Chris Craig and Questions

Looking through my journal this morning, I saw that in 2002, I heard a thought-provoking message by Chris Craig. It was based on the book of Jonah, the rebellious guy who was swallowed by a whale in his efforts to get away from God, who told him to go warn Ninevah that they had better turn to him.

Jonah boarded a ship, hoping it would take him far away from God, but God caused a ferocious storm. The men who formed the crew of the ship were disturbed, of course, as they tried to save themselves. They decided it must be Jonah’s fault, and they asked him some questions:

"How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."

Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"

He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."

This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)

The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"

(Eventually, they threw him into the sea where a giant fish swallowed him. Jonah was, of course, in deep despair, sure he would die. He realized that he could not go anywhere to escape God. He prayed in repentance; after three days, the fish cast him up on the shore, and he went to Ninevah to do God’s bidding.)

Chris asked whether unbelievers today (the sailors) have the right to ask Christians these questions:

“Why don’t you pray?”

“Why don’t you shine?” (Why has evil come upon us?)

“Why don’t you serve?” (And whom do you serve?)

“Why don’t you testify?” (Tell us.)

“Why have you departed from God?”

“What shall we do with you that we might have peace?”

The answer is yes, they do have the right to ask believers these questions. Providing answers is one of the responsibilities of a Christian. Thank God, Chris added, for not giving up on us.

The picture is found at this site:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/photos/whales.html

Chris Craig and Questions

http://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/chris-craig-and-questions.html

Mountain Lion Encounter

Hunters sometimes find themselves among the hunted. My son B learned this lesson recently.

B went to a valley a few miles from his home in a northwest mountainous state to bow-hunt deer. He stalked quietly through a wooded area on the edge of a large open meadow, just to take the lay of the land and decide where to put his pop-up deer blind.

Suddenly, he was looking into the eyes of a large mountain lion about 25 yards away. He realized his bow and arrows lay on the ground in a clearing behind him. He reached for his bear pepper spray, but the belt was empty; he usually carries it only when he goes up into the mountains. He had not brought a pistol. He opened his pocket knife, which has a three-inch blade, and thought about its insignificance.

He and the lion stared at each other for a moment, and then the lion glided away into the trees and brush. Quite relieved, B went on with his setting up, about twenty yards out of the woods in the edge of the meadow. Before long, a group of deer wandered into the meadow to graze. B watched them, hoping they would come his direction, and readied his bow.

Mountain lions are an endangered, protected species that range mostly throughout the western United States and parts of Florida, according to an Internet search. An adult lion can grow to seven-eight feet long, from nose to tail, and weigh between 120 and 180 pounds. Mountain lions are said to be highly effective predators that consistently kill larger animals, such as deer and elk, and unprotected livestock.

They are territorial; a male lion may rule over as much as 100 square miles. They often attack people or other animals that come too close to their food stashes. Silently stalking their prey, mountain lions usually attack from behind after a short, fast sprint.

Two yearling deer, too young to shoot, meandered past B’s blind, about fifteen feet away. One stopped to graze, and the other walked into the edge of the woods behind B. After a few seconds, the young deer burst out of the woods with the mountain lion in hot pursuit. The two young deer and the others outran the lion. It sank onto its haunches and watched them disappear into the distance.

Then the lion turned and stalked back toward the edge of the woods, passing close to B’s blind. It stopped to stare at him; this time he had the bow ready. Then B yelled, “Git! Go on, cat! Get out of here!” But the tawny animal just lowered to its haunches and continued to watch him, unafraid. Then it rose and disappeared into the woods.

A few minutes later, B had a sudden realization that the mountain lion was frustrated and hungry, probably even then watching him from the cover of the brush, waiting for the right moment to attack him. He would not have known the lion was still there if the yearling deer had not wandered into the woods.

He thought about his family and his life and his chances of fighting off a full-grown mountain lion, and it was not worth the risk. So he took out his sharp, long-bladed skinning knife for defense if needed, and rolled up stakes and ropes and deer blind; he put on his backpack, hoping to look very large and frightening, and made his way to his pickup.

On his way home, he thought about the beauty of the animal, its rippling muscles and fearless grace. And he understood a little better the fear of the hunted. He realized how unusual it is for a human to be a close witness to such an encounter. Next time, he would take a gun--and a camera.

Picture and information borrowed from National Geographic website.

Mountain Lion Encounter

http://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/mountain-lion-encounter.html

Birthday Celebration

Today is October first, my father’s birthday. If he were still alive, he would be ninety-eight today. He died in 1988. My mother is younger; she’s only ninety-three.

A couple of days ago, my mother and I talked about his upcoming birthday. We used to always ask him what kind of cake he wanted. He answered, “Oh, I think I’d like to have either an applesauce cake or a banana nut cake--you decide.” We knew he’d say that, and we made one or the other for him.

After I got married and moved away, I still asked, and if we weren’t going to be together, I would make a loaf cake--applesauce or banana nut--and mail it to him. Once the banana nut cake I made collapsed in the middle, for some unknown reason, into a gooey mess. My husband and I ate the outside edges, and I mailed my dad an applesauce cake, which he said he liked.

