Cleaning Out the Cabinets

I was cleaning out the kitchen cabinets one evening this week. My refrigerator is just about empty since it's only me at the house for the time being. I found two cases of canned goods in the garage I was supposed to donate to charity last winter but now they've suffered through the summer heat and I have to throw them away. Inside my kitchen cabinets, I checked the dates on the cans to see if any are out of date. Most are; some expired back in 2005. Now my cabinets are empty.

Some of the canned food that I threw away came from when I moved into my house four years ago. They belonged to my mother. Somehow it didn't feel right just tossing away the cans she had bought with her social security check. Mama never liked to throw away anything. She kept the Country Crock butter containers to freeze the brunswick stew she made every year at Thanksgiving. Baby food jars held nails and screws and nuts. Dinner wasn't really planned; it was whatever cans Mama would open. We might have eggs, meatloaf, canned green beans, canned turnip greens, and canned candied yams for supper. Whatever was left over went into the refrigerator for the next day.

Growing up, Mama kept a can to hold the coins people paid her for sewing for them. That's how she made extra money. It never went to buy her something, usually it went on material to make our school clothes. She and my father grew up during the Depression and both had learned how to get by on little and to waste nothing. She sewed her own dresses and our shirts and shorts.

Mama also had a spit can. She dipped Society and Sweet Rose snuff when I was growing up. When snuff became too expensive for her, she switched to Beech Nut chewing tobacco. I really hated that spit can. Between her snuff and my dad's 'chaw', we were always knocking over somebody's spit can. Maybe that's why I never bothered with tobacco.

I didn't know it back then, but there were times we were struggling financially. Sometimes, the milk man would leave a quart of milk and two quarts of butter milk for Mama's biscuits; and sometimes we had powdered milk. We only had meat once a week growing up, with the exception of some fatback that seemed to go with anything. We had Kix and Cheerios growing up, but most often we followed my dad's lead and and ate chunks of loaf bread in milk with a little sugar sprinkled over the top. There was also rabbit and squirrel; sometimes pig tails and pigs feet (I never ate those). Once in awhile Mama would fry up a can of beef tripe. I didn't know what tripe was, but it was fun stretching it out like mozzarella cheese. About the only thing I refused to eat was chitlin's, and liver. Whatever we had to eat, I thought that everyone ate the same way so I never felt deprived or ashamed of our social standing.

I guess my mom was eco-friendly by nature. She learned from necessity, not from celebrities. In her latter years, my mom shrank from a size 14 to a size four. Her eyes clouded over and she couldn't see to read or sew anymore, but she could feel her way around the kitchen and find what she needed. She knew how far back in her cabinets she had hidden her purse, or a handsaw, the insurance policies, or the Claxton fruit cake.

Sometimes a simple can of Pocahontas Pure Corn Hominy can bring back memories. The older I get, the more memories I have. Hope I can hang on to my memories until I can once again see Mama and Daddy. Some day Laura will be cleaning out her old dad's cabinets. I hope she finds something to remember me by. Maybe a can of Pam olive oil shortening spray....

Ad Sense

At the bottom of my blog you'll see a box with links to various ads. It's called Ad Sense and apparently it identifies what I write about the most and then tries to lure people to commercial websites that are 'supposedly' related to my interests. It's supposed to be a way to earn money on our blogs, though I doubt many of us do.

Anyway, I'm not trying to get you to click on any of those links. I was looking at them and they all are 'Christian' based ads. There's even one titled Money Prayer that promises $500 in four hours or four days. If I understand the concept right, it seems that I've lost focus of what I started this blog for. It was intended to help me get in the habit of writing so I could finish my novel Sea Tree. Somewhere along the line I started writing about my faith and that's where this blog has gone.

Sea Tree is not a Christian novel. The central character is a former pastor turned police chief, a man who struggles with the good and evil inside him. His role as police chief parallels his former pastor role as a protector; but his dark side seeks justice. Mercy is not his spiritual gift.

There are other characters who are less than Godly. There will be some profanity. Sea Tree will be real, even if it is a fantasy. There will be romance...because I'm a romantic guy despite what my pastor's wife thinks. There will be violence, just because. There will be discussions on politics, religion, maybe even about movies, because I have my own opinions and I can say whatever I want in my own book. That my central character has a picture of Ronald Reagan on the wall of his office rather than G. W. Bush or whichever liberal wins the 2008 election, is a reflection of the values that character shares. There will be some of me in every character. Maybe I'll find out something about myself that I didn't know.

