Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

Yesterday was a long day at work. I wasn't feeling the best over the weekend, but Sunday and Monday I was starting to feel pretty good. Then yesterday I got to work and my nose started dripping, and my eye started watering. Basically, that was me all day. Great to be the afternoon receptionist when all you want to do is leave a tissue sticking out of your nose. It sounds gross, it is gross, but I've totally done that at home. Can I get a witness?



In any case, as many days at work go, toward the end of the day you just get anxious for quitting time. When I looked up from my work I noticed I only had seven minutes until I would be able to leave.



I didn't leave in seven minutes, but the stress was off and I knew that any time I wanted to leave I could. So, I finished some odds and ends and left pretty soon there after as I was not feeling so great.



When I got home and turned on the news I heard about the earthquake in Haiti. It happened at 4:53. My heart sank as I remembered that being the time I was so excited to leave my job. My job, located in the United States, in Pennsylvania, near most of my family, my family that had not experienced an earthquake.



And so I thought of those I had met in the Dominican Republic, the country that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. I had gone to the DR while I was in college to help with a building project. The people I met there were the most loving, happy, and genuine people I have ever met. They had next to nothing.



I know that Haiti is less well off than the DR, my sister-in-law had seen this first hand while she was in college. I have transferred some of the faces of the people I met in the DR to some of those in Haiti. I am hoping my acquaintances in the DR are safe, but praying for their neighbors to the West.

I will continue to get excited when I see that I can leave work soon, but I will be reminded to pray for those in Haiti still waiting to hear from loved ones and for the ongoing recovery effort.

My Little Town

I can sometimes be a little bit harsh on Mertztown. I recently said I bet there is at least one man named Skeeter in this town. And while I maintain the highly likely mathematical possibility, I would like to paint a somewhat more serene picture of this place I call home.

Yes, there may be a few yards decorated with warn out freezers and old fire extinguishers, but it is also the kind of town where the mail can be delivered to your brother's house because until you moved in he was the only Rapp. And you often see the same people in the store. That's right the store, that is aptly located on Store Street, directly across from the post office, where everybody knows your name. I had to work that in, I just couldn't forgive myself for missing that opportunity.

Not to be mistaken, Mr. Rogers doesn't live here. Not only because he has passed away, but because people still ride your bumper as you slow down to turn into your driveway, sometimes people go the opposite direction of the arrows in the parking lot of the store, and when you are waiting for the Red Box people take their sweet old time not caring that you know what you want and would like to watch the movie sometime that day.

I know, we have a Red Box, and when I saw it outside the store, I had to think of the scene in Fiddler on The Roof when Motel the tailor got his new used sewing machine and people came from far and wide just to see this newfangled technology. I digress.

I fear I am not doing a good job of debunking that Skeeter thing. What I am taking the long way to Farmer Boyd's to say is that tonight as I took out the trash, I was overwhelmed by the brightness of the stars. I realized that giving up some of the conveniences of city life can give me what most have to travel an hour to see. And though as a child I could never find the dippers, I had no trouble tonight. I know I have no idea what all the constellations are and when they are out, but it doesn't matter to me. The fact that I could see so many stars was enough for me. I thought how each one was put in its place with purpose, purpose I may never know. I stood there, looking up, thinking of the wise men looking for the star of promise so long ago. I thought of how I should be looking for Jesus' second coming and praying for that day with hope and anticipation. Just then, and I kid you not, O Come, O Come Emmanuel started to play on the church bells from down the street.

It was what I like to call a movie moment. I have been looking for one this Christmas. I even went so far as to get into a slight altercation with one of my sisters because a "picture perfect" shopping trip wasn't working out. It is so funny how when I try to direct those perfect moments they fail miserably. And when I let go of those notions, God orchestrates things in such a way as to say, wait, look up, this is the moment I have for you. This is your Christmas movie scene this year. You are in the perfect part, the scene is set, and all the extras that I need are present.

That right there is my love note Christmas card from Heaven.

Every Two Weeks

I have had a bi-weekly reminder of God’s provision. I say bi-weekly as thought He has been silent in the interim, but bi-weekly is how often I get paid. The reminder of God’s provision is because the last four digits including decimal are 29.11. It is of no concern to you what precedes these numbers so I will continue.

The amount of my pay changed in the summer when a work purchase program ended and I received the remainder of my pay. It was perfect timing as He always has because I had been budgeting, trying to figure out when I could pay off such and such and how much I could save for a new car, and a down payment for a house. And I came to a realization that it still wasn’t enough for what I wanted to accomplish. However, it was and is enough for what I need.

It hit me one day when I opened the envelope to record in my bank book the deposit that God was trying to give me Jeremiah 29:11. 11 “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
God knows when all of those dreams will come true or if they will come true. I am to praise Him for providing what He provides, when He provides it.