When we talked about these things the other day, I said, “Let’s have a cake in remembrance of him.” And we did. This morning while I cooked breakfast, I made a banana nut cake, in cupcake form. I bought some cream cheese frosting to go on top. Mother and I had hamburgers for lunch, and then we iced up the cupcakes.

I was about ready to take a bite, when Mother lifted one slightly gnarled index finger, ready to direct. She had a mischievous smile, and I understood. We sang the birthday song--a loud version. And then we laughed, remembered him, and ate our cupcakes. He would have liked the walnuts.

Birthday Celebration

http://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/birthday-celebration.html

Consequences

We tell our children over and over about consequences.

In Texas public schools, the ZAP rule exists. “ZAP” is an acronym that stands for “Zeroes Aren’t Permitted.” What happens is that if a child fails to do an assignment, somebody grabs her by the hand and drags her along, standing over her until she has the dreaded assignment finished.

Thus, she never has to suffer the consequences of not doing an assignment. If she doesn’t do the work or learn the lesson, then, she is not hurt by her lack of action. She knows it will be taken care of by some caring aide or teacher; she will have to suffer through some lecturing advice and maybe some threats.

The concept of “consequences,” then, has little meaning for her. If you take a look at quite a number of things in our culture, you can see the same process going on. Some consequences of bad choices are very serious and nasty.

My friend the speech prof and I (the English prof) decided that in our college classes, we also have a ZAP rule:

“Zeroes ARE Permitted.”

We believe in letting students learn through their mistakes because we care deeply about them; truly experiencing consequences is the only real way people learn. Humans by nature are stubborn, hard-headed, independent creatures who believe they know best, whatever the situation.

Consequences

http://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2009/09/consequences.html

"Give Me Your Eyes"

Click on this YouTube link to see a music video that is very powerful--"Give Me Your Eyes."

The song is by Brandon Heath; it's about being compassionate, caring for other enough to see them through God's eyes.

"Give Me Your Eyes"

http://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2009/09/give-me-your-eyes.html

How to Describe a Sunset--or Not

If you go for a walk at sunset and you see the sunset and you want to write about how beautiful it is, what can you say?

In these days of lean writing, people don’t want to read about the sunset being “splendid” or “magnificent.” Too syrupy.

They don’t want to read about its colors--all the shades of pink and gold and yellow and purple and blue. Too inadequate.

And it’s not currently “good” to describe the brightness of the pinks and golds--how the clouds were outlined by the gleaming edge of gold and how the pink and blue lines radiated out in all directions for about one minute.

So how are you supposed to do it?

Should you just say something like “when I saw it, something in me welled up and felt tender, so I told God it was one of his very best” and just leave them to figure out all the rest?

That’s inadequate, too. And what if they can’t imagine it because they’ve never seen one just like it or maybe never noticed?!

How to Describe a Sunset--or Not

http://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-describe-sunset-or-not.html

Anybody Listening?

Look up this story that came in my e-mail at Snopes, for verification:

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning. A young man with a violin plays six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people passed through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

Here's a link to the YouTube video of his performance; he is considered one of the world's greatest musicians.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin valued at $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the price of seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.. The questions raised: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made... what else are we missing?

Anybody Listening?

http://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2009/08/anybody-listening.html

Across to Life

Today’s entry (August 14) on my Mary Engelbreit calendar is a picture full of meaning. I tried to find it on the Internet so I could share it here, but alas, I could not. So I will have to tell you about it.

A little girl is standing on the edge of a sheer cliff that drops off down below into a lush green valley with hills, a river, and mountains. The side where she stands is completely barren, solid gray.

Her side is connected to a similar cliff not far away. The other side is grassy and covered with roses and three or four other kinds of flowers, some hanging over the edge; children, fairies, and elves wearing funny pointed hats; butterflies and dancing rabbits; ferns, mushrooms, a white picket fence, and tree full of fruit and other goodies.

The girl stands at the entrance to the rickety old rope-and-board bridge that she would have to cross to get to the other side--the full-of-life side. Her hands cover her mouth, and her eyes are wide with fear. Her shoulders are hunched.

At the top of the picture are these words by Grace Hansen: “Don’t be afraid your life will end; be afraid it will never begin.”

I don’t know how Mary Engelbreit would explain this girl’s predicament, but I am assuming that, like literature, her artwork is open to interpretation, and I may, therefore, do what I want to with it. This is what I think:

The girl stands on the barren, gray, empty side, which represents a life without the love of God. She is afraid to leave this way of life because it is all she knows. But she can look across and see the possibilities over there in a life filled with his love. Maybe she doesn’t realize that the joy and peace there can be hers, even in life’s difficulties. She would have problems there, too, of course, but through them all, she would have a rich and fulfilled sense in her spirit instead of that fear and emptiness she has now.

How can she get across the broken, sagging bridge? All she has to do is take the first step, be willing to leave behind her old ways, and go across in belief . As soon as she asks God to make the bridge to support her as she goes, he will touch it and make it new and strong. And there will be great rejoicing when she reaches the other side.

This image is from http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Engelbreits-Edge-2009-Calendar/dp/0740772813

Across to Life

http://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2009/08/across-to-life.html