Knighthood & Mathematics

It might have been in dead blog 6 were I mentioned Diedre’s old boyfriend and how I sure was not going to be saying a thing about why he found himself in jail this year.  Of course, it was probably only time before she did.  I heard from a mutual friend she had found out – which now explained her, um, ‘mood’ over the last few weeks.  So, on Thursday evening I bought her some flowers with her groceries (my car still runs, while hers languishes…).  She liked the flowers.  I did not ask about ‘him’.

Saturday, I threw a surprise birthday party for her.  The usual gang in attendance – the Dutch couple, the Swede and her youngest brother with wife all flew in for the event.  Then some of her friends came from church and work.  It was a complete surprise – so I was delighted!  She told me I was now demonstrating sneakiness and could never be trusted again!  Ha, ha, ha!

Sunday, she was with me as I returned to town having driven oldest daughter home after church and we were discussing how some females tend to seek a knight in shining armor when in fact they are surrounded by quite eligible potato growers.  There are so many examples of this in our church body!  It is enough to make one wish for the destruction of Hollywood so that womankind would return to normal!

I commented at how I had never envisioned myself as much of a knight, much less a shining one!  Heavens, I have never even been much of a hero for that matter, thinking on how knight = hero.  Solid chicken through and through (hence Kris=chicken).

We drove along in silence for a while.  Me, wondering when the last oil change was and what the noise on the left front could be.  She obviously thinking on other stuff, hopefully like when is she going to replace her broken car!  But so much for my assumption, as she then said in a real quiet voice: “You have always been my hero.”

Uh?  I almost missed a curve on the road!

“I can not think of a single heroic thing I have ever done in your life.”

 I have known her since she was 19, a brilliant teenager girl trapped in a destructive environment which was not going to help her in the least!  I actually had never counted my involvement in setting her free and providing for an education to be worthy of even a comment.  Could this be what she was thinking about?  How embarrassing!

“Actually, you stood up to my boss on my first job.  But, what makes you a hero is all of the things you have never done.”

Yah, I forgot about that boss, man he was a piece of …. ‘work’.  I still have a bat with his name on it somewhere around here!

“Was there something I was supposed to have done?  What did I not do?”

“Well, you set an example that has made a great many men in the church, and young men, awfully uncomfortable.  And women appreciate that.”

“Uh? “

“Well, then think of all of the things you have never done to or with me in 30 years of knowing me.”

Well, we are now back to Kris being a chicken again!  So, chicken = Kris = hero = shining knight! 

Therefore, Kris is a shining knight for being an utter coward… 

Amazing how mathematics works, yes?

In Service

Have you ever considered the passion of the apostles?  Some of them lived mighty short lives and then John made it into the third generation of disciples!  Imagine the drive they had, now compare that with the drive of the average Christian.  Yeah, pretty sorry comparison, eh?

When I first became a Christian, for six months all I did was read the passages concerning Elijah every night at bedtime.  Think about it – here was a man whom was completely devoted to God, did incredible things, had a desirable relationship with God and yet was completely human and not beyond hiding in caves when his faith failed him.

It drove me crazy.  How could someone be so sold out to something which was so invisible?  How could he call down fire, or multiply food, or raise a dead youth or out run a chariot.  It did not make sense to me.  And yet, I was willing to believe it – the Bible is far too accurate in historical aspects to pick and choose what you want to be true or false.

I desired to be like Elijah.  I wanted that passion.  I wanted that zeal for God in my life.  I wanted that commitment – and the ability to stick with it.  I can not say I have out run anything since becoming a Christian.  I can not say I have healed anyone, much less raised a dead person.  How I wish I could heal myself or others!  And though I might like to call down fire from heaven upon a car which cuts me off or some jerk at a store, I know that is not going to happen!

But, perhaps the only thing of Elijah’s I have is the ability to see God at work in our everyday lives.  From the ‘luck’ or ‘coincidences’ we stumble across, to the justice I see meted out, I continue to see God working in my life, my kids’ lives and those around me.  Oh, often no one agrees with me at all on a single event – but across time they usually begin to understand that God is very quietly at work.  Especially, once they understand that there indeed are no coincidences in life.

Lately, I have felt like I am that Elijah cowering in a cave, not expecting to hear God’s voice and not sure when I have.  I have felt very much run over these 18 months by ‘life’ and wondering if there is some message I am not getting.  I wonder if I am even sane at times – no one I know has a run of ill ‘luck’ as I seem to have been facing.

And that tells me that change is about to happen!  Yes, God is refining me for something and I know it will be exciting and probably horrifying at the same time!  Change always is!  God only knows what will be left of me by the time He is done preparing me – but I hope it involves hearing His voice and obeying without question, filled with His Spirit….

