Monthly Archives: November 2011

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Mark 5

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SimpleShe had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Mark 5:27-28 (NLT)

It is sometimes amazing to me how simple and small an act of faith can be. The simple touch of the robe, the act of forgiving someone, the simple muttered prayer, the random act of kindness, the simple decision to turn away from that which will be bad for me, or the simple step forward in the right direction. I sometimes make things out in my mind to be much bigger, harder, and more complex than they really are. In doing so, I paralyze myself or justify procrastinating the very simple act of faith I should take.

Today, I’m determined to be mindful of recognizing, and faithful in carrying out simple acts of faith.

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Random Thoughts

HELP with Tom’s 30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 16

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If you could dance any one dance perfectly, which dance would you choose?

I would have to choose between three.

1. The tango with Wendy.

2. Swing Dance with Wendy

3. Or to dance like this, from Baryshnikov:

I’m having a hard time choosing. Help me decide!

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Mark 4

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source: Google Earth

Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32 (NLT)

In front of our house is a majestic oak tree. Its branches spread out over both our house and the house next door, and when you approach our house from down the street you can see the tree towering over our neighborhood. I’ve often wondered how long the tree has stood there. I sometimes imagine that it first emerged from the ground when Dutch settlers founded our town over a hundred and fifty years ago.

Each year, our tree drops acorns. Our tree drops a lot of acorns. In the late summer they begin dropping from the tree like little bombs shelling our roof around the clock. A fortunate family of squirrels incessantly patters across the roof right above my home office, gathering the acorns for winter storage. I suspect that our mighty oak tree alone feeds a whole pack of squirrels for the entire winter.

Some days I walk into the house, crunching acorn shells beneath my feet, and I think about those tiny little seeds. Our sprawling oak tree started out just like one of those small seeds I trample underfoot. Through harsh winter blizzards, sub-zero temperatures, violent spring thunderstorms, and blistering midwest doughts our tree has continued to slowly grow. Each year it experiences a cycle of death and rebirth. With each season the tree  puts roots deeper down into the Iowa soil to draw nourishment for its perpetual reach toward heaven.

I want to be like that old oak tree. Weathering all that life throws at me, I want to keep digging deeper so that I can continue reaching higher. As I grow, I want to spread myself out to shade and protect those around me. I want to provide for the little ones who scurry around, almost forgotten, at my feet. I want to offer a continuous supply of life giving oxygen for others to breathe. I hope that some day, when my trunk lays rotting on the ground, an entire forest will stand around me as a silent, living, and perpetuating memorial to this life that I have lived.

Random Thoughts

Tom’s 30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 15

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If you could choose any historic figure to read your eulogy, who would you want to do it?

I noticed that the question specifically says “read” the eulogy, not “write” it. So, I’m thinking about whose voice I would want to tell my life story in the end. It’s hard to think of historic figures when I don’t know what most of their voices sounded like. I’m partial to British accents because they sound so darned classy. My mind thought of Winston Churchill who could have probably made a reading of the the phone book sound dramatic.

But in the end, I’m an Iowa kid. I’m from the midwest, and there’s not the much drama in my eulogy. At best, my eulogy might contain some subtle humor and a nugget or two of practical wisdom. And, no voice embodies midwest sensibilities like the slow, sonorous and earthy voice of Garrison Keillor. So, sign him up for the job.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Mark 3

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The Wood family, December 1970
Image by Dave Traynor via Flickr

When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said. Mark 3:21 (MSG)

When one decides to follow Jesus and to embark on a faith journey, it is common for the individual’s family system to grind loudly with the changing of gears. This reality goes all the way back to Jesus himself, whose public teaching created as many enemies as it did friends. His own family system, feeling the pressure and the negative consequences of his unexpected rise into the social spotlight, switches gears. Reacting to the shame and negative pressure of the religious authorities, Jesus’ family denies and betrays the perceived traitor to the family system:

“Don’t listen to him! He’s out of his mind, I tell you. He’s always been a bit odd ever since he was a kid.”

Jesus was undaunted by this betrayal, and pressed on with the journey to which He was called. In the end, his family got over their shame and followed Him. Mary followed her son all the way to the foot of the cross. Jesus’ brother, James, became a leader among the early Christians in Jerusalem, and wrote the book of James in the New Testament.

Today, I’m reminded that stepping out in faith to follow Jesus is not always understood nor accepted by family and friends. Even Jesus understood what it was like to be misunderstood and ridiculed by those closest to Him. Faith is acting out of the assurance that you will realize those things for which you can only hope. Sometimes the thing for which we hope is the understanding and grace of those in our own family.

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Random Thoughts

Tom’s 30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 14

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The Major League Baseball logo.
Image via Wikipedia

If you could run any single company, institution, or organization in the world, which would you choose?

I would love to be the Commisioner of Major League Baseball. I know it would be fascinating and challenging. But, most of all I would love the opportunity to be a cheerleader, ambassador, and caretaker for such a great game that has such a rich history and tradition. I would love the opportunity it would afford me to meet, and hopefully, influence so many people.

