My last post a week and a half ago let you know that Ralf has gone to doggie heaven. I knew that I was going to be sad, yet I've been shocked at the depth of my grief and how it has taken me out of the game. I've been pondering why that is.
Part of me thinks that my grief is a longing for Eden and Heaven. When Adam and Eve were kickin it in the garden before the fall, they were in right and good relationship with the animals. The critters were companions long before they became food. In the book of Revelation we see that at the end of it all there will be a new heaven and new earth where the earth and heaven will be united and earth resotred to an edenic state. You can hpothesis that we will be in right and good relationship with animals (and all creation for that matter) when we get to glory.
Ralf wasn't just another four legged thing. He was a friend and companion who gave me, my family and many others a glimpse back into Eden and forward into glory where we were and will be walking in tight communion with animals. My friendship with him filled an void that has been present in all humanity since Genesis 3 - the longing for all to be well. For some that void is filled with horses. For others by a long walk in the woods. still for others a day on the lake answers that call for Eden. For me it was filled with my brown furry friend. I miss him becasue I (like you) was made for heaven.
Peace and Joy
Rob
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Mourning
Jesus said in the sermon on the Mount in Matt. 5 that "bessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted."
Well our dog and buddy Ralf died this morning and it sure doesn't feel blessed. I trust someday it will. Our home is pretty heavy with sadness now. For now we will simply feel the weight of sadness and not rush out of it.
Peace and Joy
Rob
Well our dog and buddy Ralf died this morning and it sure doesn't feel blessed. I trust someday it will. Our home is pretty heavy with sadness now. For now we will simply feel the weight of sadness and not rush out of it.
Peace and Joy
Rob
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Again
It got me again. Darn it. Will I ever be free from the pull to letargy and laxity in the wonderful freeing disciplines in life. Time with God. Commitment to excercise. Right and balanced eating. This week the disciplines were all replaced with the old habits. The Apostle Paul talks about the battle between the spirit man and the flesh man. It sure does feel like Mr. Flesh wins a few too many times.
"As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it [sin], but it is the sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; ... For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ... Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:17-25)
Well said Paul, you speak for me. Thanks be to God. Through Jesus we are rescued. Rescued from the eternal consequences of sin. But also rescued from the day to day consequences of sin. It's a new day. A good time to start a new.
Peace and Joy
Rob
"As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it [sin], but it is the sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; ... For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ... Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:17-25)
Well said Paul, you speak for me. Thanks be to God. Through Jesus we are rescued. Rescued from the eternal consequences of sin. But also rescued from the day to day consequences of sin. It's a new day. A good time to start a new.
Peace and Joy
Rob
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Brothers
Nehimiah 4:14 says, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daugheters, your wives, and your homes." Hmm... I would have thought that wives and kids woul have come before brothers. Yet it is not so. Brothers first. Then the family.
A couple weekends ago at the Mancation we looked at this second role of men - brothers (remember the first role was son). We looked at Nehimiah's call to fight for them first. To be sure we are called to engage in the battle for the hearts of our children and spouses. Yet in the battle against the kingdom of darkness we must first fight for our brothers. We stand stronger when we don't stand alone. Once we have fought well for our brothers as a brother we will have greater united strength to fight for our kids and wives.
Your role - if you choose to accept it - is to be a brother to other men. Fight well and fight together.
Peace and Joy
Rob
A couple weekends ago at the Mancation we looked at this second role of men - brothers (remember the first role was son). We looked at Nehimiah's call to fight for them first. To be sure we are called to engage in the battle for the hearts of our children and spouses. Yet in the battle against the kingdom of darkness we must first fight for our brothers. We stand stronger when we don't stand alone. Once we have fought well for our brothers as a brother we will have greater united strength to fight for our kids and wives.
Your role - if you choose to accept it - is to be a brother to other men. Fight well and fight together.
Peace and Joy
Rob
Friday, July 30, 2010
The Falkon
Jake and I learned a valuable lesson on community Wednesday night.
