Some Words about Waiting

Sometimes it seems as though I spend half my life waiting. As a child I was always waiting for school to start or waiting for summer break. I waited for Christmas, I waited to drive, and I couldn't wait to grow up. As an adult it's been more of the same - waiting to get a job, waiting in a line at the bank or post office, waiting in a doctor's office or a hospital room, waiting at the airport ...you get the picture. Here are some words on waiting.

First let's state three facts. One, we all have to wait. Only God can "speak and make it so" the rest of us have to get in line with the everybody else. Second, although it sometimes seems otherwise, life always comes at us one moment at a time. Life doesn't come to us in clumps; the past is always the past and the future is always the future. There is only now. Third, no one likes to wait. Today as you go about your business be observant. Look around you at the faces when you're in line at Wal-Mart, or in the waiting room, or at the gas pump. There's a direct correlation between frowns, furrowed brows and waiting.

Next, let me offer a solution. Technically, we are all waiting on something: our next heartbeat, our next meal, our next task, right on to the end of our life. At the same time we only feel like we're waiting when we consciously place undue weight in thought or action towards some future event. Stated another way, you're really only waiting if you're thinking about what you're going to do later (see the doctor) instead of totally investing yourself in what you are actually doing at the moment (reading a very old magazine in that doctor's office). That may sound totally obvious - but if it is, then why do we waste so much of our time waiting?

The key to not being consumed by the feeling of waiting is to fully inhabit the present. Don't dwell on the future, but live in the present moment instead. That's why we all say, "I was busy today, but I'm glad I was because it made the day fly by." Time does indeed fly - and life becomes more enjoyable - and we get in the flow, or the zone or whatever you want to call it. And that can only happen if we are truly present in the now and let the future take care of itself.

Those who profess faith in God have an advantage here by the way. That's what Carlo Carretto means when he says, "God comes like the sun in the morning - when it is time. We must assume an attitude of waiting, accepting the fact that we are creatures and not the creator...we are able to initiate nothing; we are only able to accept...only God can create history...we carry it out through our response, but the inspiration, the design, and the strength to carry it out come from God." The Bible affirms this by exhorting us to "wait upon the Lord." This is not the "waiting room - standing in line" kind of waiting - this is the "getting on with life, knowing - trusting that God is in control" kind of waiting; yielding our lives to him moment by moment.

I don't know what you're waiting for today. I've got quite a list of things myself. But you know what? Today I'm going to live in the moment and respond, minute by minute, with all the peace and love God provides.

My Favorite Songs

In my first "list" blog I am going to list my favorite all-time songs. Sociologists say your favorite music is largely dependent upon when (and where) you were born. I was born in the mid-fifties, so you'll notice most of my favorite music comes from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies. If you ask me, they just don't make good music like that anymore! I know, I know, I'm sounding like an old fogey...but it's true.

Actually I consider myself a fairly eclectic music lover. I like Rock, Blues, Country, Gospel, Contemporary Christian, Hymns, even a little Jazz and Classical. But if you were to grab my iPod today, you'd find mostly "Classic Rock" tunes on it.

I define Classic rock to include "Rock and Roll" (music from the mid-fifties), up through the "Rock" music of the early-mid sixties (Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, Doors, Cream, The Who). I also include the more ballady "Folk Rock" of the early seventies (Eagles, James Taylor, John Denver, CSNY) and the "Power Rock" of the mid seventies with groups like Led Zeppelin, etc... I realize this is not at all how most musicologists classify music. I suppose that's why I have such a hard time finding a radio station I like.

That said, and knowing I will probably want to revise this list tomorrow here is the list of my top 25 songs of all time:

1. Hey Jude by the Beatles 1968 - I lived in Germany when this came out and listened to the 45 rpm mono recording of this 7:20 song for hours on end.

2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones 1965 - "Da da, dada da..da da da." I will never forget Mick Jagger's huge lips and his flame red shirt when the Stones sang this on the Sullivan show.

3. Yesterday by the Beatles 1965 - Ah... Paul. What a beautiful song. Amazing it was written by a 20 something guy; such lyrics, such wisdom.

4. Let it Be by the Beatles 1970 - my favorite all-time piano song. The "hymn-like" sound of McCartney's playing mesmerized me. And what about that beard Sir Paul had when he performed this one in the movie!

5. Sunshine of Your Love by Cream 1967 - another great guitar riff - perhaps the greatest, and one every fledgling garage band guitarist back then knew by heart. My first LP ever was Cream's Disraeli Gears which I bought at the PX in Frankfurt Germany. This song still gives me chills.

6. Fire and Rain by James Taylor 1970 - Oh boy, Good old JT. I moved to North Carolina in 1970 and was already enamored with my copy of the Sweet Baby James LP. Once I lived there I felt a kinship with this guy, the greatest ballad writer, sweetest baritone, and best finger-picker in rock music. I've seen him several times in concert and he never fails to impress.

7. Light My Fire by the Doors 1967 - Ray Manzerek's iconic piano riff in this taught me that rock music didn't always have to be guitar-driven and, at over seven minutes long, the song broke down the 2:30 barrier for song length at that time. I still love this song.