Jesus at Petra

I'm enrolled in a writing course which I hope will help me turn Sea Tree into a story people will want to read. Part of the course involves writing our own story. There's no way I'm going to finish Sea Tree in six weeks, so I though I'd write a back-story on one of the central characters in the novel. At the end of the course I'm going to post the end product online and ask friends and family to review it for me. This will be the first introduction you'll get to Sea Tree. It should set up the main character so that you'll understand him better once he appears in the story.

The name of the back-story is 'Jesus at Petra'. In a couple of months I'll post the story online for you to read. The link will be www.jesusatpetra.blogspot.com. There's nothing there now. I'll post the link again here once the story is done.

Here's the synopsis of 'Jesus at Petra': A burned-out pastor invites Jesus to visit his church, but when Jesus actually shows up one Sunday the results are nothing like he expected.

Stay tuned....

Politics and Religion and the News Media

This past weekend, Rick Warren and Saddleback Church hosted a civil forum for John McCain and Barack Obama. The event was carried live on CNN. Last night (Monday), Rick Warren was on Larry King Live to discuss his thoughts on the interviews and the controversy surrounding John McCain's absence from the 'cone of silence'.


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What I enjoyed most about this forum was how Rick Warren kept the tone civil. Neither candidate spoke harshly about the other. Each was given a chance to tell America who they are and what they stand for. Rick asked important questions that believers ought to ask from those who wish to lead us. But most importantly, I think that Rick was able to show America that these two candidates, as opposite as they are, are not the evil persons you hear about on talk radio. He knows both candidates as friends and he treated them with respect. I took away from the forum a new picture of each candidate. Of Barack Obama, I saw an intelligent and thoughtful man of great courage, to come before an audience he knew to favor his opponent. My impression of John McCain is that he will lead from his heart, rather than his intellect. I respect both candidates more now than before Rick Warren's civil forum.

I've also found that if I'll turn off talk radio and if I don't listen to those political analysts who try to tell us what the candidate really meant to say, that I'm less prone to anger and hatred. I think the same thing is true whether you're listening to Rush and Sean or to Tom Joyner and Al Franken, or whether you watch CNN or Fox News. The people who report on, and who spin these candidates, are worse than the person they want to defeat.

I want to thank Rick Warren for showing us how to keep civility in a civil forum. His credibility allows him access to the most powerful people in the world, and I believe that that is what Christians ought to be fostering rather than fear. After all, the hearts of the kings are in the hand of God. God doesn't want His children to live in fear of the person in office of even the most powerful country on earth. Nor does He want us to depend upon our government to meet our needs - that's His job.

Prophesy and Astrology

You've seen the ads from psychics and astrologists promising to tell your future - for a fee. You may have grown up in a church that believes that God still speaks to His children through prophets. Both are mysterious, though the church is quick to point out that psychics and astrologists are witches and pawns of Satan intent on leading you away from the Lord.

I've been exposed to both, though the psychics and astrologists tend to be very general - not like the lady in the link above who promises specific times and events soon to occur in my life. She seems sincere, but if it's really vital to my future to know this information should she withhold it unless I send her $60? What if the lack of this knowledge ends up killing me?

A few years ago a prophet spoke at our church. He said he had a vision from God where he was standing on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, looking out at Europe. At first Europe seemed to be prospering with lots of ships loading and unloading at the ports, trucks and trains hauling goods back and forth. Then pieces of the European continent began falling off into the Atlantic. Greater chunks fell leaving Europe devastated. The pieces that fell into the Atlantic created a giant tidal wave that swept towards the United States. The prophet watched as the wave rose as high as the clouds and seemed about to crush him until God spoke to him and told him to move into the shelter of a huge building with columns. The wave broke over the US shore, over the building where the prophet sought shelter. In its wake were destroyed homes and businesses. The damage was far beyond what the government could hope to rebuild.