We were driving back from Massachusettes in a 2000 Dodge Ram Truck that my brother had bequethed to us for the boys to have as they learn to drive. While driving through the mountains of Pennsylvania around 70 miles an hour on a 90 degree day, having had the fans on high all day after having driven for 11 hours the radiator said, "enough!"
We pulled over, raised the hood, and quickly remembered I know nothing about cars other than how to put gas in it. The fact that I knew how to raise the hood was a miracle in and of itself. We didn't know if this was a simple over heating or another major issue. It took me about ten seconds to realize this was a job for Tim. Tim is a friend of mine that I've known for years who is a professional machanic. In 2 seconds flat Tim was able to diagnose the problem and tell me how to fix it - on the phone! We let the truck rest a bit to cool down, dumped a bunch of water in the radiator and drove home without incident (we were through with the mountains thankfully). I'm not sure what we would have done without Tim. Probably would have spent a ton of money for some Pennsylvanian stranger to tell me it was only overheated. Thank you Tim.
And thank God for the idea of living life in community. Since the Garden of Eden it has been God's plan for people to live in relationship and community with people. David had Jonathon. Abraham had Lot. Tom had Jerry. Paul had Barnabus. Jesus had the 12. David had his mighty men. To be sure we were meant to live as a part of a larger team. Tim's calming, knowledgable voice was a God-send. His assurance was peace-giving. His insights were invaluable and saved us some hassle and expense. Community and freindship is a great idea.
Peace and Joy
Rob
PS we named the truck The Falkon after the Millenium Falcon (Star Wars).
We were driving back from Massachusettes in a 2000 Dodge Ram Truck that my brother had bequethed to us for the boys to have as they learn to drive. While driving through the mountains of Pennsylvania around 70 miles an hour on a 90 degree day, having had the fans on high all day after having driven for 11 hours the radiator said, "enough!"
We pulled over, raised the hood, and quickly remembered I know nothing about cars other than how to put gas in it. The fact that I knew how to raise the hood was a miracle in and of itself. We didn't know if this was a simple over heating or another major issue. It took me about ten seconds to realize this was a job for Tim. Tim is a friend of mine that I've known for years who is a professional machanic. In 2 seconds flat Tim was able to diagnose the problem and tell me how to fix it - on the phone! We let the truck rest a bit to cool down, dumped a bunch of water in the radiator and drove home without incident (we were through with the mountains thankfully). I'm not sure what we would have done without Tim. Probably would have spent a ton of money for some Pennsylvanian stranger to tell me it was only overheated. Thank you Tim.
And thank God for the idea of living life in community. Since the Garden of Eden it has been God's plan for people to live in relationship and community with people. David had Jonathon. Abraham had Lot. Tom had Jerry. Paul had Barnabus. Jesus had the 12. David had his mighty men. To be sure we were meant to live as a part of a larger team. Tim's calming, knowledgable voice was a God-send. His assurance was peace-giving. His insights were invaluable and saved us some hassle and expense. Community and freindship is a great idea.
Peace and Joy
Rob
PS we named the truck The Falkon after the Millenium Falcon (Star Wars).
Monday, July 26, 2010
Role # 1
This weekend at The River's Mancation we spent some time looking at 4 different roles given to men.
That first night I was sharing how I am still suprised how much my 3 boys long for and want physical affection from me. Even our oldest who is 12 and now a lanky 6 feet tall loves when it is his turn to sit "on my lap" (a near impossibility with his size) while watching TV. As I thought about that reality I realized that even I still have a longing for physical affection and affirmation from my dad - although the desire to sit on his lap is long past :). As men, we all have a built in need for such affirmation. Unfortunatley for a variety of reasons this need has gone unmet for many.
Thank God for God. Whether our dads have been able to meet our need for affection and affirmation or not, God longs to be Abba for us, to us, and with us. Granted he can't touch us physically, but he can bring words of affirmation (if we listen) and overt signs of love (if our eyes are open).
