On Sheep

"Dumb, dirty sheep." The phrase shocked me when I first heard it. As best I remember the context, I was grousing about demanding, uncooperative, nit-picky people, and I was challenged with the idea that I should see people as dumb, dirty sheep! As I have thought about that over the last six months, the idea grows. I have been around sheep, so I know about the dirty, smelly part. As for the dumb part...well, that depends on the definition of "dumb".

As a matter of fact, sheep are social; they prefer to be in a herd, and will follow one shepherd or a dominant sheep. If flocks accidentally merge, say at a crossroads, the shepherd can walk down the road and call, and his sheep will follow the familiar voice. (Nothing necessarily dumb, just herd behavior. It would seem very important, however, who is being followed, eh?)

Sheep spend more time eating than any other activity, and will not necessarily eat what is best for them, nutritionally, but will select what they prefer (that sounds familiar). Sheep are neophobic, that is they fear anything new. Introduce an unfamiliar sheep, strange sound, different handler, and they will become anxious-sometimes frantic. Moving water makes them nervous, and they will avoid drinking, thus the need for the still waters spoken of in the Shepherd's Psalm (Psalm 23). One interesting fact I read about sheep-herding spoke of how a shepherd rescues a sheep that has gone out on a ledge to forage. If the shepherd approaches the sheep to rescue it before it has eaten all the grass, the animal will leap to its death. The shepherd waits until the sheep is hungry and tired; then it will submit to being rescued.

I recognize much of myself in all of the above (hence the need for the post-holiday diet). Despite the protests of many that I know, I see them in those facts, too, not necessarily the eating part, but the choosing inferior "feed" in their pursuits, or the anxieties... Although I know many who claim to love the adventure of change, change as a stressor is fact. In the same way that change causes discomfort for me, so it does for the people that cause my impatience. Hmmm.

I could go on and on, exploring the metaphor, and often do, which causes one of the guys in my Sunday School class to start "baa-ing". What fun! But we enjoyed discussing how appropriate it was, that our Savior came to a stable, among herd animals and the smell and the dirt, to be born. How like a shepherd to sleep with the sheep. It is a story we love to hear over and over, but not just a story, the truth. No wonder we love Him!

Abundance and Responsibility

Today was a great day! Every year at this time, our church hosts a community fall festival. We are a large church, one of the largest in our community, here in the Golden Isles of coastal Georgia. Because we are, we can do "big and good" very well. But that's not why it was a good day, because a big church did a big thing. The REASON we do it, is WHY it is so wonderful.

We do it because we love God, and we express that by loving our community. What I saw today was the result of weeks and weeks of planning, many people serving, and joyous hearts giving because God loves us, and we are compelled by love to share that with others.

It was a mad house out at Mary Ross Park today. There were a couple of square miles of people, over half of them, wide-eyed, energetic children. There were young people and older people (like me), making cotton candy, painting faces, running game booths and overseeing inflatable rides. There were smoke-filled eyes over hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill, feet hurrying along the cakewalk, tongues tasting creamy, crunchy apple pie, German chocolate cake, and the grand-prize winning chocolate pumpkin cake. The wind was high, the rain and the gnats stayed away and the church came together with the community to give them a big bear hug in the form of a day of fun, topped off with a free concert!

As we were leaving, a new couple visiting our Sunday School class today marveled at the size of the event, and all the participation by our people, and everything that was shared, free of cost. My wise husband explained, "We are a big, blessed church. With that comes a lot of responsibility." Amen to that!

But with that responsibility, there is also opportunity for fun! Jaaaaaahooooooo!

The Gift That Keeps Giving

I am always happily surprised by the quality of life when I purpose to relate to people with the character of Christ. I don't always achieve my goal, but the day to day navigation through the stesses that confront me takes on a balanced, peaceful rhythm. Kindness, patience, mercy, understanding, affection...these all come back to me when sent out where I live, work, and fellowship.