Troubled, the prophet asked God why He had shown him this vision. God explained that a huge economic storm was coming (this was about 5 years ago when the prophesy was given). Europe, which has been thriving under the European Union, would see their prosperity shatter almost overnight. The result of the EU fall would have sweeping impacts on the U.S. with a magnitude almost as severe as it had on Europe. Then God explained about the shelter in which He had protected the prophet. The shelter was the Church. With the government unable to help the citizens, those who are in the Church will rise to meet the needs of our countrymen. People will be forced to look to the Church for help because only the Church has the resources they need. The end result was that God would be revealed and glorified before the world. However, God cautioned the prophet that he must warn us (Christians) now so that we will be prepared to survive and serve. We must distance ourselves from debt; we must not pour our money into bigger homes, more expensive cars, or waste money on movies like Tropic Thunder, Step Brothers, and Pineapple Express.

The front page of today's Wall Street Journal talks about the first cracks in the European Union economy. The Euro is down; they are feeling the same pressures we are with housing and job woes. Is this what God prophesied just a few years ago? More importantly, are we prepared to survive the storm?

The astrologist predicts that there is a 103 day period in my near future in which many opportunities will present themselves that, if I take advantage of them, will turn my finances around as well as improve my love life. I'm getting married in 79 days, so my love life will definitely improve then. I've assumed that our finances would improve too because we'll be supporting one household rather than two. Should I send this lady $60 to find out specifically what I should do and when to look out for the opportunities? Should I assume that the prophet's word is coming about - which is the sign of a true prophet?

The Church has presented God as mysterious, and tells us that His ways are not our ways. Astrologists would argue that God created the cosmos for a reason, not just to give us something to look at at night. Jesus said that if you've seen Him, you've seen the Father; but even His disciples had trouble understanding his teachings. God has used an ass in the past to help someone. He uses prophets today. We can't put Him in a box and say He wouldn't use an astrologist. So you tell me, should I spend that $60 on my personal prediction or should I buy $60 in lottery tickets?

Amway Churches

Let me be clear up front that I love Amway products and Amway people and even those Amway motivational tapes I bought every week. It's the business end I struggled with. I also love the Church and Christians, but I'm not so crazy about the organizational aspect of Christianity. Both have similar strengths and weaknesses.

I joined Amway three times, the last time in its new face as Quixtar. I could recognize a distributor from a mile away, just like I can pick out a military man even though he’s wearing civvies. I've been in the same church that have undergone three transformations, first as a broken Southern Baptist church, then as a purpose driven church, and now one that's only purpose is our relationship with God and one another. I can usually pick out other Christians, though usually I’m looking for those who I believe appear to live more Godly lives than my own.

I miss the big Amway functions where thousands of the faithful turn out to celebrate the success of others in the business. I miss the members of our church who have split away to do their own thing; far more have left than have stayed. The loss of relationships has been painful. Hurtful things have been said on both sides. Both sides have thought they were justified before God, thus the other side has to be in rebellion and estranged from the Body of Christ. So sad that we play those games with one another.

One of the things I hated most about Amway was sponsoring new distributors. The thing I dislike most about the church is witnessing. I used to hate being recruited by distributors who couldn’t recognize that I was already one of them. I still hate when another Christian gets in my face and asks me, “If you were to die today, do you know where you’ll spend eternity?” As if they can’t look at me and see Jesus! I didn’t want any part of that person’s business or their church if they just saw me as another mark.

In Amway it's a numbers thing - you threw as much mud on the wall as you could and worked with what stuck. All you need is six, who can get six, who can get six (sounds demonic doesn't it?) In Church it's about numbers too. The bigger your numbers, the more your collections, and the more programs you can offer, and the more ministry opportunities you can make available to the congregation. In Amway we had our own lingo for those who couldn't see what we saw in the business: "Some will. Some won't. So what? Who's next?!" In Church we have our lingo for those who don't recognize the opportunity we're offering them: "Lost. Heathens. Unwashed." In Amway if you quit the business you were a ‘loser’. In church if you quit the church, you were a ‘backslider’. In Amway, anyone could be successful if they wanted it bad enough. In the Church, anyone can be saved, but they have to qualify for membership.

In Amway, if everyone on your team is doing what they're supposed to - buying from your own business, books, tapes and functions - you're the best of friends. In church if everyone is in lock-step with the church's articles of incorporation and by-laws and the mission's statement, and if you show up every time the doors are open, then you're counted among the chosen. But let a distributor balk at the price of a box of soap and all of a sudden you're a liability. Let a member of the congregation question the decision to go with cubed ice over a crushed ice machine and you've got a 'situation'.