8. White Room by Cream 1968 - Great power chord song, mysterious lyrics, Clapton... all adds up to an amazing song that sends me to another place every time I hear it.

9. Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys 1966 - Clean, wholesome, surfer boys - and then there's that weird instrument that sounds so space-like. Love it.

10. Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix 1967 - Another great riff every rock guitarist must know. I remember thinking Hendrix was saying, "Scuse me while I kiss this guy" which was pretty wild for back then. Only later did I learn he was saying, "Kiss the sky." ha ha (what does that mean? get high?)

11. House of the Rising Sun by the Animals 1964 - Am - C - D - F / Am - C - E7 - this song was the first complete song lots of guys my age learned on the guitar. Iconic.

12. America by Simon and Garfunkel 1968 - Beautiful lyrics, deep. Despair / Angst / Passion - all things we were feeling back then (and even more so now!)

13. Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones 1968 - The Stones at their best with a word-story about the excesses and evils of the times.

14. Proud Mary by Credence Clearwater Revival 1969 - Love John Fogerty! Still do! "Left a good job in the city! Workin' for the man ev'ry night and day... and I never lost one minute of sleepin' worryin' bout the way things might have been." That boy can play and sing; he makes you believe!

15. Won't Get Fooled Again by the Who 1971 - Let's face it, this is just good old Power Rock coming straight at you as only the Who could play it. Love the weird synthesizer/organ part at the beginning - and Pete's power chords.

16. Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers 1971 - sparse, haunting, only three chords (Am - Em - G). This song will forever remind me of driving to Lakeshore High to go to school in the morning.

17. Sunshine on My Shoulders by John Denver 1973 - Ah... John Denver, sweetness, what a voice. What a sad ending for him. Still - this is a song that transports me to a golden meadow.....

18. Your Song by Elton John 1970 - What a great song - great lyrics - we've all felt this way before.

19. Close to You by the Carpenters 1970 - ha - this was the official class song of my graduating class from High School. If I'm not mistaken, we actually sang it at graduation. I remember it mostly from listening to it constantly in my "lonely days" right after moving to North Carolina before I met anyone.

20. Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf 1969 - First ever mention of "heavy metal" - love it. I went to see Steppenwolf Concert in Fayetteville, NC back in 70 or 71 - it was like..."heavy man....heavy..." :)

21. Easy to Be Hard by Three Dog Night 1970 - Love Chuck Negron's amazing tenor on this one - "How can people be so heartless? How can people be so cruel?" "Easy... easy to be hard...easy to say no."

22. Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel 1965 - Their voices seem to come out of nowhere, 'Hello darkness my old friend..." Great mood song. Always reminds me of the movie "The Graduate" too ("One word ..Plastics!") - quite scandalous in the sixties when it first came out - tame by today's standards.

23. Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones 1971 - I got the Sticky Fingers Album (with the jean pants cover with zipper/fly that really worked) right when it came out. It was summertime - and a hot one - this song reminds me of that time.

24. Tiny Dancer by Elton John 1971 - Beautiful piano, beautiful words, "Blue jean baby...LA Lady...seamstress for the band." Iconic sound of the early seventies.

25. Joy to the World by Three Dog Night 1971 - "Jeremiah was a bullfrog! Was a good friend of mine!" I've always loved this corny, but singable tune - It's a great shower song.

HTTP 404

Anyone who spends much time at all on the Internet is bound to eventually stumble across the dreaded "404 error." A 404 error page is what you see when you try to browse a page that does not exist anymore (or never did exist). A link may be broken, a page may have been moved - someone might just be trying to be funny - who knows? While many dot-coms try to make the pain of landing on a 404 error page more bearable by putting a cute spin on being lost (here are some examples) - you are still "lost" and have to find your way back. Besides, you wouldn't have clicked a link or typed in a URL unless you really wanted to go there to begin with, right?

Let's face it, no one likes being lost, or worse, being led astray. No one really likes going off into the never-never land of HTTP 404.

I'll wager some of you reading this post have been feeling a bit 404-ish lately. Lot's of things can do it - not getting enough rest, eating wrong, too much time at the office (or worse, no job to go to in the first place). Even normally "good things" like relatives and holidays, for instance, can send you into 404 land - you get the picture.

I will probably be accused of oversimplifying here, but I honestly believe the answer to the 404 error is found in the spiritual realm, no matter what the cause. After all, wasn't it Jesus who said he came to "seek and save those who are lost?" (see Luke 19:10). It's like the old hymn says, "Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave; weep o'er the erring one, lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save." I believe what that old song says.

Let's face it, many of us have a boatload of problems right now. Cancer or some other disease, no job, broken relationships, foreclosures, the stock market is tanking (the Dow plummeted over 1100 points the last two sessions alone). What are we going to do? Turn to Jesus. He's the answer no matter what the question. Friend, I don't know what you are facing today, but I know Someone who does. Talk with Him today; he'll get you where you need to go.

