Notes From My Journey

 If so, that would make us followers of a brown-skinned Middle Eastern guy who didn’t speak a word of English.  His platform for change was good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, free universal health care, women’s rights, voluntary redistribution of wealth, tolerance of differences, and justice for the marginalized and oppressed.  His main enemies were the religious right and the military-industrial complex.  His political enemies said that his message of change would destroy the moral fiber of the nation and that his financial policies would ruin the economy.  He was eventually arrested and accused of being the leader of a terrorist cell and working to overthrow the government.  He died a convicted felon.

So you want us to build our nation on this guy’s teachings and example?  Cool!  When do we get started?

 

Listening to Bob Dylan’s “Slow Train Coming” album from 1979 on iTunes while I was working on website stuff this morning.  Dylan’s song, “I Believe In You” never fails to bring tears to my eyes and an ache to my heart as I think of friends – brothers and sisters in the faith – who, like Bob, made such sweet and simple and whole-hearted declarations of faith in Jesus when we were all young would-be world-changers.

Then through the years, the cares of the world, the failures of the flesh, and the pain, hurt, and disappointment of betrayals by brothers and church leaders, caused them to drift from the “I Believe In You” intensity of their early faith.

Some are gone now, others living lives of quiet desperation.  Some who thought we were all going to change the world for God have settled for accepting the world as all there is.  I grieved for them today as I listened to Bob sing his bold declaration – so confident in its simplicity and, as we were back then, so unaware of the twists and turns of the road ahead.

From time to time people tell me I shouldn’t be so moved by Bob’s music from the “Slow Train Coming” and “Saved” era, but I’ve been moved by Bob’s music ever since I first heard it!  I’m still moved by the music he’s making at 71!  And I’ll tell you this:  Bob’s declaration to Jesus, “I Believe In You,” rings as clear to me now as it did when I first heard him sing it in 1979!

As for my fallen-away friends, who made their own declarations of undying love and unshakable faith all those years ago, I think Jesus still remembers their sweet and simple faith, and still has more room for them in his Kingdom than we usually do in our crowded hearts and busy schedules!

I grieve for what was lost, but I have hope for what may yet be found.  And “I Believe in You” still rings true!

Listen to “I Believe In You” by Bob Dylan here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives.” –Admiral William Leahy, U.S. Atomic Bomb Project

“There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom.” –Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923

“Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.” –Popular Mechanics magazine, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” –Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

“I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.” –The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

“Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances.” –Dr. Lee DeForest, “Father of Radio & Grandfather of Television”

“But what … is it good for?” –Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” –Western Union internal memo, 1876

“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?” –David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s

“The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.” –A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

“I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling on his face and not Gary Cooper.” –Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in Gone With The Wind

“A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make.” –Response to Debbi Fields’ idea of starting Mrs. Fields’ Cookies.

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” –Decca Recording Co., rejecting the Beatles, 1962

Forty-nine years ago Jamaica won her independence from Great Britain. It was twenty-one years ago in October that I left Jamaica to move to the UK, but today I realized that I still remember these words from the Jamaica National Anthem.

Jamaica, Land We Love

Eternal Father, Bless our Land,
Guard us with thy mighty hand,
Keep us free from evil powers,
Be our light through countless hours,
To our leaders, great defender,
Grant true wisdom from above,
Justice, truth be ours forever,
Jamaica, land we love,
Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica, land we love.

Teach us true respect for all,
Stir response to duty’s call,
Strengthen us the weak to cherish,
Give us vision lest we perish,
Knowledge send us Heavenly Father,
Grant true wisdom from above,
Justice, truth be ours forever,
Jamaica, land we love,
Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica, land we love.

Just wanted to share this with you.
Happy Birthday, Jamaica, Land We Love!

Last weekend was our annual family campout at Battleground Lake State Park, just north of Vancouver, WA. It’s about the sixth year for us and it’s become quite a family tradition.

The kids (Philip and Stephanie and Jesse) come down from Tacoma and the other kids (Colin, Melissa, Jude, and Zane) and Jean and I and Buddy the Dog drive up from Bend.

This year it rained about 2/3 of the time we were there. Camping for us is an “in tents” experience, so rain is definitely a factor affecting the overall enjoyment of the experience.

We had a canopy and some tarps and a broomstick or two and devised some ingenious covers for the common area so we could sit near the fire and stay not quite dry. The boys, especially Zane, really enjoyed splashing in puddles and making mud.

For a good part of the day on Saturday, I made Buddy the Dog stay in the tent trailer because it was just too muddy for him to be among us as we gathered round the fire and the table.

I made him stay in for his own good. But each time I went to the trailer, he looked at me with his big sad brown eyes as if to say, “Hey Boss, what have I done that is so wrong you’re making me stay in here while all of you are out there?”

There was no way I could communicate to Buddy that his having to stay inside alone was not punishment for some unknown sin.

I wonder if I’m like that. I wonder if sometimes God is requiring me to do something or be somewhere I don’t want to be or to miss out on the fun that others are having and it is, in fact, for my good. But I perceive it as punishment and feel guilty or feel wronged or feel unloved.

I wonder if it’s as hard for God to explain things to me as it is for me to explain things to Buddy the Dog.