The point I'm making here is that often we lose sight of our purpose for being part of an organization or system. Often we invest so much into the system that we feel obligated to protect our assets, and that thing becomes more important than our dreams or our God. We find our identities in the organization and measure our worth by the approval of others; but buck the system and watch out! It is easier to get out of the system than it is to get the system out of you.

Former Amway distributors who left under less than friendly circumstances often go off and find a new product to market. They'll say it's "Just like Amway; only better!" Christian churches will split and the people will go off and create a new church and believe it is better than what they left. It becomes a competition, and in competitions someone has to lose. Most times people will rejoice in the failures of the old organization. Oh, they might walk up and hug you if they meet you in a public place, but behind closed doors they're lying about you in order to make themselves appear to be right. Sometimes the people you were closest to will cross the street to avoid you, or snap at any attempt you make to be civil with them. It's about competition and being right. It's about worth.

When Amway morphed into Quixtar, it was promoted as the ultimate network marketing model out there. When mega churches began to decline and home churches began to gain more popularity, it was a movement of God. Nothing has changed, we're still playing the same game; we're just calling it something else.

The Church has taught that God sent His Son to become sin, and to suffer and die on that cross for our worthless souls. Sure Jesus loved us enough to die for us, but we're left wondering about the Father's love if He would do that to His own Son. If He hates sin that much, how disappointed and angry must He be every time I sin - which is several times an hour when I'm awake. Some of my dreams would fall under the sin category, especially the ones I don't want to wake up from.

The truth is, both Jesus and the Father loves us so much that they cooperated together to destroy sin so that it has no power over us. God makes no requirement of us, but made His own provision by taking our sins upon Himself and dying in human form so that we can experience the reality of His Kingdom.

Churches that preach the Word have seldom gotten it right. It's not about us conforming to a set of laws in order to be worthy of Christ's sacrifice; it's about Jesus, who never felt the need to compete or even to play their game. His Church isn't an organization or a building; it is a relationship between us and His Father. We don't need a system to confirm our worth. Before we were born, before Jesus died on that cross, before Creation itself, God found us worthy to be loved.

Unlike Amway which will someday become obsolete, the Church will last forever. But the Church as we know it today will bear little resemblance to the Bride Christ will return to claim. He is looking for those who love Him because they know Him.

I suppose I should close by saying that I’m exactly where I should be in a church relationship. That’s not to say that everyone else’ model is wrong, or that we won’t end up at the same Cross. This is simply where God has me right now. The Carpenter’s Shop hasn’t been for me another team to belong to, but a relationship with people who love Jesus and who don’t try to get me to conform to their system. We’re free to grow as fast or as slow as we allow God to invade our lives. We don’t look at one another and wonder how we can benefit from someone else. We see each other as fellow travelers God has joined because He loves us enough to never leave us. It is much easier to love others when you're not competing with them.

Grandfather Mountain

It's only the middle of August, but the temperature in Butner was a chilly 58 degrees this morning. The skies are blue, there's little humidity - it feels like a perfect fall day. The weather made me want to continue west rather than turn east towards work this morning. On the drive in I daydreamed about spending the day in the mountains, Grandfather Mountain to be specific.

At 9:30 in the morning, it's a bit cooler at Grandfather than here: 49 degrees, with a stiff breeze making it feel much cooler. Its shorts and sweatshirt weather on top of the Old Man.

The Mile High Swinging Bridge was constructed the year after I was born. It was originally made of wood and, true to its name, would sway back and forth as people walked from one cliff to the other side. In 1999 the wooden bridge was replaced with a steel bridge. It still sways a little, but the big difference is the sound of the wind passing between the metal slats and cables. It sounds as though the bridge is singing. The truth is, the bridge is just nature's vocal chords; the song is in the wind.

