Update
Today, Karen and I have been married 36 years! I am so grateful to my wife. She has always been there for me—now more
than ever. “For richer & for poorer;
in sickness & in health” Yes Siree, we are putting those vows to the
test! And I am happy to report that this
event in our lives has drawn us closer together as a couple. We don’t enjoy partying too much—so a nice
quiet, evening together at home suits us just fine as we celebrate our
relationship and our love.
Back in my Army days (early 1980’s) something you heard and sang all
the time were “Jodie Calls” whenever troops were moving in formation and needed
to stay in step. You usually heard them
in the early morning when all the units did their PT (physical training),
especially when we would go on our daily two mile run. One of them comes to mind all of the time
now. “Up in the morning; ‘fore the break
of day; I don’t like it; No way! Eat my
breakfast; too soon! Hungry again; ‘fore
noon.” Now me getting up at 4:30 a.m.
Tuesday-Saturday and eating breakfast with my wife at 5:20 a.m. epitomizes the
song. Last night I kept my eyes open
until 9:30 p.m. and fell asleep within minutes once my head hit the pillow. Of course I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and couldn’t
get back to sleep until 3 a.m. That alarm at 4:30 a.m. came way too soon. So if you ever see emails from me or FB posts
in the middle of the night—it’s during that “I can’t get back to sleep time” that
I have every night. I figure I might as well get something done while I am
awake. No wonder I take a nap every day
(besides the beauty rest thing, I mean—which I am WAY behind on, if you haven’t
noticed J ).
Yesterday, my son, David, came over to spend the evening with me. At my request he figured out how to get the
ironing board set up low enough for me to do my own ironing. It takes a lot more energy in a wheelchair—but
now I don’t have to ask someone else to iron a shirt for me. I keep Karen busy enough just taking care of
me—she doesn’t have the energy to do it for me.
All the kids are happy now that I won’t be asking them to do it. It always bothers me to put on a shirt that
isn’t crisp and wrinkle-free. So now I
can take care of my own pet peeve and not bother anyone else with it.
My daughter, Ruth, and her husband, Cody, will be heading back to
Chicago today. It was nice to have them
spend the week. Cody played “Words with
Friends” (electronic form of Scrabble) with me yesterday and walloped me. One of his words scored 125 points. Ouch!
That’s a beating that is hard to get over! They haven’t left yet and I miss them
already. We’ll get to see Ruth in a few
weeks as she comes back for a wedding and then again the next weekend for Karen’s
upcoming play.
Wilford (a church leader) is coming by today to pick me up and we are
going out to pray for Mel (my paraplegic friend). Mel has been having extreme pain for the last
month and it seems to be getting worse.
They think it is scar tissue in the vertebrae squeezing the spinal
cord. Not much they can do for it except
surgery. Mel has another two weeks
before his appointment with his surgeon in Rochester, MN. Would you please pray that the pain would be
reduced and that doctors can find a way to remove the pain altogether? Please pray for his wife, Judy, as well. It is terrible to have to watch a loved one suffer
in pain when there is nothing you can do for them. Pray for God’s peace, courage, and strength. I told Mel that I have a bit of “survivor’s guilt”
when I hear about his extreme pain while I am almost completely pain free. Take a few moments to thank God for your
health. No matter what you might be
suffering—it could be worse—much worse.
Thank God that it is not.
Thought for the Day:
My wife was very pleased this morning at breakfast to hear that I had
figured out how to iron my own clothes. Her
thought is that I will feel better the more I can do for myself—and I
agree. If you have been reading my
updates all along you know that I was excited when I figured out how to dress
myself, when I could get myself up out of bed, when I could go to the bathroom
by myself, when I found out that I can go out on the front porch by myself,
etc., etc., etc. Everything that can do
for myself I believe is a victory. I am
constantly striving to do more and more on my own and to reclaim my
independence.
We see a similar sense of growth and development in a child and we
praise them for each step towards maturity that they take. We are excited when they are potty trained,
when they can tie their own shoes, when they can feed themselves, when they
learn to ride a bicycle, when they graduate from high school, when they get a
job, etc., etc., etc.
Why do we get excited about that?
Personally, what drives us to continue to stretch and reach for the
stars? I think God built that right into
our very being. Otherwise we would all
end up being couch potatoes and rely upon everyone else to do everything for
us. Parents are disappointed when their
kids “fail to launch.” Every parent
wants to hear the pediatrician say, “your child is developing right on
schedule.” It is a cause for concern
when our child is developmentally arrested.
And so it is spiritually. Our relationship
with God should not be static. It should
be growing deeper and fuller. Our own
spiritual health should be improving and increasing constantly. Here are two bible passages to ponder:
Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is
perfect.
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Perfect! Whoa! Getting better or becoming more Christ-like,
I can see; but perfect? Unless we change
the definition, I don’t think we’ll get there.
And that is true, ultimately we will not be perfect until we reach
heaven and receive our glorified bodies.
But there is a sense in which we can be said to be perfect. Warren Wiersbe in his book, “Everyday Wisdom
from the Gospels” gives the illustration of a pediatrician completing a
physical on a toddler and declares, “He’s perfect.” The doctor is not suggesting that the child
is without any flaws. He is saying that
developmentally the child is exactly where he should be for that age. In that sense we might be said to be perfect
as we strive to become more like Christ who actually was.
The implication is that we should be growing and developing as a person
and as a Christian. It’s New Year’s Eve
which is a traditional time to reminisce and consider ways to improve yourself. People often make New Year’s
resolutions. This year spend some time
thinking and resolving how you can become a better you! I would encourage you to attend church
regularly. Read your bible and pray
regularly (daily should be your goal).
Get involved in a small group or a discipleship relationship so you can
be encouraged and challenged. Don’t just
make God a part of your life on Sunday, make Him a part of your daily
life. Don’t just go through the motions—but
allow these things to touch your heart and soul. It isn’t about getting your ticket punched by
attending church. It is about engaging
your heart and soul and let it be touched by God.
This might be a new concept to you, so if you want to talk about it you
can contact me or your own pastor who should be able to help you in your walk
with God.
Whatever you do seek to GROW so that at this time next year, you can
look back and after evaluation, say, “I am a better person and closer to God
than I was last year.”
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