Fleeces

I stood at a fork in the road of my life.  If I went to the right – I would be working in computers for probably the rest of my life and the required rigor came very naturally to me.  If I went to the left – I would remain in the ministry.  Which way should I go?  I was completely clueless and not finding God giving me much in the way of direction!  So, I had been reading about Gideon and decided to lay a fleece.

As you might remember Gideon had to make a decision as well, so he prayed that a fleece he laid would either be wet or dry and the surrounding area the opposite across two consecutive nights.  This proved to him what he should do (follow God’s leading of course!).

Well, if it worked for Gideon, it ought to work for me, right?  I knew in my heart the road I really wanted to travel but I wanted to know if it was the one God would have me to take.  So, I prayed and laid a fleece.  God confirmed the path.

Seven times I prayed and the fleece was confirmed each time.  I was very excited!

So, I told my Bible study group about it and they were a little blown away by someone actually doing something like that.  I was scolded quite briskly by my mentor for not trusting God enough to follow my heart…..  (Danger Will Robinson!!!!!)

Next weekend, one of my friends told me he decided to do the same.  Seems he had an eye for a young lady and decided to lay a fleece as to whether or not she would be his.  It would have been a miracle for him to get a no answer, given the way he laid the fleece!  When I told him that, he was so angry at me – he stopped the car and told me to get out!  So, I ended up walking many miles that morning to church.

By the time I had gotten to church, everything was in an uproar because he announced that he was going to marry this young lady, whom of course might have liked to have been consulted first!  What a mess!  It took a few years to let that one pass over.  Eventually he did apologize for tossing me out the car on the freeway, but he never gave up his obsession that she would be his one day.

I stopped laying fleeces after that.  I guess I had learned how fickle our desires really are and trusting in God to lead me was far more important.  Besides, I already had my answer.

Importance of Christian Marriage

Several years ago, I had an opportunity I could not say no to – a free flight for four anywhere in the world!  All I had to do was pre-arrange my ground reservations of my choice.  Now my grandmother had always dreamt of visiting the orient and this was probably her only chance of ever getting there.  So, she jumped at the opportunity!  I called up a travel office, reserved hotel rooms for everyone and booked those four seats to Hong Kong.

Grandmother was absolutely beside herself having finally attained a goal she never thought could happen.  To say she was a little too excited is say the Alps are hills!

There are great shops in Hong Kong, great buys everywhere – but the food we had was simply outstanding!  Kelly’s Outback had some of the finest steak I have ever eaten, small restaurants with dim sum to die for, everywhere Chinese food which made you never want to return home again, and strangely enough, a French restaurant.  Yeah, in the middle of Kowloon, there was a French restaurant!

Being gamblers at heart, we settled down in an eerily empty restaurant, under a dim lamp which only made it slightly easier to find your plate on the table.  Behind us hovered a waiter and a bus boy for each person at the table.  It was down right freaky!

I ordered what looked like it would be a good test of the chef’s skills, as did the rest of the group, but grandmother, well, she had to have fish and chips – cooked in an English manner mind you!  As we munched on a superb salad, she was getting hot sauce squirted all over an ice cream sundae.  Yeah, she was having a grand time.

Three hours later, as we left praising the abilities of an incredible chef, grandmother was grumbling that the chips had been oily and the sundae had upset her stomach.

Okay, okay, yes, we are dealing with a simile here, though true none the less!

There was nothing wrong with the meal grandmother had, but it could have been better (she has always hated oil!).  And that is exactly how the Christian life is.  If you want life on your terms, well, you have to expect things to perhaps not be quite what they could have been.  No matter how good your choice is by the world’s standard!

Just because you have a Christian marriage is no guarantee it will last or be happy – heavens, people are involved!  It is just harder to maintain a loving relationship without God as the basis of your marriage.

So using my little story above, you can see that grandmother would have been much happier with a French meal in a French restaurant.  But, she had to have things her own way and so did not have near the experience she could have had.  Yet she still grumbled, even though she got exactly what she wanted.  She was fed, which was the goal after all.

So, it is with marriage. 

Paul encourages us to remain single, and if we are to marry, then we are to marry within the faith.  How come?  Well, if you are single, you are free to minister as the Spirit leads, but if you marry, you have someone else’s desires to consider (maybe they do not feel called to Uganda like you!).  Married, you can pray together, fellowship together, worship together and share a ministry together.  When you are both Spirit filled, you are of similar mind, on most things.  If you are of a similar mind, fighting is limited and divorce becomes less likely.

Naturally, I have had tons of family, friends and youth in my life whom have done what I call, ‘missionary dating’, where you just go find what you like and pursue them until they become Christian.  So, ‘now’ it is ‘okay’ to marry them?  It is a little dicey to do things this way and many are the hours spent with teary eyed young ladies whom found things just did not quite work the way they thought they should have.

A few have even married non Christians, having convinced themselves their love interest really was a Christian – but learning the hard truth later on. 