As a child I remember visiting Grandfather and still recall my mother's nagging to my father about how close he was to the edge of the narrow road that leads to the top of the mountain. Even now the road twists and turns back on itself and you need good brakes if you're going to come back down safely. But it's a beautiful place and one feels closer to God on that mountain. On one trip, my parents brought along my nephew Rudy. Rudy was always a handful, kind of like my daughter Jennifer. Mama wouldn't walk across the swinging bridge, but my father guided us boys over. After awhile we came back over and Mama asked "Where is Rudy?" We assumed he'd crossed back over before us, but Mama was at the end watching for us and assured us he'd not come across that bridge. My brother and I ran back across the bridge, pausing just long enough to see how far out we could spit. We found Rudy sitting on the edge of a rock, his feet hanging out into space. The nearest treetops were hundreds of feet below him. Where my parents would have used words to coax him back from the edge, my brother and I simply grabbed him and drug him back, then proceeded to hit and stomp him for scaring us so badly. Didn't he realize that if he'd fallen to his death that our vacation would be over and we'd have to go back home? How stupid could he be?

Nowdays there's a wildlife habitat at the base of the mountain for visitors to enjoy. One can watch otters, deer, eagles, and even black bears in their natural habitats. The black bear is the mascot of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. There's one lucky male bear at Grandfather. His name is Kodak. The rest are females: Gerry, Dakota, Flower and Smoky in the large habitat and Elizabeth, Carolina and Punkin in the small habitat. Punkin is the oldest at 25 years. Some bears in captivity can live as old as 30, but the life expectancy for bears in the wild is only 3-5 years because they are a hunting species.

We've enjoyed the Highland Games in July where grown men wearing plaid skirts see how far they can toss telephone polls and boulders. http://www.gmhg.org/ Nearby is Linville Caverns and a couple of gem mining places where you can 'pan' for gold, rubies and emeralds. A little bit down the road is Valle Crucis, home of the original Mast General Store. http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/history.cfm.

The last time I visited Grandfather was on Father's Day in 2006. I arrived around 9:30 in the morning. In the summer you want to arrive before 10 or after 3 because of the crowd. I had lunch at the restaurant next to the wildlife habitat and left at 1 PM. When I exited the gates, there was a line backed down the road trying to get in.

Next summer my wife will be able to experience Tanawha, as the Cherokees used to call the mountain. We're dreaming about opening a bed and breakfast in the mountains. The Linville area sounds like a perfect place.

Maybe I should get a job as a travel agent.

Butterfly Kisses

My youngest daughter is a rising senior this year. In two weeks she will begin the 12th grade; nine months later she will be old enough to vote and on her way to college. Where has the time gone?

She almost wasn't here. Though her mom and I disagreed over abortion, I would have caved in since my wife felt we needed more time together before having a baby. But God stepped in and created something beautiful that has blessed our lives tremendously. Even though we ended up divorcing, Laura's mom and I have made it a point to love and raise this precious gift as best we possibly can. Soon our job will be over, though neither of us will ever stop being her parent. We can both say that she has made our job a lot easier because Laura has been an angel to raise. Some friends might not think so, but we do.

Since my daughter was 4 years old, she's spent just about every weekend with me. Shortly after separating from her mom I recall standing in line at Wal-Mart or at the grocery store with Laura sitting in the shopping cart chatting up the people in front or behind us. "My mom and dad are divorced. I live with my mom, but I stay with my dad on the weekend." Too much information, but what could I do? She was the apple of my eye, my link to sanity in a life I had no control over.

Before our divorce we spent a Thanksgiving in Nags Head. It was there that Laura sat on Santa's lap for the first time. Although she was deathly frightened by clowns and a bit unsure about Barney, she felt safe with the guy in the red suit and white beard. When it was her turn, Santa asked Laura what she wanted for Christmas. Her reply brought tears to my eyes and I turned with pride to look at the other parents as she said, "I want all the kids to have some food and a place to sleep." The previous Christmas we'd taken her to a charity event for homeless children. Though still in her stroller, Laura remembered seeing those children from various shelters in the Raleigh area. I shouldn't have been surprised at her memory however because Laura remembered all the songs and lines from all of her favorite Disney movies. Many times I've looked at her and wondered if she really isn't an angel disguised as a little girl.