That first role that we were encouraged to walk into at the Mancation was the Role of Son. Son of the Most High God. Son of the King of Kings. Son of the Creator of the Universe. Son of the Father of Compassion. Son of the one who has reconciled us to Himself. Son of Abba. Son. It is yours to embrace my brothers. "See what manner of love he's given unto us that we should be called sons of God."
To embrace this role we were given a couple assignments. 1. Get alone with Abba. The "how" doesn't matter. Whether it is in your basement, a tree stand, or while riding a motorcycle doesn't matter. Just make some time to get in the word, ask of the Lord, and listen. 2. Be young again as if you were a young son to Abba (which you are). Play, goof round, don't take yourself to seriously and feel free to forget about work for a bit.
Peace and Joy
Rob
That first night I was sharing how I am still suprised how much my 3 boys long for and want physical affection from me. Even our oldest who is 12 and now a lanky 6 feet tall loves when it is his turn to sit "on my lap" (a near impossibility with his size) while watching TV. As I thought about that reality I realized that even I still have a longing for physical affection and affirmation from my dad - although the desire to sit on his lap is long past :). As men, we all have a built in need for such affirmation. Unfortunatley for a variety of reasons this need has gone unmet for many.
Thank God for God. Whether our dads have been able to meet our need for affection and affirmation or not, God longs to be Abba for us, to us, and with us. Granted he can't touch us physically, but he can bring words of affirmation (if we listen) and overt signs of love (if our eyes are open).
That first role that we were encouraged to walk into at the Mancation was the Role of Son. Son of the Most High God. Son of the King of Kings. Son of the Creator of the Universe. Son of the Father of Compassion. Son of the one who has reconciled us to Himself. Son of Abba. Son. It is yours to embrace my brothers. "See what manner of love he's given unto us that we should be called sons of God."
To embrace this role we were given a couple assignments. 1. Get alone with Abba. The "how" doesn't matter. Whether it is in your basement, a tree stand, or while riding a motorcycle doesn't matter. Just make some time to get in the word, ask of the Lord, and listen. 2. Be young again as if you were a young son to Abba (which you are). Play, goof round, don't take yourself to seriously and feel free to forget about work for a bit.
Peace and Joy
Rob
Thursday, July 22, 2010
St. Julian
It's been said that life sucks and then you die. It's also been said that the only sure things in life are death and taxes. Hmmm... At times this certainly feels true. Heaviness, depression, sorrow, loss, cancer, illness, loneliness. Things that make the two statements ring true. Yet what seems true isn't always true.
Jesus says in John 8 that, "the truth will set you free." The truth is that all things will work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom 8). The truth is that nothing can seperate us from the love of Christ (also Rom. 8). The truth is that there is a peace that passes understanding (Phil. 4).
This is good news. It's good news because I know many of you struggle with the weightiness of life. It's good news because in "this life you will have troubles." It's good news because, at times, our issues seem to get the best of us. It's good news becasue it sure does seem like life sucks and then you die. (Now, some of you are blessed with a cheery disposition and are mercifully clueless to these heavy, dark, morose thoughts - to you I saw count yourself blessed.)
As Julian of Norwich has said, "All will be well. All will be well and in all manner of things, all will be well."
Be of good cheer men for all will be well. That's a promise. A Biblical promise.
Peace and Joy
Rob
Jesus says in John 8 that, "the truth will set you free." The truth is that all things will work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom 8). The truth is that nothing can seperate us from the love of Christ (also Rom. 8). The truth is that there is a peace that passes understanding (Phil. 4).
This is good news. It's good news because I know many of you struggle with the weightiness of life. It's good news because in "this life you will have troubles." It's good news because, at times, our issues seem to get the best of us. It's good news becasue it sure does seem like life sucks and then you die. (Now, some of you are blessed with a cheery disposition and are mercifully clueless to these heavy, dark, morose thoughts - to you I saw count yourself blessed.)
As Julian of Norwich has said, "All will be well. All will be well and in all manner of things, all will be well."
Be of good cheer men for all will be well. That's a promise. A Biblical promise.
Peace and Joy
Rob
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