I know that there are many who have had a rough financial time this year. I do not mean to smack a verse on it and make it all better. The context of the verse speaks volumes. God is speaking to the captives taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. He says, plant roots, it will be a while. Prosper in that city you find yourself, when the city prospers, you will prosper. Marry, have children, and all the while stay true to me because I am not finished with you. You won’t be there forever, just for seventy years, but I will come and fulfill my promises to you after that time. He says it best.
10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. [b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

I know this is written to Israel, but I am encouraged by it today. I am reminded of Jesus’ words to the disciples in John 14;
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going."

As I read these words today, I am encouraged by the Truth that Jesus is coming back. He will one day according to His gracious promise, come and release us from this spiritual exile we find ourselves now. We have planted roots, married, multiplied, and prospered along with those who do not believe as we do. But all the while, we know we are not home.

There is a lot going on in this world, in our country, in our homes, in our individual lives. And when I start to get overwhelmed with all the possibilities and unknowns of the future, God reminds me He has the plans. And as much as I hate the need to know basis of any relationship, this is one I have to learn to accept, and one I need many reminders to be still and know that He is God. And so He gives them to me, if not sooner, every two weeks.

So, you will be noticing some old or reoccuring themes in some of the posts here. Just go with it. I haven't lost my mind, just cleaing up the drafts folder.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Psalm 139:13-18

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

I have friends whose oldest boy was born without one of his hands. His arm is near the full length of the other one, but his hand is not there. While for others who do not know him it may be a surprise to see him when first meeting him, it has become to me, part of who he is. I really don’t notice it usually. He is so much more than the absence of his hand. It also helps that he isn’t still for more than five seconds at a time.

From the time he was very young he has been fitted with prosthesis to get him use to it. As he ages the complexity of the hand will improve. It is thought it may be so intricate as to play the piano some day. It is truly amazing what science can afford each new generation.

On Sunday I had the privilege of filling in for the three, four and five class. He was in the class. Our lesson was on how God created us, each one differently, each in His image, and each he knew since before we were born. We spoke on how some are tall, some are short, some have dark skin, some have light skin, but each loved equally by God and no one person ought to think himself more important than he is.

Our craft was to measure each child’s height, arm length, leg length, head circumference, and then each child would trace their hand and draw a self portrait in the designated rectangle.

When I got to this child, I measured the arm with the hand and wrote down the length. I moved on to his leg. He said, “Hey, what about this one? This one is different.” So, I said, “Okay, we can measure that one.” I finished measuring and once I was finished with all the other kids, I helped them trace their hands. I got to him again and traced his hand. And he said, “I want to trace this hand too, so everyone knows it’s me.” I said, “Okay, we can do that!”

As I began to trace his little nubby as they call it, I couldn’t help but be so excited that he was celebrating what many people would lament. I drew from around where his arm began to taper to the end and brought it up around the other side. As he lifted his arm off the paper I saw one perfectly formed hand next to an oddly misshapen nubby. As I looked at the paper I saw a thing of beauty, and though a hand was missing, it was complete and as it should be. It is my favorite craft I’ve been involved with to date.

“Suffer the little children to come unto Me.”, Jesus said. I’m so thankful for it, because kids have a way of rebuking adults of which they are blissfully unaware. There are many things I wish I could change about myself. I wish I were shorter, didn’t have the bone structure of my German heritage, could actually grow finger nails, and there are other things as well. But I cannot change my genetic makeup. And I shouldn’t want to. And when I see someone with something that has the potential of limiting him much more than any of my issues, I am reminded that I am ungrateful. And I realize I have forgotten that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Are You Freaking Kidding Me?

The things I am about to mention I did not see live. So, I am gathering information from news articles and video when I could find them. Having prefaced that, I'd like comment on Representative Wilson calling out during President Obama's speech, and Kanye West being his normal idiot self.



Representative Wilson, though ill timed and untactful at best was responding to a hotly debated national, high budget concern. I do not think he did the Republican party any favors with his outburst, but let's get real. In 1856 Preston Brooks beat Charles Sumner over the head until he was unconcious! That is a true scandal. That is something to apologize over and over about, not a sophomoric outburst. Wilson has apologized to the President directly. I wish people would focus on the topic of discussion that drew such a cry as opposed to repremanding the crier. He apologized, he knows he was an idiot for it, now move on. Smoke and mirrors, smoke and mirrors!



Contrastly, Kanye West grabs the microphone from a teenager accepting and award and says whatever he wants and people are "so over it". I mean like totally, how many times can he possibly say sorry? It's not like he pushed her or anything!



I tried to write my best valley girl, but I really cannot stand the intonation and I must get it out of my head now.



But my point is this, his remark was about a music video. A music video people. Who cares!? People are willing to move past his rudeness and get back to the business of entertainment, but we cannot let go of you lie and get back to serving the American people.



Please do not misunderstand. I do not think it is in any way becoming of anyone to disrupt a speech and especially that of the President. But with the topic at hand, I think we can all realize he let his emotions get the best of him. I've heard more strongly worded nonsense when listening to football recaps Monday morning.



I read one article that said Wilson meant to say "boy" at the end of his outburst. Oh please, get over it. The only people making a big deal out of the President's skin color are his supporters. I don't get it! My disagreements with him are soley on policy. Hence I dislike the governing policies just as much if not more so, of Nancy Pelosi. I have nothing nice to say about her and will end my mention of her post haste as to retain my Christian witness!