At five, Laura was wiser about church than many adults are. Rather than sit through a boring sermon and pretend to be righteous, Laura would stay in the nursery by herself and color. We had no teacher during the sermon, but Laura was content to stay by herself until I came to get her. The only time she ever left the room on her own was in the middle of a service where the preacher was telling the congregation about his visit to the doctors to have his chest pains checked out. No sooner had he told us than Laura opened the door to the sanctuary and walked in holding a picture she'd drawn. She didn't look for me or acknowledge the congregation in any way, but went up the steps to the pulpit and handed the pastor her picture. Then she turned around and walked back out the way she came. Everyone giggled at how cute she looked. The pastor stood looking down at the picture for a moment and then held it up for us to see. It was a picture of a heart. The pastor said, "God truly speaks through His children. Here he's used this little girl to tell me there's nothing wrong with my heart and I could have saved myself $700 if I'd just trusted Him." That was just another instance that my baby girl has made her dad proud.

Her mom and I have been pretty protective of our daughter, something she's just now starting to rebel against. There have been some bumps along the way: she's required stitches three times in the same spot because she would break her fall with her chin rather than her hands; she's been trampled by a horse; she was running and, not paying attention, turned around just in time to run face-first into the corner of a post - that split her cheek open and left her looking like she'd been in an automobile accident. There was a time when we missed her one winter morning. There was snow on the ground and it was freezing outside. We searched the house, under the cabinets where she liked to hide and eventually looked outside. I finally caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. Laura was up in the tree line chasing a rabbit wearing only her pajamas. I ran after her and just caught her two steps from the road. She received one of the handfuls of spankings she would get for scaring the heck out of her mom and me.

As Laura has grown, she and I have had many opportunities to get away and have some fun times. We've done Busch Gardens to death but still love going there. We've driven down to Orlando for Sea World and driven back in one weekend. We've enjoyed Tweetsie Railroad, Ghost Town in Maggie Valley, and Cherokee NC; Gatlinburg, TN; she's skied at Massanutten, VA; and we've spent a glorious week at Myrtle Beach, SC. Our furthest adventures took us to Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas. For thirteen of her seventeen years, Laura has been my constant companion; even if all we do on a weekend is to go to the movies or play video games at Game Frog in Northgate Mall. We've been invited to Thanksgiving and Christmas at my pastor's home for as long as we can remember. We've been inseparable until I took a part-time job at a theater last Thanksgiving.

For years I've picked Laura up on Friday after work and dropped her off at school on Monday morning. Kissing her goodbye was always hard. As I drove away every week I'd pray the same prayer: "Father, bless Laura. Keep her safe, healthy, and close to your heart. Change me so I can be the best dad I can be." Every night I'd call to check on her day and the world wouldn't seem right until I knew she was safe at home and looking forwards to being with me again on the weekend. Her mom has been great for allowing me to have her as often as I have...even on Mother's Day weekends.

Now things are changing. In a few months I'll have a new wife. Laura will stand in as a bridesmaid at her dad's wedding. She wanted to give me away too, but the pastor said that he's going to ask my ex-wives to do the honors. A few months further down the road and my baby girl will be off to college and her own life. Right now she wants to go to Appalachian State with her best friend Erin, and get as far away as she can from her overly protective parents; but that depends on whether she can get scholarships. She will probably marry some guy who doesn't deserve her, despite her objections to being tied down and having children. At her wedding they will play "Butterfly Kisses" and I'll cry like I've done every time I've heard that song. No matter how old she gets, I'm always going to remember Laura as that little girl with the boyish haircut who held my hand when we walked, whose kisses were special because she was the only one who would kiss me, and who checked me up when she knew I was talking BS. She is God's gift...one I've got to love enough to let go.

Knowing Laura, she's going to come see her dad often. If she doesn't, Pam and I are moving in with her.

James Michael Pratt

For whatever reason, Blogger won't let me save James M. Pratt's link to his blog in my blog list, so I'm posting it here and hope you'll drop in and see what James is all about: http://www.jmprattcom.blogspot.com. James' newest book "As a Man Thinketh...In His Heart" is in print and available on Amazon. I posted an article on this book back in April, so scroll down there and see why this book had such an impression on me.

