Sorry for that ‘aside.’

Now back to the story. I was interuppted with the words “Psalm 23.” Then she continued her interruption with the words from Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd……..”All of the words.

I think that day she ministered every bit as much to me, as I did to her, and perhaps more.
She taught me two things that afternoon:

1.) Memorize-If we memorize the words of scripture, we have truly ‘hidden’ God’s Word in our hearts (Psalm 119), and we’ll have it at our disposal throughout the day. What else will sustain us when visitors are few and far between, and the hospital room smells like cabbage (although its been a while since I smelled cabbage, but I know it smells bad, and so do hospitals)? God’s Word, hidden in our hearts. Even when we don’t have the power to turn the pages of the bible, it’s still there.

2.) Start ‘Em Young-I asked her when she had memorized this Psalm. She answered, “When I was a little girl in bible school.” What an effect it had on her. VBS memorization really does make a difference. It’s never too early for baby food, and it’s never too early to memorize scripture. But then again, it’s never too late either. Can’t let us off the hook, eh?