Don’t be too depressed about depression; don’t despair over despair...

"In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant. My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known -- no wonder, then, that I return the love."  Soren Kierkegaard

I am not trying to be flippant about such a delicate issue; nor can I avoid oversimplifying in this brief space.

Our formative years were influenced by elements reacting to Freudian principles in a way that, while to some degree understandable, left the mistaken impression that there was never any use in the Christian’s life for psychiatric evaluation or medication.

Meet "Orbus"...

Sunday afternoon, Linda started hearing something like a dog crying, whenever she went into the bathroom. She thought it was the neighbor's a block behind us, as usual.

I heard the same sound a couple of times later in the evening before I went to bed. To me, it sounded like cries of pain, an animal that had been run over or hurt by another animal.

The art of considering...

For All

Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn
fording a stream
barefoot, pants rolled up,
holding boots, pack on,
sunshine, ice in the shallows,
northern rockies.

Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters
stones turn underfoot, small and hard as toes
cold nose dripping
singing inside
creek music, heart music,
smell of sun on gravel.

poem by Gary Snyder

_______________________

We are not really known for being quiet and reflective, are we? We are so business-like and goal oriented that I fear we often miss the profundity and sheer joy of the moment.

Thank you, Paul...

“10 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:” (Acts 26:19)

Thank you for being obedient, for being a true pioneer, for leaving such an enduring legacy and example. Do you guys sign autographs in heaven? If you do, I’d like to get in line.

I am a slow learner. But, I also understand that God teaches us by stages. The Word remains the same; he just seems to help us get more out of it as the years go by. Such has been my experience with this verse:

Don't hold back because you think you're too small...

Iglesia Bautista Berea, downtown Cancun, celebrates its 26th Anniversary today. As I was getting my presentation ready for this evening, I came across a few pictures that took me back even further than that.

This one is of Linda, Jeremy and Rebekah in the cab of our 1961, 4-wheel drive pickup, leaving the States en route to language school in Guadalajara, Mexico, December, 1976.

My first reaction was, how did we ever survive? No Spanish, no experience, no friends, no clarity as to how we would ever remotely accomplish what we had set out to do...

Beautiful Feet...

"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" (Ro 10:15)

When you think of the most attractive parts of the human body, which ones come to mind first? I would venture to say that your initial response would not be the same as God's. Yep, he would say, "your feet."

Refreshing the bones?

If you asked me how I feel lately, my initial response might be "I'm tired." I guess, at my age, that is allowed. However, that feeling should not necessarily carry over to my spiritual state of affairs.

Interesting verse... Proverbs 15:30... when the light of our eyes is the very presence of Christ in our souls, our hearts are made glad by the abundance of grace and blessing freely bestowed upon us. As we become more aware of His presence in our own lives, we are comforted and strengthened by the evidence of His love and generosity in others as well. In Spanish, the idea is conveyed that our bones end up comforted...nourished... i.e., refreshed.

I need that sort of ministration. And, I would like to be capable of that sort of ministering: dispensing the kind of medicine that would refresh others right down to the bone.

It feels like somewhat of a paradox: the desire to share God's blessings while simultaneously being aware that nothing well learned is imposed by others. As the song writer wrote about the teacher, "His job is to shed light, and not to master."

In attempting this blog (a new endeavor for me), I do have thoughts I would like to share with whomever might be interested. They go out with a humble desire to shed a bit of light, and not to master.

This first entry is mostly for me: to remind me to live inside the parameters I established for this at the outset. If I stick to my guns, there will not be much revealed here about what I am against, no name-calling, no decrying the times we live in, nor anything that might be perceived as just plain meanness by outsiders. The Bible exhortation to contend for the faith was never intended to be a cloak to hide a contentious spirit.

It remains to be seen if I actually have anything interesting to say. As badly as my bones need refreshed, I suppose this is somewhat of a selfish endeavor. However, there is, deep inside, a desire to comfort and strengthen other believers.

I hope that will be evident in the entries that follow.