I wonder!

Are people supposed to just smile and say, “Fine!” and talk about unimportant things and move on?

Are people supposed to say, “I’m breaking apart on the inside and I just want to run away from something that I can’t run away from because it’s inside me!”

If people smile and say “Fine!” their hearts get hollow, then hard, then brittle, then break.

If people say, “My life is on fire!” and try to tell it to the wrong person, it is very uncool.

Sometimes people can’t smile and say, “Fine!” anymore and they just say “It hurts so bad I took the plunge into being uncool because I don’t know what else to do!”

What if I’m a wrong person? What if I wince and turn away and leave the cry of pain hanging in the air?

What if I don’t turn away and I listen and take some of the pain myself? Is that enough? Is there anything else I can do?

I mean what are people supposed to do, just smile and say, “Fine?”

My second project for the day was installing a ceiling fan in the bedroom.  We’ve had the fan for a month and today is the day to git ‘er done!

I carefully opened the box, found and removed the packet containing the instructions.  I’ve learned from previous installation projects that it’s good to read the instructions before ripping open the box and scattering all the parts around the house.

So I read through 6 pages of step-by-step, detailed instructions (with photos and diagrams) and it really looks doable!  I can’t quite picture all the details, but it looks like it will make sense when I get to it.

The first thing is to make sure the electrical box you’re going to install it to is UAL approved and properly fitted, then go for it.

I took the existing light fixture down and discovered that the existing electrical box is plastic and is not properly anchored to a ceiling joist or support bar and I have no idea what to do next!

Thinking it through, it seems that one might go into the attic, try to avoid falling through the ceiling, and carefully fit a support bar between two ceiling joists at just the right location to match the hole in the ceiling sheetrock, install an approved electrical box, and properly attach and anchor the electrical wires.

Thinking it through again, that’s way beyond my agility level (climbing up a ladder, through a 16-inch hole in the closet ceiling, picking my way over the wall into the space above the bedroom, crawling across 14 feet of ceiling joists – and then discovering I forgot the tape measure).  It’s also way beyond my skill level to think I could get the support bar cut and installed so it would support the weight of a ceiling fan.  And I have no doubt we’d have a sort of oblong hole in the ceiling sheetrock about a foot from where the fan should go.

So I put it all back in the box for now as I settle down to await a visit from a carpenter-electrician angelic being who will figure out what to do next.

I did, however, manage to put the existing light fixture back and it still works.  So at least we’re no worse off than when I started.  Oh, and I vacuumed up all the sheetrock, insulation, and plaster dust I scattered all over the bedroom.

1 I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. 2 Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath! (Psalm 116:1-2 NLT)

I’ve learned so much about the relationship between God and me from my dog Buddy. On a Friday morning in January 2003, Jean and I visited the local Humane Society and I saw a black and brown dog in a cage. I’m pretty sure I loved this dog from the moment I saw him, and Jean and I immediately made arrangements to adopt him. When we chose to adopt him, we rescued him from an unknown fate. When we chose him his life (and ours) was changed from that moment. When we chose him, we chose accept responsibility for him for as long as he lives.

I love Buddy because he’s my dog and I chose him. He loves me (affectionately, trustingly, dependently) because I feed him, provide for him, and care for him in ways he cannot even think or imagine in his little doggy brain. Buddy has no idea how much Jean and I actually do to care for him and provide for him. As long as there’s food in the dish and water in the bowl and a ride in the car and a run in the desert, he’s happy with his life! He’s happy to be my dog Buddy.

God loves me because he chose me. God chose me because of his mercy, compassion, kindness, and grace. Because he chose me, I’m his born-again, rescued, adopted child Jimmy. When he chose me, he accepted responsibility for me for as long as I live. My relationship with God is based on my dependency and his sufficiency. He cares for me and provides for me in ways I can only imagine. And I so quickly forget how much he does for me. There’s nothing like prayer to keep things in perspective. I pray because I have needs. I love him because he hears me and responds to my prayers.

God loves me because he chose me. He chose me because he loves me. He hears me because he is God. He answers because He is good. I’m happy to be his rescued, adopted son Jimmy!

Prayer:

Father, 12 What can I offer you for all you have done for me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation; I will praise Your name for saving me. 14 I will keep my promises to You in the presence of all Your people. (Psalm 116:12-14 NLT)

To shrink back from all that can be called Nature into negative spirituality is as if we ran away from horses instead of learning to ride. There is in our present pilgrim condition plenty of room (more room than most of us like) for abstinence and renunciation and mortifying our natural desires. But behind all asceticism the thought should be, “Who will trust us with the true wealth if we cannot be trusted even with the wealth that perishes?” Who will trust me with a spiritual body if I cannot control even an earthly body? These small and perishable bodies we now have were given to us as ponies were given to schoolboys. We must learn to manage: not that we may some day be free of horses altogether but that some day we may ride bare-back, confident and rejoicing, those greater mounts, those winged, shining and world-shaking horses which perhaps even now expect us with impatience, pawing and snorting in the King’s stables. Not that the gallop would be of any value unless it were a gallop with the King; but how else—since he has retained his own charger—should we accompany him?

C.S. Lewis – From Miracles