Urban Gathering

Children

I awoke this morning, and for the first time in a long time felt things were better. As I awoke, I remembered that my kids were home again! The summer break was nearly over and it was time to come back home. How I missed them! For those of you who are parents, you know what I mean. Their is nothing quite like the noise and ruckus kids generate. It is like music. As much as I dislike the sound of my kids arguing and scuffling, I think that I will bask in its melody for a few days in sheer rapture.

I walked to each bedroom this morning and glanced in on them sleeping and felt sheer joy. How wonderful it is to share in their lives, to speak wisdom to them and have them speak wisdom back. It is amazing how much our children impart to us. I thanked God for gracious generousity to entrust them to me. He is so good.

I think that is what Solomon was talking about in Psalm 127 when he said: “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.”

Over the past year, I have seem my children astound me. I have witnessed them experience deep personal tragedy and yet desire to know and dig deeper into God. Even more, I have been overwhelmed by the love and graciousness of our friends and family. When our own family colasped, and we witnessed the personal destruction of our pastor, and someone, who we believed loved and care for us, my heart failed. I was gripped by fear of what my children will think of God of how they would wonder “How could He allow this?” But instead of running, they dug in. Grabbed onto Him with both hands and demonstrated that He was their rock. I have been humbled.

How I wish my faith were always that resolute. Don’t misunderstand me, I have never doubted God, just gotten really angry, sad, depressed, and gone nuts. Then I see them, hear them and He uses them in ways in my life that bring me to a place of shame. Their words and questions about forgiveness put me in my place.

Thank You Lord for my children. Thank you for this most precious gift. Help me be a good steward and faithful with Your most precious things. Amen.

This poem by Sandra Tolson expresses my heart!

Children Are A Gift From God

God sent me four packages
That needed special care
“Take care of these gifts
For they are very rare.”

“Watch over them with all your love
And let them feel your touch
Take care of their every need
For you are needed very much.”

“These gifts will grow up very fast
As you soon will see
Love them with all your heart
And let them be what they will be.”

“When these gifts have fully grown
Look at Heaven up above
Know they exist because of God
And all his precious love.”

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Bogged Down

Do you know what the #1 grossing box office hit of 1976 was? I will give you a couuple of clues; it won 3 Academy Awards, grossed 117.2 million domestically and $225 million internationally. It was inspired by a true story. It’s film props were placed in the Smithsonian Museum. The script for the movie was the first screenplay sold by a young aspiring screenwriter who had previously used such pen-names as Q. Moonblood and J.J. Deadlock (neither of which sold any scripts!). The movie was shot on a low-budget of 1.1 million dollars and featured a realitively unknown actor.

The actor, was the man who wrote the script. The actor/screen-writer had slurrred speech and drooping lower lip, that was a result of complications his mother suffered during labor. Her obstetricians misuse of forceps accidentally severed a nerve and caused paralysis in parts of his face. Not exactly the picture purfect image of a Hollywood stud! He was a graduate of Devereux Manor High School, a private school for problem children located in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and following graduation enrolled in a beauty school, to continue in the family busines. He later dropped out of the beauty school, after winning a scholarship for the American College of Switzerland in Leysin, where he studied drama and was well received in school productions. Returning to America he enrolled in the Theater Arts Department at University of Miami for three years. He came within a few credit hours of graduation before he decided to drop out and pursue a career writing screenplays.

The struggling screenwriter took several acting jobs to help pay his bills He had his first starring role in the softcore pornography feature film The Party at Kitty and Stud’s. He was paid $200 for two days’ work. The actor later explained that he had done the film out of desperation after being bounced out of his apartment and finding himself homeless for several days. In the actor’s words, “it was either do that movie or rob someone, because I was at the end – the very end – of my rope”.

The actor’s other first few film roles were minor, and included brief uncredited appearances in Woody Allen’s Bananas (1971) as a subway thug, in the psychological thriller Klute (1971) as an extra dancing in a club, and in the Jack Lemmon film The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) as a youth. In the Lemmon film, Jack Lemmon chases, tackles and mugs the, thinking that the character is a pickpocket. He had his second starring role in The Lords of Flatbush, in 1974, in whose script he had a hand in writing. In 1975, he played supporting roles in Farewell, My Lovely; Capone; and Death Race 2000. He made guest appearances on the TV series Police Story and Kojak.

On March 24, 1975, the screen writer/actor saw a boxing match on television at a friends, the Muhammad Ali–Chuck Wepner fight. Wepner was not expected to last past the first round. Before the fight, a reporter asked Wepner if he thought he could survive in the ring with the champion, to which Wepner allegedly answered “ I’ve been a survivor my whole life…if I survived the Marines, I can survive Ali. ”

To everyones surprise Wepner did last past round one. In the ninth round, Wepner landed a punch to Ali’s chest and Ali was knocked down. Wepner went to his corner and said to his manager, “Hey, I knocked him down.” “Yeah,” Wepner’s manager replied, “but he looks really pissed off now…”

In the remaining rounds, Ali opened up cuts above both Wepner’s eyes and broke his nose. Wepner was far behind on the scorecards but made a dramatic comeback. He lost in the final minutes of the 15th round, a technical knockout.

Being inspired, the screenwriter/actor went home, and in three days he had written the script for Rocky. And in a short while, an unknown became one of the biggest names in Hollywood, Sylvester Stalone.

Why tell Sly’s story? Because it is not so different for any of us. We all make mistakes, struggle and just get bogged down. But look, moments of inspiration can come from the simplest of things. Life altering moments! So if you are bogged down today, keep watching, keep looking? What inspires you?

“I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” – Jesus (The Message – John 16:32-33)

Proverbs 24:15-16 (The Message) Don’t interfere with good people’s lives; don’t try to get the best of them. No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don’t stay down long; Soon they’re up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces.

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Dashboard Icons

I love to travel.  One of the experiences in travel that I enjoy is riding in taxi’s.  What a unique experience.  Each one different.  Over the years I have found one thing fairly consistent in cabs, and that is the dashboard icons.  There are several that are popular, Mary and Jesus being the two most prominent I see in my travels.

My boss, has a dashboard icon on his VW truck.  It is a hula girl.  Kinda like a boble head, she actually does the hula dance when he drives.  Over the years I have gotten to know my boss fairly well and count him among my list of friends.  He loves Hawaii.  Often tries to vacation there when possible and would love nothing more than to be there living.  Why the Hula girl on the dash.  He says it serves as a reminder.  Why the dashboard Jesus or Mary?  Probably the same thing.

Why do we need reminders? I think we all find ourselves busy, sometimes entagled in the now and loose sight of what the goal is.  My boss keeps that in front of him, thinking about Hawaii every time he heads down the road.   

I like how the Apostle Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 9:24 – 27 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

In other words, Keep Your Focus! What are some of your personal dashboard icons you have in your life? Are they things that keep you focused on the goal?

Phillipians 3:12 – 14 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

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