Leaving Home

The aim of every parent is to work themselves out of a job. Some have failed miserably. Others have succeeded in spite of themselves.

The preacher said in the Old Testament. There is a time to hold on and a time to let go.

It is letting go season.

When we lived in Lafayette, I would watch the children walking to the school that was just down the street. You could tell the kids that were going to school for the first time. They would be decked out with new clothes and new bags anxiously walking to school. They were now "big". Usually closer than the kid wanted them to be was their mother. The mother would be teary eyed. She could not believe this day had come. Her baby was going to school! What would she do?

I heard of one elementary teacher that had to have one mom escorted out by the security folks. Seems the mom thought that she could just stay a while to make sure life was good for her darling. Don't you know that that kid was embarrassed?

Leaving home is a part of growing up. Some folks never seem to learn the art of growing up. You know these folks. They look the same as they did in high school only with fifty pounds assorted around themselves. Their life is still on hold. It is as if they do not realize that they are now out of date.

Leaving home is an opportunity to become what God has intended for you to be. Yes, there will be tough times. And good fortune will come as well. Broken hearts and broken dreams with a hope fulfilled sprinkled in. The past becomes a reference for great things to come or lessons learned.

It is leaving time for college kids. It seems as though just yesterday we were teaching them how to ride a bike, how to tie their shoes, and how to drive. Now it is time for them to be on their own. They spread their wings and fly!

I love this story so I share it every year with no regrets.

A young man arrived at college and was unpacking his bags. His mom and dad had finally left him there! It had been a tearful time for all of them. But he was now in his space. He was unpacking his suitcase and at the bottom of the suitcase, he found two pieces of cloth. The young man held them up and looked at them closely. They seemed very familiar yet distant. Finally he remembered where they had been seen in his life.

As a little boy, he would often go into the kitchen where his mom was doing the daily routine of kitchen work. He would reach up and grab what he could to get her attention when he wanted something. The apron his mom wore always had two pieces that hung down far enough for him to reach and tug on. She would stop what she was doing and pick him up.

The two pieces of cloth from the bottom of his suitcase that he held in his hands were from the apron he had tugged on as a little boy. His mom had cut the strings. It was time to let go.

Hug a Teacher

Jesus of Nazareth was a teacher. Most folks do not realize how many times Jesus put himself in the teaching mode. The Sermon on the Mount is a teaching text. The stories (parables) that Jesus told were to teach one thing at a time. I think Jesus would hug teachers often.

School is about to begin. It seems to start earlier in August each year. I must admit that I wonder if folks who make the school schedules realize that August is hotter than May in Louisiana. It doesn't make sense to me. But then there are alot things that make little or no sense to me.

The teaching profession, like many others, has lost its respect in our culture. Teachers at one time were held in great respect and authority. If my teacher got on to me, I knew there was going to be great trouble at home for me. Now it seems that parents are more likely to make trouble for teachers than to discipline their little darlings.

Teachers are loved by their students--more than students will admit. I think of those teachers that pushed me to learn--sometimes dragged me to learn. They showed great patience in some ways.. Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Saint, Mrs. Roberts--all elementary teachers--gave me a great foundation for learning in my early years. It is hard for me to remember my junior high teachers other than Mrs. Monk the band director. I think I was distracted by the opposite sex during those years.

In High School and College, teachers continued to nurture me. I guess my all time favorite teacher has to be Webb Pomeroy who taught religion at Centenary College. He was a grandfather type teacher. Dr. Pomeroy taught me more about religion and life than I could understand. Today as I prepare to preach and study Bible, I can see his head shaking and almost hear his voice asking questions. He loved to make people think of religion and Bible in a larger context.

As I have remembered, you have too! You have teachers that shaped your life and living. As school begins, I would ask you to join me in appreciating those who teach. Teach your children to appreciate their teachers. Give teachers your support in as many ways as possible. Pray for teachers.

And if for some strange reason you think it is a "cush" job (after all they get summers off!), just spend one day as a substitute!

Thank God for those who teach!!!

Jesus Says Bring it to Me!

Someone got a new window air conditioner. The reason I know this is that they felt compelled to drop (and I mean drop) the old one in the parking lot of our church. The pieces were strung out in the parking lot Monday morning.

It is hard to love someone who dumps on you.

Some people who dump on you are just dumpers. They have no concern for anyone. The world is theirs to trash. Their life is filled with anger, self pity, or just indifference. These folks will use you in a minute gladly.

Then there are the casual dumpers. These folks are not regular in their dumps, but do just as much damage. You usually can tell when the dump is coming as there is "victim" mentality present. "Woe is me!" is their battle cry. Whether it is the loss of a job, failure in relationships, or economic distress it is not their fault.

The truth is that we are all dumpers at one time or another. The trash of our life is too great so we look for somewhere to put it. Some of us dump within ourselves. Others of us find places or people we can unload on.

Strangely enough, Jesus of Nazareth invites us to bring our stuff to him. Jesus invited people to bring their brokenness, burdens, sins,--the things in life that do not work anymore. Jesus wants it so that Jesus can free us!

There is a line in an old Gospel hymn that stays in my mind alot---"Jesus swept across the broken strings stir the slumbering chords again!" The last line of that chorus says, "keeps me singing as I go".

Got old stuff, brokenness in your life? Instead of dumping in the parking lot, bring yourself into the presence of Jesus!

Say my Name!

I not only believe in intercessory prayer, I practice it as much as I can!

Sometimes we just need someone to stand for us. I tell this to my congregation each week. I invite people to remember people in certain areas of life that need someone to stand before God and say their name. We call it standing in the gap.

