Ending Well

            Steve, a long time employee at our shop, retired this week after working 15 years with us. He has worked in the printing industry for 50 years. Talk about changing with the times! Fifty years ago printing for businesses was just starting to take off. Over the 50 years Steve has seen how printing was done before the birth of the digital age, when typesetting, and the printing press were time consuming and laborious. Today, as with other industries, printing has adapted with the digital age.

            No longer (okay, very seldom) do customers bring in hand written text. Now all text, logos, and graphics are emailed to us or delivered on a thumb drive. We download and then design them so they are print ready. Instead of metal plates for the press, we use digital paper plates downloaded from a computer. More than that, electronic color and black and white copiers make high quality prints.

            I admire Steve for changing and not just adapting to the new technology. He embraced it and became skilled at designing and producing quality printed materials. He investigated and learned how to operate new technologies and equipment when other younger employees could not figure it out.

            Steve ended his career well. He was appreciated and sought after by customers, and was a wealth of high tech knowledge to his co-workers. He will be greatly missed now that he has retired.

            Ending well is important. It shows perseverance and adaptability.

            In our church I most admire the wisdom crowd, the seniors. Ours is a church with wonderful contemporary worship music, praising our Lord with passion and yes, . . . volume. I am moved to tears when I see worshippers in their 70’s or 80’s singing and clapping along with the praise band, drums and electric guitars. I know this type of music is not for everyone, which is why it is beautiful to have so many denominations and worship styles to choose from. God receives praise from many different styles and as long as we are worshipping in spirit and in truth, I’m sure the angels in heaven are praising along with us.

            Those who have walked with the Lord and attended church for longer than some of us have been alive have seen changes in worship styles and music through the decades. Being able to adapt and praise God with the new music shows a heart for the Lord.

            When I witness these saints of the faith worship along with the next generations, I hope that I will be as adaptable when Christ Tomlin and Hillsong United are no longer the contemporary choice for worship music.

Psalm 33:3 “Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”

Don’t you love when you end something well? Isn’t it inspiring to see people persevere and adapt to new technologies or worship styles?

My Summer Vacay by Bolt the Wonder Dog

Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

            When my parents said we were going to Disney Land this summer I couldn’t wait! As I walked through the gate a large wolf, who apparently ran the place, greeted me. He was so nice. He constantly reminded me of  the rules by curling up his lip and showing his teeth. If I didn’t see him, he would make the coolest growling sound. One time I tried to snag one of the churros from his bowl. Wow! Those teeth were huge!

             

Zipity doo dah!

Everyday my friend, Darla, and I would swim at Splash Mountain. There was some confusion at first as to who broke the pond pump. But the Imagineers didn’t seem to mind fixing it everyday. We hunted for fish all the time. Those suckers were fast! By the last day they were all gone, except for one. We never did find Nemo.

           

 Big Thunder Mountain was loud, and I loved chasing and being chased all over. It was a good thing I had my Fast Pass. Sometimes the other dogs pretended to be tired. But not me! I kept the fun going all day long!

            

 Darla and I played Toy Story Mania, where we took turns biting each other. Darla kept complaining that her biter didn’t work well. Mine worked just fine.  Nobody played the biting game with the wolf.

            Whoever ran to Cinderella’s Castle first, got to sit on the thrones. They were so comfy! Darla seemed to think they were hers, and liked to remind me whenever I ran to them. She was such a jokester.

            I loved the Paint the Night Parade. There weren’t enough brushes for everyone, so Darla and I just used our backs, and our sides, and our ears. It’s a good thing my fur is white, so my parents won’t notice.

            One time I rode the Indiana Jones ride, although I think mine was a Honda CRV. It was a wild ride and I tried to jump out when the windows were rolled down. That really scared everybody! It was so much fun!

I just love Darla's bed.

          

  We arrived at the park early each morning and stayed until the park closed at midnight. I had my own bed, but I really think I like Darla’s bed better. At night I tried to sneak in there to sleep hoping no one would notice. They did.

            

  

On our Magical Morning, we walked early before everyone else did. I loved walking together with my new pack.  

I loved my summer vacay, especially my new best friend, Darla.  

Dreams really do come true!

Changing With the Times

            While vacationing in Colorado, I walked by an old mountain lodge. It looked drab and grey compared to the vibrant greens of the surrounding trees and mountains. It was 40 years old and in desperate need of a facelift, or at least a little paint and remodel. In its prime I’m sure it was big and beautiful. It was exclusive and a novelty to have a ‘resort lodge’ in the area, where there were mainly small mountain cabins.

            There were very few cars in the parking lot, and inside the lodge was dimly lit with outdated furniture and carpet. Walking through the halls reminded me of the movie Titanic. When the older woman looks at the wreckage of the ship, her mind takes her back to the grandeur of it during its inaugural voyage. She could see the opulence and beauty of the ship with wealthy passengers dancing to the music. I could imagine the resort lodge like that in its more popular hay day.

            At one time this lodge was big and beautiful and unique in this mountain town. It seems, however, that it decided to stay there. Had it changed and updated and painted as the years went by, it could still be big and beautiful. Instead, it is old and grey. 

