Flowers and Fools (me, that is)

I'm an idiot in so many ways. But here is one of the better examples from recently.

While away at my Annual Training with the Army, I decided to be a good husband and send Mary flowers. I ordered them on a Friday with a Saturday delivered scheduled. I excitedly- and cryptically- told her to expect something on Saturday.

So Saturday comes and I get a friendly email from 1800FLOWERS explaining that the flowers had been delivered and I should be expecting a call from a certain someone (yeah, they actually phrased it almost exactly like that.... cheesy, but, whatever).

So I texted the most reliable source in the world, our 16 year old, to ask if they had been delivered. Mary Ann was out and about for the day, so I assumed she hadn't seen them yet. Calvin insisted nothing had been delivered and throughout the day we texted back and forth until about 5pm, when I decided to call the flower company and let them have it.

I ranted about being on Army duty and wanting to surprise my wife, etc., and I complained long enough that they acquiesced to my demand for a refund.

After getting off the phone I realized they were eerily certain the flowers had been delivered. So I decided to text our neighbor and ask her if she would check a specific house with an address similar to ours. Her response was: "Oh, Mary Ann already got them" and she went on to explain that Mary posted a nice picture and thank you to me on Facebook as she headed out for the day.

Oh.

My bad.

And now 1800FLOWERS is sending a refund? In 5-7 business days.

I felt just a little stupid. Actually, a lot stupid.

So today I confirmed that they had actually put the refund in my checking account and I sheepishly called them and told them to charge me again.

Which brings me to my point: I really didn't want to call. I knew I had to do it... It was the right thing to do... but somewhere in the back of my mind, I was hoping to justify why the refund was ok. I couldn't obviously. I was wrong, they did their job, and I couldn't get around that no matter how much the sinner in me would like to do so. So I called them.

And did I mention I'm preaching on the 7th Commandment this weekend: Thou Shall Not Steal.

Sigh.

Oh well. Come to church Sunday and hear the rest of the sermon. :)

*Note: some of you who grew up in various Protestant backgrounds might think I got the Commandment numbers wrong, but Lutherans, Catholic and Episcopalians number them different than other Protestants. Google it.

Glimpses of Eternity

Yesterday was my day off.  That usually means running errands and getting stuff done on the home front.

After we ran some of those proverbial errands, Mary Ann, Maggie and I got some fast food and then pulled up alongside the beach on A1A to take in the view.  God made an amazing world and a quick trip down to the beach always reminds me of that.

When we were finishing eating, I decided to take Maggie for a walk on the beach, since she'd been exclaiming "Let's go to the beach!" throughout lunch.  Mary Ann decided to have alone-time in the car, so Maggie and I jumped out and began walking.

It was perfect: lower 70s, no one on the beach, with my daughter and I walking while she (and I...) sang a version of a Yo Gabba Gabba song, which was changed to reflect walking on Flagler Beach and not through Gabba-town. :)

After a while, I realized this was a glimpse of heaven.

I could have stayed there, well, forever.

And something clicked for me.  You see, I've always had trouble with the concept of eternity.  We are a time based nation, and the idea of being in heaven forever kinda freaks me out, if I'm honest about it.

Yesterday I "got" it.  We could have been walking for a 1000 years, and it wouldn't have mattered.  There will be no clocks in heaven, no concept of time, just moments of what life is supposed to be.

So I imagine that yesterday was a foretaste of that.  It was simple.  A dad and his daughter walking, and pausing to play, on the beach.  No schedule, calendar, clock..... no countdowns.  Just being in the moment.

God is good!

How to Read the Bible in an electronic way

Today's entry is a shameless plug for my favorite online and/or electronic-device study Bible tool.  I didn't create it, and it's free, so I'm allowed to make this shameless plug.   I'm telling you about it because it's simply good stuff.

This is such a cool and easy way to study the Bible.  You can go to their website, or download it as an "app" to your iPhone, iPad,  Blackberry, etc.  Or you can just use it online.  Go to http://www.youversion.com/ to check it out.

I'll tell you why I use it:
-You can access almost any translation.  If your pastor or church uses a different or new translation, you don't need to "buy" anything.  You just switch from the NIV to the NLT (or whatever) with one click (or one touch on your iPhone/iPad).  And different languages too.... just about any language you can imagine.

-It will give you reading plans.  Do you want to read the Bible in one year?  Do you want to study a certain topic for a couple weeks?  Want to just read Psalms and Proverbs?  Read the Bible in 90 Days?  They have dozens up different plans.  When you open it up, each day, you can access your readings for that day!

-NOTES!  This is way cool.  When I'm reading a passage, I can simply touch the verse (on my iPad), and it will give me options, lots of 'em.  One of those options is to write a note.  I can make it public (so others can see) or private (only me).  And what's even cooler: you can read the notes of others.... it's like being in a virtual small group of people: hear their notes, their thoughts, their advice, etc.