Having focused this week on reflecting to others the love I experience in my relationship with Him, I had one affirming, positive experience after another. Tuesday, one right after the other, people came through the door giving hugs (and I am a hug junkie). Pastors, students, senior adults, little children...I don't remember what the prescribed daily quota is supposed to be, but I know it was exceeded. I got a phone call from one of the Sunday School teachers I serve through my work. He told me "he had missed my warm smile and great hugs; where had I been?" I told him that the last few Sundays had been busy and I had not had the chance to roam and just touch base with people. An hour or so later, he followed it with an email. He wrote "see you with a hug Sunday!"

The same day, I was approached by someone with a prayer request. I had been irritated with him for over a week for an off-hand critical comment he had made in my presence, and had been considering how best to confront him with it, when he shared a problem with me and asked for my prayers. Immediately, all irritation was gone, and I found myself commiserating and offering input and promising prayers.

A little preschooler ran up to me, hugged my legs, and said "you so purty." He now owns me. And a student with whom I've had a "hi, how are you relationship" sat and talked to me about western world lit, and her college plans, and how she feels about high school dances. I have really missed that kind of time since I quit teaching.

The curse of self-centeredness is that self is always voraciously hungry, and never satisfied. The gift of God-centeredness and outward focus is the gift that gives back, over and over again. Taken in its true context, it reminds me of Jesus' words in Luke 4:38, "Give and it will be given to you; a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over--will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

I wonder what the going price is for dump trucks.

Speaking for God

I recently read a book that is making its way through many circles, including the Church. It was mentioned to me by several friends, some with great enthusiam, a few with uncertainty. So I looked it up on Amazon and read the summary and some reviews by notables like Eugene Peterson, who draws a comparison to John Bunyan. I decided to give it a go.

I found the introduction and "rising action" of the plot to be poorly written and very predictable. It was the writer's revelations of God I was waiting for, so I slogged on through. When I got to the "meat", that's when the reading got harder and slower, until I found I could go no further. At a friend's dining room table, I was urged to "keep reading...the central message is worth digging through all the bad theology to get to." So I tried again.

I read enough, comparing it to all I had read and studied in Scripture, Bible studies and college theology courses, to come up with my own conclusions. I am sure, that for the most part, my opinions really won't influence many others. I've made my own list of objections, because I wanted to examine, point by point, what my issues were, just for me. They are direct and exact...and I won't go into them here.

This post is about what I believe about "speaking for God." Short and simple, the Bible is God, speaking for Himself. I guess that's where I and some others part ways. I also think that if I have to dig through the junk to get to the "good stuff", then it musn't be worth getting to in the first place. You see, if I want to know about who God is and what He does and how He feels about me, I'll go straight to the Source. And if I read a book written by a person that purports to make all of that more clear, accessible, or meaningful to me, then it better be pretty consistent with what God says Himself, or it's not worth my time. Warm fuzzies and a little truth mixed with damning and dangerous lies, it's not even a little palatable for me.

My opinion, in a word...heresy.

Thinking Out Loud

A professor in a class I took several years back said, "Some people think to talk, others talk to think." I immediately knew where I belonged...I talk to think. Therefore, it helps me stay out of trouble, if I do most of my thinking with trusted friends. Being ADHD, I have to think out loud without looking at them...body language and facial expressions can be way too distracting.

It's amazing what I learn when I get a chance to pursue a train of thought all the way to the end. I ride to work sometimes with friends who are kind enough to let me ramble the five miles or so from home to the office. Last week, I talked through my thoughts about a movie I went to see.

It was a summer "blockbuster" or so it was advertised. Adapted from a popular Broadway musical, it was geared toward someone of my generation and gender. I finally got a chance to go to the Sunday matinee with a friend and her daughter. As is often the case, anticipation led to disappointment.

"Hate" is too strong a word for how I felt. As I explained on the way to work last week, the movie was joyfully hedonistic. A celebration of a way of life that is immoral and irresponsible, in a beautiful Mediterranean setting with handsome men, and dancing, and songs I can sing to.... I had a miserable time. I felt uncomfortable watching it with a teen that I've watched grow up and talked to about how to make good choices, while the beautiful heroine winked through the consequences of her bad ones. This movie had it all, all the glitter and fun the world pursues, and a happy musical ending.

It may not be "real" life, but it is a life style for a large part of the real world, unfortunately. And it rarely ends so neatly and happily.

So I talked it out and thought it through. It will be a long time before I fall for another movie trailer.