There are gaps in our life--even in our spiritual life. It is the times when God seems to be "over there!" Or maybe it is times when life is overwhelming. Or we have forgotten to whom we belong.

In the biblical tradition, there is great power in names. When God appears to Abram, he becomes Abraham. When Moses is sent, he asks for God's name--"I Am". When Jacob wrestles at the River Jabbok, he is wounded, but is renamed, "Israel". When Joseph is warned in a dream of the birth of Jesus in a most unconventional way, Joseph is given the name that he is to call the baby, "Jesus".

God knows your name not just in a rational way but in a relational way. When God hears your name, God chooses to respond within your own individuality--your own life story. If you are a child who is lost, God hears your name looking for you. If God hears your name and you are hurting, God hears your name with healing grace. Your name makes a difference in God's world.

There is great power and possibility in saying a person's name before the Holy One. I was visiting with child of God who was searching in life. This person asked me if I really really believed that praying for one another mattered. "With all my heart and soul," was my answer. There was a silence. And then this wonderful child of God said, "When you pray today, be sure and say my name!" And I did. And I have. And I will continue to.

Today when you pray, say my name!! I need the prayers and YOU need the practice!

Belonging

The disciples gathered together in the Upper Room.

There is something about gathering that changes us. Most of us experienced scatteredness more than gatheredness. I think this is one of byproducts of our culture. Our ability to move so quickly has scattered us.

Then there are those things that we think we have to belong to and to do. There are some parents today that are so busy taking kids to this and that function that they do not have time to spend on the things that really give life. I think we really do our kids harm when we try let them go everywhere. They go but do not belong.

As a pastor of a new congregation, I am amazed at the resistance to belonging. Many people want to attend without belonging. It is as if belonging is a plague that will destroy your life. It is the search for benefits without cost.

We see this in our society more than we will admit. Living together without marriage. Someone else should pay taxes. Give me a diet that will help me lose weight without sweat and eating all I want. Making the grade without studying. You know the shortcuts that you tend to take or make in your life.

But here's the truth: We all desire to belong. We are made to belong. That is why our soul is always searching for the concept of home.

And then there is the greater truth: When we belong, I mean, really belong, life takes on new meaning. There is the feeling of acceptance and meaning like we have never felt before. We are empowered.

It is no accident that when the disciples gathered in the Upper Room, the Spirit of the Lord fell upon them. They were changed. They changed the world.

Feeling alone? Feeling as though life is a rat race and the rats are winning? Feeling the frustrations of parenthood, marriage, job, or depression? Find a place to belong! Find a church home and plug in. The power is there waiting for you. The grace will give you a new tomorrow. The love will change your life.

A woman recently joined my congregation and said, "I have found where I have belong. My life has changed!"

The Whole World

The World Cup championship game is this weekend. It is Netherlands versus Spain. The past few weeks have led up to this finale. It is the culmination of the last four years of anticipation.

I must admit that I have learned about soccer as a necessity. My son, Noah, decided it was his sport of choice at a young age. I had no knowledge of the sport at all. At first I thought it was kind of "cheesy" that you could not have a fast break in soccer. If you try it, you are offsides. In my book, this foul was just a way of saying, "You are too slow!" or "You got beat!"

In Psalms, there are certain Psalms where the world seems out of order. It seems as though there have not been some fair calls or justice. There has been some sense of this in the World Cup games this year. Referees have actually been sent home. Goal Keepers have been replaced. But the pace of the game continues. The games do not stop. Life continues. In Psalm 82, the Psalmist reminds us at the end of the Psalm, "God has the whole world in God's hands."

The hand of God is always at work--in our play, work, in all of our world. Now don't get me wrong, I do not believe it takes away our responsibility or our destiny. God is always at work offering us good options! God is at work trying to bring our world together.

The World Cup competition is amazing in this respect. It brings the world together under the banner of soccer. The competition held every four years moves from continent to continent. The countries play each other to earn the spot in the championship game. Could you imagine a Super Bowl that only comes once every four years?

So as the games are being played, God is at work God is present. God has all the world in God's hand.

I am thinking that Netherlands will carry the cup home!

That is NOT What I Said!

The husband wanted to give her a compliment.

He took her in his arms and said, "You grow more beautiful each day that passes!"

"You mean I was ugly?"

"No, I just want you to know that as you grow in years, you are beautiful!"

"So I am old and ugly?"

"No! You are not old and ugly. You are beautiful"

"Yeah right."

Sometimes you can not win.

Jesus must have felt this way many times. The things he said and did were misconstrued into something that the world wanted to see and hear. Undoubtedly he would shake his head and wonder how in the world this happened.

In today's world, many folks hear negative messages from the narratives of Jesus' life. It is that point that I urge them to hear the texts again. Jesus was the most positive person you will ever hear from. He was encouraging the weak, reaching out to those the world pushed back, and always pointing out the word, love.

But the world will do what the world will do. Sadly many times it is because we are at the wrong place, listening to the wrong voice, and doing the wrong thing.

A man called home and heard what he thought was a familiar voice of his housekeeper. He asked for his wife. "She cannot come to the phone." He insisted that the housekeeper get his wife on the phone. Finally the housekeeper admitted that the wife was in the bedroom with another man. Enraged the man told the housekeeper to get the gun from his desk drawer and shoot them both! The housekeeper left the phone only to come back shortly. "I shot them both and then threw them in the pool!" It was then there was a pause on the phone and the voice on the other end said, "What pool? I do not have a pool at my house...."

Wrong voice. Wrong directions. Wrong thing.

Listen again to the voice of Jesus.