James is not only my favorite author, he's been a good friend and has been encouraging me to write Sea Tree. What has impressed me most about James is that he is so much like the characters in his books. James is a man of integrity, vision, humility and courage. Despite several best sellers, James has gone through four years without an income while he's worked on "As a Man Thinketh...In His Heart", a screenplay for his novel, "The Last Valentine", and starting up a new company with Mark Kastleman, Power Think and Power Think Publishing. During that time, James lost his mom and experienced other tragedies that would have caused many of us to give in to despair. His faith has inspired me as much as his encouragement has. When a best-selling author takes the time to respond to your emails and who treats you with encouragement, honesty and respect as James does, you've found a friend. I hope you'll visit James' new website: http://www.powerthink.com/index.php. Come September you'll find lots of ebooks at great prices, many free.

Enjoy.

Randy Alcorn

Although my favorite writer has to be James Michael Pratt, followed by Nicholas Sparks, perhaps my favorite Christian writer is Randy Alcorn. His book, "Edge of Eternity" was my first incursion into Christian fantasy (as opposed to Christian fiction). EoE does in words what "The Masterpiece - A Toymaker's Dream" did in music and dance.

"Deadline", a detective novel, has been turned into a screenplay with Chuck Norris playing the main character. Don't know if it will ever make it to film, but the novel is great. As with James Pratt's screenplay for "The Last Valentine", Hollywood often takes the story so far away from the original that the two are unrecognizable. I hope that "The Last Valentine" and "Deadline" get the same thoughtful treatment that Nicholas Sparks' "Message in a Bottle", "A Walk to Remember", and "The Notebook" received.

Randy has several non-fiction books in print as well, probably his most popular, "Heaven", earns him lots of radio and television interviews. Check out Randy's blog at www.randyalcorn.blogspot.com.

On Prayers

Our church, The Carpenter's Shop, meets in Jon's Main Street Diner in Creedmoor, NC. We're a small group - 17 if my daughter and grandson show up. Occasionally some friends will drop by and once in awhile a visitor. Those who don't know us that well leave thinking "Well, that was different." We don't have an order of service, praise music, an offering collection or even a sermon. What we do is we sit around and discuss some scripture and talk about what's going on in our lives. We are a church of friends.

Usually, Jimmy will welcome everyone with something like this: "It's so good to see you all. Thank God you survived another week and chose to be with us today!" Then Jimmy will ask if there are any prayer requests. We'll pray for my daughter's cancer, for a neighbor of Jimmy's parents who's having some tests run next week, for high school and college exams, for Jon's business, Jimmy's business, the family of a high school student who lost their dad recently...whatever is on our hearts. Once in awhile someone will ask for personal prayer, often for sickness and we'll obey scripture by gathering around that person and the laying on of hands in prayer. We'll simply believe that it is God's will for His children to be whole and leave the healing up to Him.

A couple thousand years ago, Jesus was sitting around with His friends, perhaps around a meal. It was only a few weeks before He would endure the cross and Jesus was more than a little troubled by what lay ahead. Still, Jesus was always more concerned with others than with Himself and He wanted to teach his friends (disciples) about prayer; so he asked them concerning his upcoming crucifixion, "Should I pray and ask the Father to save me?" Probably everyone around the room nodded in the affirmative; that sounds like a reasonable request and it's what they would have done if they were about to be tried and persecuted. Perhaps a part of Jesus wanted to ask His Father to save Him too. He would offer that prayer later, but tonight He wanted to teach His friends something about prayers. Jesus knew why He was here, for He said to them, "No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!"

Jesus had the same choice we do, to pray a 'save me' prayer, or pray a 'glorify God' prayer. We've all prayed those 'save me' prayers, asking God to get us out of our circumstances; and we've been disappointed when our prayers seemingly weren't answered. We know God can cure cancer, we know He loves us, so why did He not do as we asked? Didn't Jesus say that we could ask anything in His name and God would answer our prayers? Why then does God not answer prayers that are asked in faith and hope by His children?

Perhaps the answer lies in the example of Jesus. In the Garden, Jesus again asks God to save Him from his circumstances, but as He did with His disciples, Jesus adds, "Yet not my will, but Thy will be done." Jesus knew that the best thing that could happen to Him was if God was glorified in His circumstances.

God doesn't get much glory when things are going well for us - when we're healthy, our finances are in order, our marriage on good terms. We assume it's because He's blessed us for our obedience. But let us be beaten down to the point when there's nothing we can do to save ourselves and God comes through in the nick of time and all of a sudden we're praising God. When things occur in life that can only be attributed to God and not to our own power or someone else', then God gets the glory and the world gets to see a loving Father who cares so much about us that He would allow His Son to die so that we don't have to.