So I guess if I'm ever to make a public spectacle of myself I should be certain it is over somethign superfluous and inane. Heaven forbid I should voice my disdain for something potentially impacting billions of dollars and millions of people!

Excuse Me, Excuse Me, What's My Motivation?

I have been thinking a lot about running lately.  Mostly because I’ve been doing a lot of running.  More truthfully, slow jogging, but you get the picture.  I am training for a half marathon.  It is going to be the longest I’ve ever run at one time.  I suspended my gym membership to utilize the beauty of the outdoors, but with the weather this summer, it has been a constant game of thunderstorm tetris.  Now with the humidity we’ve seen the last two weeks, I have an added challenge.  But, no one ever said reaching a goal would be easy.  So, I continue to push myself, to try to go faster, farther, and keep my mind on my form and breathing. 

A lot can go through your mind while jogging.  I’ve prayed for nearly everyone I know and daydreamed about many things.  I’ve also thought about the apostle Paul and his use of the analogy of our Christian life being a race.  

I realize going into my “race”, that I’m not going to win.  Some would say, why would you try at something you know you won’t win? My goal is to finish.  If I finish, I win.  That is my prize.  Some may race for the prize of first over the finish line.  The day may come when that may be my goal.  For now, to finish without walking is my goal.  If I must walk because like the other day the humidity made it so I had to chew the air I was breathing, then so be it.  But my goal is to finish with a 14 minute average.  Starting this adventure my average was more like 15 minutes.  

Jogging is a very solitary activity.  It is in contrast to most things I enjoyed as a child and a teenager.  Volleyball, not so fun with one person.  There are only so many times you can bump the ball to yourself or practice setting, and then you just look sad.  Basketball, sure you can practice layups,  dribbling, and rebounds even, but again, there comes a point when you just want at least one other person to challenge you.  On the contrary, jogging for me is best when I am alone. 

 

On the occasion I find myself at the track by myself I relish it.  When people come and start jogging around I find myself comparing our speed, form, and breathing.  I become more focused on them than I am on myself which, for a jogger, is mental surrender.  So, I remind myself that this is for me.  It does not matter if others finish first.  I may be jogging more miles, and they may be training for speed and I’m training for endurance.  And that got me wondering what is that prize Paul is talking about? 

 

I started out trying to go fast, working on speed and wanting to be done within a certain amount of time.  Then I realized I needed to go for distance and started to work at going farther and farther.  The more miles I did, the better I became and naturally the time started to fall off as I became faster.  My goal of distance helped me reach my secondary goal of speed.  The secondary goal that for too long I had as the primary.  Incidentally, the last I ran, my average was just over 13 minutes, so it even helped me surpass my goal of speed.  

In the analogy of the race in the Bible, Paul speaks of running the race to win the prize.  I took this as being like Jesus.  We all hear, I want to be like Jesus, would Jesus do that? Would you say that if Jesus were here? You get the point.  Paul also speaks of a desire to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the glory of His suffering. 

 

If I am striving to know the Savior on a more personal level every day, I cannot help but be conformed to His image.  When I know Him, I will be guided more fully by His Holy Spirit keeping me from things, guiding me to where I should be.  Helping me guard my tongue, heart, and mind.  To know Him, is to be like Him.  So like running where my goal was to go faster, it didn't happen until I aimed at going farther. Likewise, my desire to be like Jesus, will only come when I really know who He is.  

I am a fifties music junkie and my sister Michelle for the life of her cannot understand my taste in music.  The feeling is mutual, K.C. and the Repetitive Band is no match for The Platters, but in any case, there is a song from the fifties that is really schmaltzy and it says.  To know know know him is to love  love love him and I do ... and I do… and I do…..Insert overly swooning intonation and background singers galore and you get the picture.  A cute little song, not one of my favorites and I could live quite happily never hearing the song again.  But I think in the sense of getting to know Jesus it is true.  There is a difference in knowing what Jesus did and knowing who He is.  I can be thankful for what he did without knowing Him.  I could go my whole life being redeemed because I believe what He did for me.  But I'd be missing out on so much if I didn't try to know Him.  The more I know Him, the more I love Him.  it would be impossible not to, and that is the beauty.  When our goals are righted, our outcome is sure.  

Now since I began to write this post a few weeks ago, there has been a hindrance not laid aside.  I sprained my toe and have been advised by the doctor to sit this race out.  To say I am disappointed is a gross understatement.  The fact that the injury happened while killing a bug and stepping off my bed simultaneously, is just unbelievable! However, it lends itself quite readily into the analogy.  The Christian life is full of bumps, missteps, stupid things we never would have dreamed would cause harm.  Yet, like for the body, there is healing.  I'm just glad I don't have to wait three weeks for forgiveness or to get back in the race.  

I will train again at the end of these three weeks and I can't wait for whatever else God wants to teach me through it.  So great how He meets us where we are!