Staying the course

"When in the course of human events ..."

So begins the infamous Declaration of Independence, that revered document emblematic of American freedom and the signing of which forms the basis for our annual Fourth of July celebrations.

But did you know that eight delegates of the Continental Congress never signed the Declaration? Three were away with other duties at the time and never did sign, two voted against the document and were replaced, one voted for it but was replaced before he could sign, one resigned rather than sign it and one refused to sign, calling the Declaration premature, but remained in Congress.

Over the next seven years of the Revolutionary War, you can bet the wisdom of that document and those signers was questioned more than once, but in the end the mission was accomplished.

More recently, on May 1 it was announced that terrorist leader Osama bin Laden had been shot and killed, just four months shy of 10 years after the plot he masterminded resulted in approximately 3,000 deaths on Sept. 11, 2001.

In the intervening years, there was a fair amount of grumbling and disagreement of the pursuit of bin Laden. On May 1, there were flags waving and people chanting. Another mission accomplished.

The Bible tells similar tales, most notably the people of Israel, who followed Moses out of Egypt to freedom, then spent the next 40 years grumbling, stumbling and bumbling their way through the wilderness before finally reaching the Promised Land.

It's a good reminder for us as Christians as well. Christ died some 2,000 years ago, and since then has come a fair amount of arguing, debating and worse as the days pass without his return. But he's already told us it's going to happen, so we must stay the course, do the work, fight the good fight until he comes, until one more mission is accomplished.

Do cats have armpits? ... and other mysteries

One of the most beautiful things about kids is the questions they ask, unless you're the one that has to answer the question.

About a month ago or so, my daughter was petting our cat, who was enjoying a nice nap at the end of the bed and welcomed another reason to purr. But suddenly out of the blue, she blurted, "Do cats have armpits?"

My wife and I just looked at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter. Put that on the list of things to ask about in heaven.

A few weeks earlier, this same inquisitive little girl had a different question. She asked her mother first, then me. "When's God's birthday?" she inquired.

"Christmas," was my nearly automatic answer and no sooner than I spoke, I realized my error. So did the 6-year-old.

"No, that's Jesus' birthday," she corrected. "When is God's birthday?"

Oh, dear. There's no theology textbook for stuff like that.

I paused a moment, then plunged ahead with a response.

"God doesn't have a birthday," I said. "God has always been and always will be. He lives forever and never changes. That's why we know he's always with us."

Was this enough to satisfy a child's insatiable curiosity? As it turns out, yes.

With a simple, "Oh, okay," the conversation was over. She may or may not remember it, but I will. You never know when or where you'll learn about God, but whether you're 6 or 96, his mysteries never cease.

Now if I can just figure out whether the cat needs to wear deodorant!

The Killing

It's been a while but here I am again. And as has been customary on this blog, I begin with a reference to a TV show.

One of my recent favorites is AMC's new show -- The Killing.

And I warn you now, it's not for the faint of heart. The root of the show is the mysterious death of a teenage girl, but the title alone should tell you a bit of how the subject matter is treated. It's not just a homicide, crime scene investigation or whatever, it's a killing.

The girl's death is not simply a basis for building a whodunnit, but it's portrayed as a painful, haunting thing, particularly for her family.

That's what draws me, I suppose, the pain and grief is so real, you truly feel for the characters.

The same is true this Easter weekend of Jesus' death on the cross. Sometimes we make it so sterile, so tame, so laissez-faire. But it was real, it was painful and it was for you, it was for me.

One song that really captures this for me is a song that is 20 years old now from a group called The Violet Burning. Also called The Killing, this song really helps make Christ's crucifixion personal. And the video below uses clips from Mel Gibson's Passion to back up the lyrics.

Returning Christmas

Christmas was two weeks ago now. By this point, you've likely spent some time in line for the refund desk somewhere, exchanging or returning a gift for yourself or someone else.

Maybe the situation is not so different spiritually. All that peace, goodwill, joy and sharing/caring spirit you had just a few weeks ago is gone. Perhaps the warm, fuzzy feelings about the true meaning of Christmas have been exchanged for questions about the true meaning of life.

The Christmas story in the Bible mirrors that experience. We like to talk about stables and shepherds and wise men, about angels and gold, frankincense and myrhh, but what about what came after? What about vengeful Herod and his killing spree of the young boys in Matthew 2? What about Joseph and Mary and Jesus fleeing to Egypt at the angel's warning?

Things didn't stay warm and fuzzy for them, and they won't for us either. But if there's one piece of advice or example we should follow, look no further than Luke 2:19: "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Christmas is something to be treasured in our hearts and its miracles and blessings to be pondered -- not taken lightly or momentarily enjoyed -- treasured.

Then when the doubts come and times don't seem so warm or inviting, we have an anchor to fall back on. Call it the assurance of Christmas, and that's non-refundable.

Not Who I Was

I find Brandon Heath's song, "I'm Not Who I Was" (see above) undeniably appropriate as we start a new year.

We all undergo changes in life, sometimes the changes are physical, sometimes mental or even spiritual, but rarely are we the same person from day to day, let alone year to year.

So the question for the new year is this: How will you let life's changes impact you?

They can make you stronger or they can make you weaker. They can make you more positive or more negative. You can be more faithful or more hopeless.

Either way, you're not who you were.

Sleigh Ride

Just made it safely back home with four hours to spare this snowy Christmas Eve -- emphasis on just.

For a few, terrible seconds along the way, this Christmas Eve might have ended in spectacularly, unspectacular fashion. It's never good to crest a hill and find two trucks pulled to the side of the road with a car perpendicular to said road in between. And it's even less good to tap the brakes and feel the vehicle you're driving start to wiggle, then try it again only to feel a waggle -- even at 30 miles per hour.

So I aimed for the opening at the double yellow lines as traffic passed in the opposite lane, knowing there were three possible outcomes and two of them we will not mention out loud. But with my wife in the passenger seat lofting quick, audible prayers, our sleigh somehow slid through trouble and safely back onto the darkness of a road illuminated by only the driving snowflakes.

Call it one final reminder to be thankful for Christ, thankful for salvation and thankful for Christmas miracles.

Long expected

For me, one of the blessings, and curses, of the so-called "liberal arts" education was the Art and Music Appreciation class.

Those that know me would never dare say that art or music are one of my strong points. And those that don't know me would take only five minutes to figure it out.

But as one of the requisites for that course, I had to learn to play the piano. And I use that term, play, loosely here, because 15 years later, I could no more play a piano than I could tuna fish (little joke, there ... very little).

Anyhow, it became my quest to figure out a way to plunk out the song, "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus," in a way that one might almost consider to be music. And though remembering the how has become problematic, I shall never forget the whens or wheres. Dark rooms, usually after dark, were where I practiced interminably to perform that song well enough to pass the class.

And the words of Charles Wesley's Christmas-oriented hymn have never departed either. We sang it at church this past Sunday, and I was reminded once again how perfect for Christmas this song is. Here are the lyrics in case you have not had them drummed into your brain in the pew of a church, or, as in my case, the pew of a piano:


Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

How apt that we feel the way we do about Christmas. Nearly from the moment one Christmas ends, we anticipate the moment that another will begin.

We know it's coming, but it takes so long to arrive. We even try to fool ourselves with Christmas in July, but it's not the same. It doesn't have the same spirit, the same consolation.

But when it finally does arrive, we feel that hope, desire and joy well up in us all at once. We want to share it, shout it, live it forever ... and we shall. But not because of anything we have felt or done or said. Only by His merit, His grace, His freedom ... Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.