Some did marry a non Christian because they were in ‘love’.  And in this case, as Christians, they only have one job – to use their life as a witness to their spouse, so that they can see God.  Talk about a life long hard sell!  I know so many Christian women this is true of, they have a really unique perspective on non Christian marriage because their husbands are not Christian even after decades of marriage and it is breaking their hearts.  Many of those husbands are the most moral men I have ever known; I wish Christian men were just 90% of what some of them are – I wish I was!  My sister also married a non Christian, and really is not at a point in her life where she cares one way or the other (he is a great guy too!).

In the end, it is always easier to travel the road that God lays out for you, than to take your own short cuts.  Those short cuts can cause an awful lot of pain and tears that never were meant to be shed.  But, God does have rules that even He follows.

So, how does one ‘travel the road’ and let God do the leading?  After all, you can not even assume that a spouse is what God has intended for you.  And if there is to be a spouse how will you find and know them!  You know God might misunderstand your heart’s desire and not have that blond sun god in mind for you, but rather an accountant named Nermal, broken glasses and all.  Or, you might be 40 before you ever meet your spouse.

In the area of relationships and marriage it boils down to two items:

First, live your life.  Go where God presents opportunity, even if it sometimes does not make sense.  Do what you should be doing: go to church, study, teach, fellowship and work.

Second, prepare for your future.  Study your Bible and learn to understand what it says and why.  Then make what you have learned a living part of your life.  Consider the letters of John and contemplate on what they mean in your life.  For women, I like to add the Book of Ruth.

So from your perspective, can you see how currently you have opportunities to witness through word and deed to all around you?  Not on a soap box but by being a real person to those around you.  You can learn to be the best child-friend-student-employee you can be (helpful and not growl-ly), you have the opportunity to prepare for your life in a very real way by learning about household chores and how to do them best.  Take the time to learn how to cook well, about budgeting and bargain hunting.  Consider tracking recipes and portion costs.  Think about learning as much first aid as possible.  These are skills that will last you your lifetime.

Yes, these may sound like the typical ‘girl, know your place’ kind of stuff – but these are the exact things I tell guys!  If you are a youth reading this, God has given you an opportunity to learn, almost pain free, how to run your future life as best you can – if you will take the time to learn those lessons.  I have even taught young men how to darn socks and iron!  It is a skill they may need one day.

Notice how I have not said a thing about spouses?  That is right, not a word about spouse hunting.  If you have done step two above and prepared yourself for life and you are following step one, well, opportunities may or may not present themselves to get to know someone special.  And with any luck, he/she have been doing just the same as you and waiting on the Lord. 

The First Thanksgiving

We know that the Mayflower left Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620 with 102 passengers, including three pregnant women, and a crew of about 30.  The voyage from Plymouth, England to Plymouth Harbor is about 2,750 miles, and took the Mayflower 66 days.

Captain John Smith wrote,

"The Gentlemen and Merchants of London, and of other places, provided two ships:  The Mayflower, at 160 tons and the Speedwell of 70 tons.  Leaving the coast of England on the 23 of August, they were forced to return the next day when the Speedwell sprung a leak.  The Mayflower returned to sea, less 20 of her passengers, on the sixth of September, and on the ninth of November sighted land at Cape James (Cod); but having been pestered for nine weeks in this leaking unwholesome ship, lying wet in their cabins, most of them grew very weak, and weary of the sea."

From William Bradford, we have his account of the crossing:

"..... and now all being compact together in one ship, they put to sea again with a prosperous wind, which continued divers days together, which was some encouragement unto them; yet according to the usual manner many were afflicted with sea sickness.

“…..But to omit other things, (that I may be brief,) after long beating at sea they fell with that land which is called Cape Cod; the which being made and certainly known to be it, they were not a little joyful.

"Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element. "

Land was sighted on November 9, 1620 and landfall was made on the 11th; the passengers now numbered 103 and the crew about 29.

The Problem

Nothing was known of the area they had landed at, other than the Dutch had listed the area as inaccessible.  It was the beginning of a New England winter, a time of sharp and violent weather, with fierce storms.  The land was a desolate wilderness known to be full of wild beasts and savage men.  There was great fear of the Indians, however none were to be seen until the following spring.

An attempt was made to put up a fort; however this failed due to the arrival of snow and the winter was spent living on board the ship.  The settlers had planned to live on fish and hunting, however, fishing was poor and hunting was sparse throughout the winter.  According to the journals kept at the time, only 6-7 men were able to continue to hunt and work on building the fort, the rest being too ill or dying.  During this winter, 57 of the passengers were to die from disease, drowning or starvation. 

The First Thanksgiving

By March of 1621 and the coming of warmer weather, they observed the first Thanksgiving - giving thanks to God for His provision and the solemn sharing of five (5) ‘kernals of corne' (buckwheat), for each of the survivors as their daily meal.

No Indians, no town, almost no food.  Just a celebration of life.

Not quite the story you thought, was it?