Think on these things ...

Ever heard the expression “quit while you’re ahead?” Sometimes that point happens to be before you even begin!

With the warmer weather the last few weeks, we’ve managed to get out and hike with some regularity. Our first hike this year was Little Devil’s Staircase. By the time we were done, Valerie probably was thinking it should be our last.

Everything was great as we pulled into the parking lot. The dogs were excited and Valerie and I were itching to get going; all the way up to trail head.

The first thing you come to, at the beginning of the trail, is a nice little, trickling stream – normally. This day, the water level was up considerably which caused us to look for an easy way across. Yeah, right!

We found a nice, wide, downed log that crossed about 4 feet above water level; just the right size for a couple to balance beam across. Except for the dogs. Valerie went first. She decided to sit and shimmy across on her backside with one of the dogs’ attached by leash to her wrist as it waded through the stream. About half way across, the dog yanked the leash. Valerie managed to stay avoid taking a swim, but she paid with a skinned forearm and a huge knot to go with it. Strike one.

Ordinarily, the awesome views (cascading waterfalls are the norm) more than make up for the steep climb. The trail crosses the stream, over and back, several times as you climb higher and higher. Again, normally, this is not a problem. And, if it weren’t for the dogs being along, it would have actually made for a little more excitement, adding some rock climbing and log walking to the regular hike. Ah, but those dogs. They don’t do rock climbing or log walking.

About halfway up, we were again faced with a difficult crossing. There were stepping stones, but they were a little slick and a bit too far apart for a 5’1” woman, especially with a dog attached to one arm. You guessed it – as she tenuously crossed the stream, the dog gave a tug and Valerie went for a swim. Not only did she come up soaked (except for the quick dry hiking pants I thoughtfully gave her for Christmas), she had landed awkwardly on her wrist. Sprained, but not broken – upward and onward we would go! Strike two (but not out yet)!

Upward we trudged (well, I trudged, Valerie kind of sloshed), until we had to cross the stream one final time. This time, I crossed first with the thought that I would then help Valerie to the other side. I picked up a downed branch to use as a staff for balance as I crossed. And crossed I did – no problem! Valerie’s turn. This time the leash came off of her wrist before she made her way. If the dog was going to tug, Valerie was not going swimming again. I stood our staff upright and pushed it back to Valerie to aid in her crossing. What I hadn’t noticed was a sharp piece of broken twig where she would be catching the staff. Yup – it punctured her hand right in the palm as she caught the staff. Strike three! The good news - we were just about done the ascent; the bad - all we had to do was to come back down.

At the top of the trail, you have the option of returning the way you came (and on this day, that really was not an option), or descend via the fire road (a little longer and not as scenic, but a nice leisurely walk back to the parking lot). We chose the fire road.

We learned two final lessons that afternoon. I’ll spare you the details (for two reasons: 1. they’d embarrass me, and 2. they’d gross you out.).

The first? Let’s just say, that you should always go hiking well prepared for every “body” function and need, regardless of how long the hike is. These things include food, water, and toilet paper (especially t.p.).

The second? We had read that dryer sheets make a great insect repellent. And they do! Dryer sheets also feel like baby wipes that have dried out. If you run out of t.p., there may be a temptation to use baby wipes, which can be confused with dryer sheets. Neither one of them is a suitable replacement for t.p. Nuff’ said?

All in all, a beautiful hike on a beautiful trail on a beautiful day! Sometimes things happen though, just like in the rest of life, and you either let it detract from the good and get you down and angry, or you accept it as a part of the trip and push on. Just as in life, it’s all up to you on what you will focus on; you have an active choice to make. It’s always better to focus on the good! God has these two things to say about our thoughts:

Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life. Proverbs 4:23 (NCV)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

It’s not so much “you are what you eat;” as it is “you are what you think.” I choose to think about the things of God. What will you choose to think on?

I Yam What I Yam

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that, my soul knows very well. Psalm 139:13-14

On our last post, I made a confession about my recent state of mind - frustrated and discouraged. I then went on to talk about woodpeckers of all things. Some might have been wondering - "What in the world is the connection?"

Well, here it is.

My frustration, generally, is directed at myself. I want so badly to be all that God wants me to be, and to do all that God wants me to do, but I know I fall so far short. The questions keep rolling - "Am I using the talents and abilities God has given me to their fullest?" "When I do use them, am I using them for His glory, or for mine?" "My efforts at one-on-one evangelism are pretty pathetic, Lord. How can I teach others when I'm not doing my part in this area?" These questions and their answers could fill some blog space on their own -- but not today.

The discouragement comes, usually, and I'm sure, unintentionally, from other Christians.

I've noticed that we seem to have moved into a period of Christianity, at least in America, where we measure success in our Christian lives by how "successful" we are in "ministry." Find "Your Best Life Now" while living a "Purpose Driven Life!" "Be all that you can be!" Or worse, to me anyway, is measuring your success financially. It's very easy to get discouraged when you don't seem to be able to "measure up" to everyone's expectations. Or, to what "they" say God's expectations are for your life.