Plus, I’d get to watch baseball played in ball parks all over the world. I wouldn’t hate that at all.

By the way, one of my first priorities as Commisioner would be to overhaul baseball’s draconian blackout rules. It’s heinous that a baseball fan sitting in the middle of Iowa (with no Major League Baseball team within hundreds of miles) is considered to be in the “blackout area” of no less than FIVE major league teams.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Mark 2

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Cold?
Image by foshydog via Flickr

When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Mark 2:17 (NLT)

I once worked with a man who had a crazy notion that any kind of illness was simply in his head. “It’s just mind over matter,” he would say. If he denied that he was sick and believed he was well, then he thought he was truly healthy. He could have a hacking cough, high fever, and no voice, but he would continue to hoarsely say to me “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I feel great.”

My old co-worker came to mind this morning as I read Jesus’ words. Jesus made it clear that His saving power is rendered impotent for those who steadfastly claim their own spiritual health despite plenty of life evidence to the contrary. His teaching, and His saving power are unleashed on those who know, and are willing to admit, that they are in need of spiritual medicine they themselves do not possess.

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Uncategorized

Tom’s 30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 13

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If you had one piece of music softlyplaying in your mind for the rest of your life, what would you want it to be?

No brainer. Pacabel’s Canon in D, arranged and played by Miles Davis. The introit at Wendy’s and my wedding.

Magical moment.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Mark 1

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Lakhovsky: The Convesation; oil on panel (Бесе...
Image via Wikipedia

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35 (NLT)

Over the past few weeks I’ve had a handful of encounters with people in which I’ve mainly listened as the person on the other side of the conversation talked, and talked, and talked. Don’t get me wrong; It wasn’t a big deal. In each case, I understood that the person needed to get something out, and I was generally happy to listen. It was not, however, a conversation. It was a running monologue.

Healthy relationships required a steady stream of two-party communication. Both sides of the relationship must actively listen and actively speak. When the dialogue is skewed towards either person, the relationship begins to strain.

It is no different in our relationship with God. It requires an on-going conversation. Reading God’s Message to us is actively listening to what God has to say to us. Prayer is how we actively communicate to God. When either is lacking, our spiritual health strains.

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Chapter-a-Day, Wayfarer's Journal

A Huge Milestone, but Not the End of the Journey

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Walking...It was almost 10 years ago that my friend, Kevin, and I started our chapter-a-day journey. It started as just two guys who wanted to read God’s Message in a more faithful and disciplined way. The idea was simple. Read one chapter every weekday and share one thing we got out of the chapter. We started by calling one another to talk about the chapter.

In 2006 I began blogging and our chapter-a-day seemed a natural fit for the blog. While Kevin and I still call one another almost every weekday to share life, our chapter-a-day journey moved on-line where I post my thoughts and Kevin adds his own valuable two-cents in a comment. Along the way others have joined in the journey. Some faithfully walk along with us. Others share a mile or two before moving on. Some people chime in with a comment now and then, which I love. Others, I’ve discovered, have quietly walked along with us without ever saying a word about it. That’s cool, too.

A few years ago I was approached by a publisher who wanted me to publish my posts in a book. I started the process of turning the posts into a manuscript and hired an editor. As I began reading through the contract, however, I discovered that the publisher would require me to take all my posts off-line since they would then own the rights to my posts. When I discussed this with Wendy, she immediately encouraged me to give up the idea of publishing my posts. She was right, and I informed the publisher that I would not be signing their contract. And so, all the chapter-a-day posts remain out there free for any other wayfaring stranger who stumbles upon them. I hope they will continue to be an encouragement for others.

I’ve been keeping track of what we’ve covered since back in 2006. We’ve journied through some books multiple times. But with the completion of Ezra, we’ve now journied through every book of God’s Message at least once! Technically, there should be a chapter-a-day post for every chapter in the Bible!

I’m working on adding a page to my blog that will list all of the books and chapters with a hyperlink to each chapter-a-day post. It will take a while and I’m already discovering that there are a few chapters missing here or there. When you blog at 4-6 a.m. it’s easy for the brain to misfire once in a while. Not only that, but from time to time I think I struggled to get anything out of a chapter and just skipped it. As I discover these missing chapters, I’ll be filling in posts until I’ve got everything covered.

So, now what? The journey continues. Life changes it, and with those changes there are new things to learn from God’s Message that address the path I find myself on right now. Since I began, I’ve been using Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase The Message. I did so because I’d not read the Bible in that version before and I loved Peterson’s take. I think I may switch to a different translation, but chapter-a- day will continue.

A special thank you to Kevin, who has been my friend and fellow wayfarer through these many years. And thanks to Wendy who gently and faithfully encourages me when I occasionally wonder why in the world I take the time to write these posts every day. Thanks to those fellow wayfarers, both known and anonymous, who have walked along side me.

Press on.

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