Mental Musings

A friend posted this verse today on facebook: 10 For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth. (Psalm 57:10-11, NLT) I read her post after reading numerous posts from others about their disappointments in a boyfriend/girlfriend OR their great happiness because of a boyfriend/girlfriend OR song lyrics from somebody singing about their boyfriend/girlfriend. I had started thinking of how fragile life is when so many people have placed their hope and trust in a relationship based on failing humans. This verse was one of those divine providence things. It came at the right time and fulfilled a need. I am so thankful that we can know and serve a God who is unfailing. Not only is His love unfailing, but it is faithful, perfect, timely, everlasting, enduring, fulfilling, and many more things that I cannot even bring to mind at this time. Praise God fr...

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a pastor say something to the effect of, "How many of you would rather be here than in prison?" I cannot imagine anyone not raising their hands after a question like that. But I wonder how many positive responses we would get if we asked this question on Sunday, "How many of you would rather be here than at Disney World?" Or how about this, "How many of you would rather be here than on a beach in Hawaii?" When was the last time that we took an honest look at our "volunteer" attendance at church. If we were given the opportunity to attend a pro baseball or football game during church service hours, would we attend church? If our children had a school activity or sports game that took place during church service hours, would we attend church? If our family was coming to visit for only a few days, would we attend church? Sadly the answer for most church members in America is "No." Now I rea...

Our boys, ages 12 & 14, signed up for the summer reading program through our public library. Our youngest reads all the time, although he will only read his favorite authors or series such as Wayne Thomas Batson's Door Within trilogy or J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. He is currently re-reading the Harry Potter books for the third time. our oldest son reads when he must. He would prefer to be designing digital art or taking photos. But I know he reads because he is always telling me about some new game/movie that is coming out or about some silly rule that some institution made concerning something unbelievably ridiculous as far as he is concerned. So why did they decide to join the summer reading program? For the rewards of course. Teens will get a $5 Barnes and Noble gift card "While They Last" (which our 14 year old insists means they only have a few). The reward for children is a free book from a list (which our 12 year old insists will have nothing he woul...

Maybe I am just a little sleep deprived, but this video is funny. My favorite line is at the end as Jesus walks by carrying the cross.

I opened a MySpace account shortly after it started to get a lot of attention in the media. I entered very basic information about myself and started scanning through a few accounts of my friends and relatives. I decided to drop it when I saw how filthy some of the content was. MySpace did not seem to monitor the content and apparently had no problem with people using the F bomb, including dirty jokes, linking to sexy videos, etc. That is why I was a little leery about facebook when it started to take off. After I learned that you could block a lot of the things you do not want to see, I opened an account. Facebook also includes an option for reporting content that is inappropriate. I personally enjoy the great benefits of facebook and social networking in general. Think of how fast we can share prayer requests, or keep up with old friends who live out of state, or learn more about new friends that you only see at church, etc. Even so, I have heard from many people about things they ha...

I was thinking today about spiritual gifts. I often joke with people that whenever I have taken Spiritual Gifts tests I score the lowest possible score for mercy. But I actually do have lots of mercy when it comes to dealing with people in need. I think it is patience I don't have much of, because I definitely do not show mercy toward complainers, whiners, grumps, etc. While spiritual gifts may sometimes change based on what God has planned for us, my strongest spiritual gift has always been discernment. You know how they say not to judge a book by its cover? Well, I can meet somebody and generally within a few seconds God reveals them to me. It can be scary at times. I remember once when I was introduced to a pastor (not in a state where I have served during the past 20 years), he reached out to shake my hand and the moment his hand touched mine I instantly got this overwhelming sense of evil. A few months later I learned that he had an affair, stole money from his church, left hi...

I wrote this tonight because I needed some reminders about who God is, what He has done, and what He has planned for me. I hate to admit it, but as I wrote it there was this hokey country melody going through my head. Friend to Me Sitting in my easy chair staring into space My world is caving in Stop the world I’m getting off, I quit the race What a day it has been Oh, please not again Voices calling out to me pulling left and right They all want their way My heart cries out for me leave and take the next flight Please take me away There must be a way Then I look at what You did for me there upon dark Calvary Your blood rescued me And all my worries fall away like waves upon the sea I have been set free You did all this for me So I thank You for healing me within Oh I thank You for taking all my sin And I thank You for opening my eyes With eyes wide open now I plainly see... The person that You planned for me to be And I thank You for healing me within Oh I thank You for taking all my ...

The title of my blog today comes from the words of Duke Ellington. The full quote is: "Everyone prays in his own language and there is no language that God does not understand." Many know Ellington as a jazz composer, but few people know that he also wrote some religious music. He actually wrote three sacred concerts in a jazz style which were performed throughout Europe and America. I wrote this song as I was preparing my thesis on the sacred concerts of Duke Ellington while in seminary. Hope you enjoy it. Prayer When through the soft and gentle night, With timid voice and tear-soaked face, Someone lifts up some words in light Of searching for God's loving grace When with a loud, gigantic voice, Proclaiming it from town to town, Remembering that grateful choice, Someone thanks God for life and crown When in a tongue from distant lands, If nasal, gruff, or even odd, With open eyes or unclasped hands, Someone calls out, "Forgive me God" With tr...

The first commandment, and the one that Jesus said is the greatest commandment, is this: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” A direct translation from Hebrew would read: “Never place a less powerful being on top of my faces,” which is why we do not use these transliterations of the scripture, but rather rely on translations that make sense in our language. Therefore, it has also been translated to read: “Don’t ever let any other god get between your face and my face.” The world has changed drastically in the past 100 years. We have progressed in almost every field imaginable. In many ways the progress has been very beneficial to us. We have more comfort with air-conditioning, cotton clothes, pain medicines, etc. We have less physical work with machines that can do much of the work for us. We have more time to enjoy our leisure with shorter workdays and retirement plans. But has progress been beneficial to us? We certainly can point to an increased lifespan and say it h...