Back to School

Summer officially ends at our house when Donna has to report back to school (she's a teacher). Donna had to report for work last Friday and so our household routine is changing rapidly now (I know when to get in line!). Since things are changing I figure it's time for me to do the same. My "Back to School" decision is to be more structured and disciplined in my activities. For those who don't know, I've been unemployed since January, 2010. I'm looking for a job, but it's tough out there, as everyone knows. I definitely have a few more years of productivity in me - and am looking for the right challenge. I've even had a few "near misses" on the job front. Meanwhile I've had the luxury of getting all the stuff done that you, dear reader, have no doubt often lamented you'd like to get to, "if only I had the time."

One way I plan to be more structured / disciplined is in my blogging. Always the systematizer,  here are the daily topics I intend to write about:

 - Monday: Randomness
 - Tuesday: Theology / Spirituality
 - Wednesday: Lists
 - Thursday: Nature / Science
 - Friday: History
 - Saturday: Photo of the Day
 - Sunday: Photo of the Day

Of course this is my plan and I reserve the right to tweak it or even to ignore it - but at least it is a start. So....here we go! File this one under "Randomness" (since it's Monday).

Quiet But Effective

I've been helping with the Forsyth Family Festival again this year. So far I've mostly been contacting local pastors to see if they and their congregations are interested in being a part of this year's event. These calls and emails have been a real joy for me. What has made them so enjoyable is the time spent interacting with the outstanding ministers in our community. We have some great men and women leading the churches of Forsyth County.

Each minister possesses unique gifts, but all appear to have a sincere love of the Lord and the desire to see their congregations thrive and be healthy. I'm so grateful for these servants; like school teachers I believe they are vastly undervalued by most for the enormous contribution they make to our community.  The vast majority of these Christian leaders go about their daily lives quietly serving God and those God has entrusted to their care. They live their lives far from the spotlight, headlines, and gushing accolades afforded celebrities.

But God knows...and they know they are making a difference in our world today, and in the final analysis, that's what really matters. If you attend a church; give your pastor a call, send them a call or shoot them an encouraging email today. Meanwhile, here's to our local pastors - we love and appreciate you so much!

Highs and Lows

A "wrack line" is the line you often see along a beach where the last high tide has deposited shells, seaweed, items that were either dumped or fell off boats, and other assorted debris. The word wrack comes from the same word we get our English word "wreck" from. Sometimes this line is surprisingly high; a storm at sea drove waves all the way up to the sea oats while we were at the beach, much higher than I had ever seen this line.  But usually the line changes with the regular change of the tides. Never one to shy away from a good metaphor, I couldn't help but think of the correlation between wrack lines at the seashore and the patterns inherent in our lives.

Most of us have highs and lows. Granted some of us are more inclined to have "higher highs" and "lower lows" than others, but we all experience the inevitable ebb and flow of good times and not-so-good times in our lives. I don't know about you, but I can recall some incredibly high highs and some dismally low lows in my own brief time on the planet.

The good news is, the lows - when it comes to wrack lines - are always quickly washed away. The highs, on the other hand, often remain with you for a long, long time (until the next big storm comes through to top it). The bad news is, far too many of us waste our lives staring at and sifting through the last big "high" wrack line, often at the expense of living life in the here and now. Others of us, of course, waste time moaning and groaning about how bad things are right now at this very moment in our life, as if we are unaware that in a matter of hours the tide is going to come in and wash away that "low" wrack line.

Here's my point (yes, there is a point to this). 99.9% of life is lived in the ebb and flow of these highs and lows. The actual low and high points are but fleeting moments. Since we spend most of our time in the middle, let's make the most of what we have then - in the moment - rather than always waiting for, or looking back at, some other time. Today might be a good day to start doing just that.

Your Worth - And Mine

It's weird being without a job. Hopefully my period of unemployment is reaching its end, but I've learned so much through this time in my life. One lesson that has really been pounded home is the strong correlation today between a person's worth and what he or she does for a living. This applies to both sexes, but it seems biased more towards males. If a man isn't "supporting his family" he somehow seems to be less than whole. He's a slacker, or something is wrong with him. In fact, not having gainful employment makes you a kind of modern-day untouchable where people do their best to avoid you, or they dance around the subject with you when you do get around them - as if you have the plague or something. I'm sure most of this is done out of kindness, but there is clearly a kind of societal taboo associated with not having a paying job. It would be interesting to see if this is mainly a byproduct of the Protestant work ethic - or if it is more universal than that, cutting across cultures.

What's the value of a man or woman? In school I once had a teacher once announce that, based on the chemical composition of our bodies, the typical human was worth $4.50. Most would agree we're worth more than that - but how much? Is our value based on how much money we make, or how well we can shoot a basketball, play a guitar or close a deal? The Bible has plenty to say about this. Genesis 1:26-27 says we are made in the very image of God. Psalm 139:13-16 says we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." Perhaps the most important verse concerning our worth is John 3:16 which says we are so valuable that God gave his only Son to redeem us.

What I'm trying to say is our that our worth is often based on the wrong parameters. And that, of course, leads to a lowered self-worth. We listen to what others tell us about ourselves rather than recognizing how valuable we really are in God's eyes. Who knows, perhaps the best thing that could happen to some of us would be to lose our job, then we might turn to the Source for the real answer to the question, "What's a person worth?"