Update:
Karen’s mom was released from the hospital on Friday. Thanks for everyone praying. It is so much easier on everyone with her
being back home. I am certain that her
cat appreciates having her home again too.
Friday afternoon, the sunshine was streaming in through the window and
across my bed. When I did my exercises,
I laid in the warm sunshine. It felt so
good! The first thing I did was lay on
my stomach to stretch the one tendon/muscle on my backside. The sun felt so good that I stayed that way
for at least three times as long as I needed to. It would have been very easy to drift off to
sleep it felt so relaxing. Meow!
I filled out a survey for the hospital about “my recent
hospitalization.” The lowest rating I
gave them was on the taste of the food (or lack of it). To be fair, I wasn’t feeling well so that
probably influenced my view. I did find
it ironic that while they are pumping me with saline and a side effect of one
of the meds was for me to exude salt; they insisted that I couldn’t have any
salt for my food. Overall the care I
received at the hospital was excellent.
The nursing staff was particularly outstanding and gave me exceptional
care. There were two nurses that I
really connected with who brought me a sense of contentment and joy when they
were on duty. I sent them a thank you
note and put them in for a service award.
They helped calm me when I was distressed, they helped relax me with
their interactions, and they made me feel like they truly cared for me. So my thanks goes out to them and to all
those who serve as nurses. Keep up the
good work—it makes a difference in your patient’s health and outlook.
Although I haven’t been working at the church office every day, I am
feeling much more connected to my church ministry. I have a long way to go to get back up to the
level of involvement that I had before my amputation; but I am back to
preaching every week and that feels good.
I enjoy the interaction with the folks on Sunday morning before and
after church and during Sunday School. I
am grateful for the church being understanding of my current limitations. I especially miss not being able to do
hospital visits as I did before. I also
miss the interaction with the children at our Wednesday evening kid’s
program.
I had a great visit from one of my police officer friends on Friday. It has been hard on me not being able to stop
by the police department to touch bases with whoever is on duty and not being
able to ride along with an officer every week.
I look forward to that when I get walking again (and I think they look
forward to my return as well). I have
been able to attend a couple of training meetings for the fire department so I
don’t feel so separated with them; however, I can’t wait to get back to the
routine interaction of my chaplain duties with the police and fire departments.
Thought for the Day:
John 13:37-38 “Peter asked, ‘Lord, why can't I follow
you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Then Jesus answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly
I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!’”
When I read these words the other day, it struck me how much each one of us
is like Peter. Our mouths writes checks
that our bodies can’t pay. “Lord, forgive
me for what I just did. God, I promise
you that I will never do that sin again.
Ever!”
Normally, not long
after that we manage to step in it again.
It reminds me of my favorite verse from the book of Proverbs: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat
their folly” Proverbs
26:11 What is it with dogs doing
that? It made them sick enough to throw
up and then they turn around and think “Yummy!” and start gobbling it back up
again. Gross! And yet isn’t that a picture of us in many
ways?
We fail to live up to God’s standards.
We willfully choose to sin, or we are tempted and sin without even
thinking about it—however it happens—we fail.
We fail God and we fail ourselves.
God brings conviction and we confess our sins. That feels good to get that off our chests. But all too soon afterwards, it is like we
have forgotten all about it and we go right back to that sin (or a similar sin)
all over again. When will we learn?
There are things that we can try to avoid sinning again. We can choose to not place ourselves in the
way of temptation. If your goal is to
cut down on sweets, then don’t keep cookies in the house, duh! If you have trouble with alcohol, stay out of
bars. If you get angry, rude, and
hostile when you are behind on your sleep, get to bed earlier. In some cases we cannot avoid the
circumstances that normally lead up to our sin.
Then we have to short-circuit the cycle some other way. Memorize a bible verse that speaks about your
issue. Write that verse down on post-it
notes and plaster those suckers everywhere.
Realize that all temptation begins in the mind and includes some wrong
thinking. When we start toying with the
idea of doing that sin, remind ourselves how we feel after that sin. Sin always reminds us of the short-lived pleasure
we’ll receive; we have to remind ourselves of the guilt, shame, and pain that
comes from that sin. Then we need to make a mental choice to say, “No!” We may need to say “No!” over and over and
over again.
Ultimately, it is God that changes our hearts; and that’s our only
permanent solution. So we cry out to
God, “Lord, change my heart and mind so that I don’t even desire this anymore.” Sometimes He answers that prayer; but most
times, we get a “keep trying” kind of answer.
Why wouldn’t God rescue us from our sins when we ask? All I can do is liken it to the difference
between doing it yourself or having someone else do it for you. I’ve mentioned my son Jon’s desire to repair
his own car. He could pay a dealer to do
it for him; but then anytime something goes wrong it is back to the
mechanic. This way, he struggles and it
takes time, but eventually he learns how to take care of it himself. He has learned a new skill and developed as a
person. He has also learned about
patience, hard work, and resourcefulness.
Every success that he has encourages him to try to repair the next thing
that breaks down.
What if you never made your child learn to tie her own shoes because you
always did it for her? But it is so hard
to learn to do it! Imagine a 30-year old
who cannot tie his shoes but has to ask Mommy to do it for him. He needed to be challenged to learn and to
grow. So it is with us. God has to let us struggle if we hope to
learn and grow spiritually.
I take comfort that although Peter failed and denied Christ; that Jesus
forgave him and continued to use him.
Despite his failings and his flaws.
God’s love and mercy covered over every sin. And Peter’s failure didn’t surprise Him. God planned for it. He knew all about it and it didn’t change His
love for Peter one bit. That’s
comforting to know that when I fail, God isn’t surprised and He has already
planned for it. God doesn’t have a “three
strike” rule. As long as we dust off
from our failures and step back up to take another swing at it, we can stay in
the game.
Thank you, Jesus for your love and mercy!
I don’t deserve it; but oh how I need it. Forgive me for my sins. Take away my desire to sin. Help me to stand firm against
temptation. Give me insight to what I
can do to help remove temptation from me.
Remind me of the cost of forgiveness (your death) and the price that I
pay when I sin (guilt and shame). Open
my eyes to the reality that sin only gives us momentary pleasure, while
obedience gives us an eternity of peace and happiness.
Oh, Peter, I am so much like you!
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