What I've learned from Jesus' prayer is that I should pray concerning my son's foreclosure on his first house - Father, glorify your name in that situation! Father, glorify your name in my daughter's cancer! Father, glorify your name in my marriage, in my job, in my weakness, in my dependence upon You! May you be glorified as I trust you have a better plan than my own. Even when I don't see how my circumstances can bring you glory, Father, have your way; so that your name may be glorified and so that the world will know your love through my circumstances.

Many will say to Me in that day....

For a long time I've felt uneasy about that scripture in Matthew 7 that says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Who are these people who've fooled themselves into believing they had a saving relationship with Christ and how does that reconcile with Romans 10 which states, "9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Which is it?

A recent uproar among some fundy Christians over a photograph displayed inside Abercrombie and Fitch was the subject of yesterday's sermon...one in which we packed up and drove to the mall to see what the fuss was all about. (The photo is on the sidebar.) I'll let my pastor provide his take on the reaction of some Christians to this picture. You can read his blog here once he gets around to it: http://www.jchalmers.blogspot.com/

My dilemma is this: should all Christians be equally upset over what some Christians perceive to be sinful? What about the Christians who aren't offended? Are we counted among those whom God will cast aside because our level of righteousness doesn't measure up to God's standards, or even to the standard of other Christians? Or is this really something that we should be devoting so much attention to when there are more pressing problems we could be addressing?

I grew up in a fundamentalist church. We were taught that anyone can come to Christ as they are and that they can be saved by grace regardless of their past. That's fine so far. But after about 15 minutes of salvation, we spring the bad news on the new convert: Your ticket is punched, but if you want to please God you've got to follow this list: join a church, get involved in a discipleship program, tithe, get rid of the tattoos and nose rings, burn your rock and roll CDs, quit your job at the liquor store, marry the woman you're shacking up with, attend our Addiction Recovery program so we can get you off drugs; and oh yeah - we need you to work in the nursery for the next four Sundays.

Most Sundays we heard messages that contained about 2 minutes worth of grace, love, and trust, and 58 minutes of "Thou shalt nots". So it's not surprising when a Christian father is incensed when he and his family are exposed to A&F's 'art'. He probably feels like he's serving God and that it is his mission and ministry to protect shopper's eyes from this blatantly sinful sexuality that has nothing to do with the pants the store wants to sell their customers. Christians are always looking for causes to prove their righteousness. But what Jesus says in Matthew makes me wonder if we're just fooling ourselves. The truth is, righteousness doesn't produce relationship; relationship produces righteousness. Earlier in Matthew 7 Jesus says, "13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Can it be that our efforts to please God miss the mark and we're not on the same path to eternal life?

Jesus didn't come to save us from Hell; He came to reveal His Father and to offer us a relationship with our Creator. We were going to Hell anyway, but Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms....come and follow me...I am the Way". So although our goals might be similar, our motivations for being Christian are entirely different. If we do not want a relationship with our Father beyond a get-out-of-Hell-free ticket, and whenever we need His hand because we tried to manage our lives under our own power - then is that a saving relationship or does it get you in the line with other goats? If we're unwilling to surrender our agendas for God's agenda, if we trust ourselves more than we trust Him, do we having saving faith?

Simply obeying some commandments and separating ourselves from the rest of the world is not enough it seems. He isn't interested in slaves, but sons and daughters. If I wake up every day and ask Him to bless my plans for the day, I've missed the relationship. I must wake up and seek His plans for my day. I must trust Him to be there when I don't sense His presence. If He doesn't give me the answer I hoped for, I must know that He has a better way and that He is motivated by love for me. As I surrender my control and learn to trust Him - because He has never failed me and He never will - I find that I've grown to love Him and to really see Him as my Father.

So when I view God as my loving Father, I don't go where He doesn't want me to go, or get involved in behaviors and activities that come between my relationship with my Father. I'm not trying to earn His pleasure; I'm simply enjoying His alternative to my own way. I know that as I trust Him more, that He's going to challenge me and take me to places I'd never have risked going without Him. The gate may be narrow and the road may not always be smooth, but at the end is a seat at the Father's table and a room He's prepared especially for me.