-Share it.  When I write my notes, sometimes they're private, but sometimes I want to share them, so it's linked to my Twitter account.  Isn't sharing that a lot nicer than hearing about my politics or sports?  It's a cool way to get your friends and family thinking about God's word without being preachy in their face.  And you open your heart to others.  It's an easy way to be real with people.

So here's what you do: go to the website above and create an account.  If you've got a handheld device, download the app in its respective store (i.e., iTunes for Apple products, etc.).

Once you've done that, set aside your devotional time if you don't have one already, and use this app.  You'll love it, and you'll be blessed.  Thanks to the awesome people at lifechurch.tv for creating it for everyone in the world to use for free!

Ah... I'm a hypocrite!

I flew down (er, up) to Charlotte and back to make a presentation to a church yesterday. On the way back, the woman in the seat in front me of blatantly defied the "electronic devices" rule. As we approached for the landing she was talking on the phone.. While we were still flying! Doesn't she know it's against The rules? And it's annoying.

So upon landing, I tweeted the following: "Just landed in Daytona. Woman in front of me was talking on the phone before and as we landed. Annoying. #rulesdontapplytoher"

There. I got her. It felt good.

Then I heard a small voice inside reminding me of the time I turned my phone on before landing in Minnesota and texted my sister, since I saw her office building (Target Headquarters).

"BUT, I thought, that was different... After all, I was only texting, so I wasn't annoying anyone."

The small voice in my head called me out on my hypocrisy. "So it isn't about the rules... It's about your personal annoyance."

Yep, I plead guilty. The day after preaching a sermon on hypocrisy and judging, I'm quietly seething behind the "annoying" woman, judging her for doing essentially the same thing as me.

Being judgmental is a funny thing. It always comes back to bite us.

What she did WAS against the rules. And what I did in Minneapolis was against the rules. Even though I know the plane isn't going down if I use my cell phone it's still a rule. I'm not justifying her rule breaking or my own.

It's just funny that so often we fulfill what Jesus says when we see the speck in someone else's eyes while ignoring the plank in own. God forgive me and make me more like Jesus. I need it. :)

The Value of Life

I've been reading with interest some of the comments on Facebook regarding the need for new gun laws in the US.  While not the purpose of this post, I'm going to say I'm not in favor of new laws for various reasons.  Instead I'd like to focus on something else:

As tragic as the shooting was (and it was VERY tragic), it makes me wonder why this level of outrage doesn't exist about the daily shootings of regular citizens?  We hear so often about kids caught in the crossfire of gang warfare or domestic disputes turning deadly.

Yet this incident has sparked new conversation about gun laws.

What this illustrates is that society has grown numb to most violence.  So let me divert for a second and raise some questions:

+Does it bother us that certain parts of our country are worse than war zones?  Yet we continue the same economic and political policies in those places that have existed for decades.  We create hopeless ghettoes with our social welfare policies, and wonder why this hopelessness results in a resort to violence.  But we compartmentalize because most of us don't live there.

+Does it bother us that 35,000+ people have died in northern Mexico in a war that gets very little attention in the United States.  Why so little attention?  This war has cost far more lives than Iraq and Afghanistan combined.  My good friend Enrique and his church are in more danger than most of my Soldiers.  It breaks my heart.

+Does it bother anyone that the abortion rate is 41% of all pregnancies in New York?  Not to stimulate a pro-life/pro-choice debate, but this should bother people on both sides of the aisle.  Around 40 million babies have been aborted in this nation.  Does that bother you?

+Do we think twice about buying kids very graphic and violent video games?  As an Iraq Vet I have zero desire for my children to play games simulating the stuff my Soldiers and I experienced in Iraq.  Zero.  We play harmless Nintendo Wii games like the sports ones.  More often I tell the kids to go play outside.

+Does it bother us that the market for senselessly violent movies is much deeper than for classic family movies?  Seriously, what sickos think that movies like Saw have any place in a decent society?

My point is this:  the greater problem in this nation is that we live in a bubble.  This is a very violent and senselessly cruel world, but most of the time we turn a blind eye because it doesn't affect us.


The shooting in Arizona affected us because we could have been there.  It hits home.  Who hasn't been to some community event similar to that one.

Most of us don't think much about the violence in northern Mexico because we don't live there.  We compartmentalize abortion under the cover of political-choice.  We argue that violent video games and movies don't affect us.

And we're wrong when we do that.

God created all human life in His image.  Every single human being has value.

Rather than craft feel good legislation that won't solve the real problem, it's time for our nation to take a good hard look at how we value- or don't value- life, and to begin to work for heart change, rather than hoping that a few new laws will help.

The shooter is very sick man.  Nuts, evil, crazy.... use whatever adjective you want.  At the end of the day he isn't the issue.  How we handle violence is the bigger challenge.

How we handle life is the most important issue.

[Back to my original disclaimer: this post isn't about gun laws.  Allow me quickly to explain why. Passing gun laws will only take them out of the hands of the law abiding citizens.  Laws are feel good band aids.  We have a Constitution that guarantees the right the bear arms, so it's a bit of a moot point anyway.  More gun laws won't keep crazy, deranged or criminal minds from procuring weapons.  The more difficult solution is the try and change how we think about violence.]