            It reminded me of our Christian walk. Many of us have had a Titanic time, where in the hay day of our walk with God, we found salvation and were excited about our new journey. Or maybe there was a spiritual revival or mountain top experience where we felt the love of God in an amazing way and promised to follow Him all of our days.

            But, like the old lodge, we can’t stay in that time and place. We need to continue filling our souls with the newness of studying His Word, praising Him with new songs, as the Bible says, and serving as the hands and feet of Jesus in our ever changing culture.

            One of the tenants of the Bible is that God never changes. The Bible says He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. However, our walk with Him should change. The longer we walk with Him, the better we know Him. The more we pray, the more powerful our prayers become. As we allow the Holy Spirit to change us and make us more like His Son, our light should be shining brighter.

            I am glad there are plans to refurbish the old mountain lodge. Because just like us, there is plenty of life and purpose left in it.  

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Are you still living in the memory of your mountain top experience? Or are you pursuing God with a vibrant passion that keeps your walk with him new and fresh?

Father's Day Thoughts

            My earliest childhood memory is of my Dad pushing me on a swing at a park and teaching me how to tie my shoelaces there. I think I was around four years old. It’s funny because my husband’s earliest childhood memory is of his Dad teaching him how to tie his shoes also. I don’t know if that memory has any type of deeper meaning, other than the obvious,  . . . that both of us know how to tie our shoes today, thanks to our Dads.

            That was the first of many things I learned from my Dad. This list includes:

Mowing the grass

Trimming trees and rose bushes

Swimming

Driving a stick shift car

Changing a flat tire

Changing spark plugs (which I have never needed to do, by the way)

Charging the battery in my Volkswagen Rabbit while I was away at college

Balancing a checkbook

Algebra I (2 years!), Algebra II, and Geometry

            He also . . .

Read every book report, research paper and story I wrote.

Listened to every speech, oral report, drama performance and speech team event I gave.

            More importantly, he . . .

Taught me that being the first to apologize is important in a relationship.

Said winning an argument in marriage is not really a win-win, and keeping score does not promote love in a marriage.

            And he took me to church when I was young and showed me how to pray and ask Jesus to be my Savior.

            It has been easy for me to believe the God of the Universe cares about me, loves me, wants to hear from me and has my best interest in mind . . . because that is how my Dad treated me.

            I know not everyone had an earthly Father like mine. But thankfully, we all have a Heavenly Father who values us, delights in us, has good plans for us and loved us enough to die for us. He longs to talk to us, always listens to us, forgives us, and has a wonderful future planned for us that gives us purpose and hope.                                               

                                                            Happy Father’s Day!

Ask Me

            At our church the Hospitality team wears blue shirts with the church logo and the words Guest Services on the front. Written on the back are the words: Ask me. I can help.” First time visitors to the church easily identify the shirts. They know we are able to help with such important information as, where the restrooms are located, where the children’s rooms are, how they can join a small group or sign up for classes or baptism. Any question people have about helping to serve at the church or getting involved, the people wearing blue shirts are able to answer. We can also pray with people who are hurting or direct them to the Pastor if they need counsel or prayer. The shirts work well in letting people know we can help with questions about the church.

            One Sunday, on the way home from church, I stopped at the grocery store. I sat in my car and thought about wearing my Guest Services shirt into the store. Everyone wears t-shirts with words on them, and nobody thinks anything about them, as least I don’t. I decided my shirt would blend in with all the other random t-shirts with words on them, and nobody would notice.

            At the self-check out there were four checkout stations on one side and four on the other. I chose one on the end and was almost finished when a woman approached me from behind.

“Excuse me,” she said. “I am having trouble with my receipt. One item got scanned twice, but then another item is not showing up even though I already scanned it. Can you help me with this?”

I looked around for a grocery store employee.

“You should probably ask someone who works here. I can’t help you with that.” I said.

“Well your shirt says to ask you and you can help.” She persisted.

“Yes, but I don’t work here. I know it is confusing, but this shirt is for my church. I help people there.”

I apologized and we both laughed.

            Had she asked what aisle the bread was on, I could have actually helped her and she never would have known I didn’t work there.

           It made me think about the shirts. If Christians wore matching shirts that said, “Ask me about God. I can help.” I wonder how many people would stop us and actually ask questions. Of course we wouldn’t have all the answers about God, but we certainly could answer some: How do we get to heaven? Is the Bible true? Who is Jesus? Does God really love people?

            Having matching shirts could easily identify us as followers of Christ, like other world religions do with their clothing.  Then I remembered, we are supposed to be easily identifiable to others. Jesus said, “Everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another.” It would be easy to put on a t-shirt that identifies us as a Christian, and then act however we want, like we do with Christian bumper stickers.

            It hasn’t happened to me, but wouldn’t it be great if people asked us about God because of the way we acted? If we really were so different from others and easily identified as true followers of Jesus, that people stopped us in the grocery store and asked for spiritual help? 

            “You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.”                                                                         Matthew 5:14