This not a rant on Rick Warren or his book, The Purpose Driven Life. It's not really a rant on related teachings or their proponents. It's not the subject matter that I have a problem with - I truly believe that God has given us all unique talents and abilities to be used for His Kingdom - it's my own inability to do and inadequacy in doing, these things. I know, it sounds like I am expecting perfection of myself, but I don't really. I know that perfection is impossible to achieve. However, I also know that I could be doing much, much better.

It doesn't help when others around me are successful at what they've been called to do. That sounds like envy speaking, but that's not what it is. For example, I know several men in prison ministry; they love it and they are successful at it. I believe that God has a special place for ministry to widows and orphans (Psalm 68:5; James 1:27), and by extension, those who can't do for themselves or are oppressed. I think prison ministry is a very noble cause and it pleases God. I really am not interested in going into a prison to teach though. I also have no interest in going to a nursing home, again, as an example, and visiting. And that bothers me!

This is where God gave me the correlation to my own life: I had been focusing on everything that I am not, instead of what I am. I have been focusing on everyone else's expectations of what my life should look like, instead of what God says it should.

So what does God say He expects from us?

Is it that we should be wealthy? Not necessarily. I am a Christian; a follower of Jesus. What does the Bible say about Jesus and His wealth? He had none. In fact, He did not even have a place "to lay his head" (Matt. 8:20). In addition, most of the original 12 disciples were common men, fishermen to be exact, and were most certainly not wealthy. And they most definitely did not become rich after deciding to follow Jesus. So, while God does not say we shouldn't, or couldn't be wealthy, that is not His main goal for our lives.

So, what does God say we should do? Here are three, one Old Testament and two New Testament.

The first is found in Mark 12:30. Jesus said, "'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment."

The second is found one verse later: "And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

The final one is found in Micah 6:8: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

These are things God wants from us. Love God and love those around us. He may have given you a call to minister to (love) millions, like a Billy Graham, or He may have called you to minister to (love) those in your immediate family - according to the most recent census, all 3.14 of you in a household.

So, these are things I should focus on. Not that I shouldn't continue to try to improve myself, but to focus on what it is that God has given me to focus on, and to stop trying to measure up to other people's expectations and standards for my life and to be who I am.

Like the unique woodpecker that does what woodpeckers do, and that other birds are not equipped to do. And, just as the other birds do what they do and not what the woodpecker does, so should we concentrate on what we have been uniquely called to do.

In the immortal words of Popeye, "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam!"

Regarding Blind, Drain-Bamaged, Woodpeckers

Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Gen. 1:20-23

I have a confession to make - I get easily discouraged and frustrated!

I was spending my quiet time in our hot tub on our deck last Wednesday morning, wrestling with those familiar emotions - "Mike, pity party of one" - when I just stopped to hear God's voice. Instead, I heard the loud cacophony of birds. A lot of birds. The more I listened, the more variety I heard. As I listened some more, I could identify the sound of a woodpecker in the distance.

Now I'm not a birder (I could probably visually identify less than a dozen different birds by name), so I have no idea what birds I was listening to or I would list them. They are not the point of this blog anyway. Well, not all of them.

I was trying to focus on that still, small voice of God and I was getting really irritated with all the noise. And that stupid woodpecker! The more I tried to tune it out, the more my mind seemed to focus on it instead. You've had that happen before; the speaker at the conference who has an annoying tic/gesture/saying that they just - keep -on - doing/saying. The more you tell yourself not to focus on it, the more you are drawn in. You can't take your eyes off it. You hear the offending phrase each and every time it's uttered: "um", "you know", "OK". And it drives you crazy. That's what the woodpecker was doing to me!

Then it hit me - that woodpecker was doing what woodpeckers have been designed to do! And it brought to mind several questions that made me say, "I wonder ..." It also drove home the difference in perspective between the evolutionists and creationists.

Here are the questions I had; I wonder if you share them. (That wasn't one of my original "I wonder" questions, but we can add it to the list).

1. How many woodpeckers decided slamming their heads into a tree might be a good way to grab dinner before they "evolved" the capacity to do so? Can you imagine the number of blind, brain damaged, broken-beaked woodpeckers running around.

2. How long had the woodpeckers' capacity to slam their heads into a tree to grab dinner "evolved" before the first woodpecker tried it? Again, after watching a few of it's fellow woodpeckers becoming blind, brain damaged and broken-beaked, what woodpecker decided they had the courage to try it again? Or the stupidity?

3. How many mama (insert bird type here) had to have the conversation with their young ones, "If Jr. Woodpecker decided to jump off a bridge, would you jump off too?", in order to keep their young 'uns from slamming their heads into a tree to grab dinner?

4. Of the necessary components, which incredible design "evolved" first: the brain structure that keeps the woodpecker from brain damage, or the musculature that acts as a shock absorber to keep the brain from sloshing around?

5. What were wood peckers called before woodpeckers could peck wood?

Doesn't it make sense when you think about it that the woodpecker was designed to do what woodpeckers are designed to do from the beginning? That's exactly what God says happened in Genesis 1 - "every winged bird according to its kind

The other birds would never, and should never, attempt to do what the woodpecker does! Where a beautiful bluebird would, at the very least get a headache from pounding it's head against a tree, God has formed the woodpecker with a variety of impressive structural features that enable it to do what it does. How many bluebirds do you suppose suffered before they decided they weren't meant to evolve the ability to peck trees?

Just wondering ...