Ramblings about my sinus surgery.

Some have you read on Facebook that I had surgery this week.  Since I'm recuperating at home, and restless, I'll say a little more about it.

On Monday I had sinus surgery to try and fix the endless sinus infections I've had since the last century.   I get them regularly and when I get them they hit me quick and hard.

A couple of months ago I finally went and saw an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) physician.  My doctor had sent me in for sinus x-rays and it showed polyps in my sinuses.  However, when she examined me, she said that polyps were the "least of my concerns."

I have to admit to asking something stupid like "are they cancerous?"

No, she said, the big issue is a deviated septum.  It was bad enough that she couldn't send the camera on a scope up into my sinuses.  (yeah, she was sending a little camera up my nose...)

So she sent me in for a CT Scan.  Long-story-short: my sinuses and nasal area were really messed up.   That's my lay explanation.

So I was scheduled to have a surgery of the everything.  I needed my sinuses opened and cleaned out, the deviated septum repaired and my nasal turbinates worked on.  I've never even heard of those last things.  I'm a mess.

But I'm tired of being on anti-biotics and going to see the doctor every couple of months.  Surgery can't be too bad, I reasoned and it'll be worth the pain.

Sort of.

I knew I was in trouble when one of Mary Ann's friends posted on Mary's wall that she had had this surgery and it was worse that giving birth.  What??  I happened to read that while in the car on the way to the surgery.  That was a little unnerving.   

So Monday came and went.

It doesn't feel good.

I can't complain too much, because as a pastor I've seen people through all stages of life and death, and this is relatively minor.  So forgive my griping.

But it really hurt.  It's getting better, thank God.  But even worse than the pain is the, um, discomfort.  You may not want to read the next part.

You see, as part of fixing the deviated septum, the doctor placed stints (basically tubes) inside my nose.


I have rods in my nose.  In.  My.  Nose.

I wonder how deep they go?  It appears that they're jammed pretty far back.  And they come to the edge of my nostril.  (I told you that you might not want to read any further).  I have rods inside my nose.  Ugh.

Oh and did I tell you they're stitched into my nose?  Yes, stitches in my nose....holding those awful tubes in place.  Not that they'd slip out, since they're JAMMED into my nose.  But the stitches are icing on the cake.

They're driving me nuts.

I feel like I can't talk.  They uncomfortable.  And I'm not supposed to blow my nose.  I won't even begin to explain the stuff that is in there.  Seriously, you don't want to know.  I have to "irrigate" it with saline solution.

So I sit here surfing the web, playing games on my iPad and wondering if it will be worth it.

Then I start to think crazy thoughts.  "What if I roll over onto my face while I'm sleeping?"  "What if I sneeze really hard?"  "Could they touch my brain?"  "What if society collapses before next Wednesday and I'm not able to get them removed?"

The last one is kind of creepy.  But probably not likely.

I'm antsy.  I can't remember the last time I was cooped up this long.  I really want to go for a run.  But I'm not supposed to exert myself physically, lest I bleed out.  Or something like that.

So, there it is.  My gripe session for the day.  I feel better already.

I can't wait to get back to work.

The Theology of Aliens

Do you think there is "life out there?"

And if there is, what does that do to our faith?  Would the existence of aliens challenge our faith?

I get questions like these from time to time, and I have to admit, they're questions that fascinate me.

The Bible never addresses the possibility of alien life, but that doesn't preclude its existence.

Knowing that God created all kinds of life on Earth, that He has created angels and various spiritual beings, it would not be surprising if there was life on a different planet.  And it would make sense that they have a spiritual nature and a knowledge of God.

That's why I find it fascinating when I read articles like this, which suggests, in black and white terms, that there are only two possibilities: 1) aliens exist and want to harm us,  2) or we're alone in the universe.   Click on that link, read the article, and then jump back.

What amusing arrogance.  At one point, the article states:  "evolution operates predictably, producing relatively predictable outcomes."

Evolution operates predictably?  So we know aliens will be hostile?

That's amusing.

And full of hubris.

The reality:  We don't know.  There is so little we understand about our own world, and yet we're supposed to believe, with certainty, that we know what life is like on other planets and why we need to be scared?

I don't buy it.

And my faith would not be shaken by the possibility of aliens because I believe in the sovereignty of God.  It's His universe and He's in charge of the whole thing.

Would they harm us if they exist?  We can't say.  It's quite possible that God has intentionally kept us separate from any alien life, for His purposes... either to protect us, or to protect them....

Maybe He has a plan for us to reach alien life at some point?

Or maybe we're all that exists?

We don't know.  Regardless, the relevant question is: "Is God is really in charge?"

He is, and so I'm able to look at the question of alien life with amusement and fascination.

In the meantime, I suggest reading C.S. Lewis' series The Space Trilogies for some good fiction on aliens that grows out of a Christian worldview.