Ever since I was a kid, at least old enough to appreciate matters of astrology, I have known the name Betelgeuse, or "beetle juice" as we called it. I came to know it because it is the name of a red supergiant, i.e., very large star. One of the largest in the universe, and not very far away, only 640 light years, compared to millions of light years for most. Some galaxies are millions of light years across! Astronomers believe Betelgeuse could explode into a Supernova cloud any day now. Maybe it already did so 500 years ago. If so, it would be another 140 years before we would see it. Still with me? Anyway, Betelgeuse is so large that if it were sitting where our sun is, it's outer surface would be somewhere between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and would totally engulf Mercury, Venus and Earth. That, my friends blows my mind. Now I have a new hero. It's name is VY Canus Majoris, or Big Dog. It is called by astronomers a red hypergiant, and holds the distinction of being the largest single star in the universe. It is by the way, twice the size of Betelgeuse! Take a deep breath.
These critters were brought into being by our Creator God in a process described in intimate detail in Gen. 1:16, "He made the stars also". What! Only five words to describe the creation of the universe with all the planets, stars, galaxies, supernovas, black holes, etc? There is a smidgen more detail in Psalm 33:6 where it says "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" Can you imagine? He surely had to take a deep breath to do all of that, for HE is the Star Breather!
Thank you Lynne and Scott, for bringing Lou Giglio into my life, to remind me again of the majesty of the God we serve!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Noodles
Today I made a run to the local "authentic" Chinese food market with Mr. Wu to buy Shanghai noodles for supper. We rounded the corner past the tanks of eels, hanging ducks and acres of fresh vegetables to the Noodle Stall. Mr. Wu yakked to the proprieters about the noodles. What they said I don't know, although it seemed to be something about how limp they appeared. Oddly, they weren't stuck together. Maybe lightly floured? He fingered them a couple times. I couldn't help wonder how many others had fingered my supper. Oh well, they will be boiled. Yes, they will become part of a dish with meat, (take your pick), fresh vegetables (something like baby spinach), garlic, ginger, onion, soy, etc., etc. Is there such a thing as fresh noodles, bought every day at the Noodle Stall?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Entertainment
Scott's driver Mr. Wu took me to see what the Chinese bill as the world's longest bridge today. It links the mainland near Shanghai with a rocky island now being used as a deep water container port, and is 40km long, taking 30 minutes to cross. It was quite a sight for my engineering heart, even on a rainy day. On the way back to Scott and Lynne's house, we stopped for lunch. It was at an authentic Chinese place, at my request. While waiting for our food in this cafeteria type place, I was the object of many stares by the locals. It was blond, 6'2" with a bright green windbreaker vs. everyone else at 5'8" and jet black hair with black or dark blue coats on. Quite a contrast. For me the Bridge was entertainment for the day. For the Chinese in that restaurant, I was the entertainment. Gave me an insight into what it is like to be different than everyone else around. After a while, ya just roll with it.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Trust
Nancy and I visited with my aged mother this week. She is at a transition point in her 100 year old life, that being the imminent move to full scale nursing from assisted living. As a widow of 41 years, she has weathered several such moves up the care ladder from her own home to condo to HUD apartment, to assisted living, and now to nursing home. This one is different in that it is no doubt the last stop. She knows that. This week was decision time for my two siblings and I and our three mates. We all wanted to be on the same page, and we were (are). That alone is a gift from the Lord, and we know it too. The decision is that she will be moved. Up to now, many of you can relate, but the point of this story is coming now.
Mother needs to be told. At every one of the moves just described, she has been appropriately
sad, but in the end bowed to the advise of her children and was happy in the new place. That makes the telling even more important in my opinion, to preserve her dignity and gently but firmly move her to the next place. She is very tired and very deaf, so doesn't always catch what is going on or being said in the room. So at the right time, I pulled a chair close to her bed and announced I wanted to talk to her for a spell. She knew some new information would be imparted. She stared straight into my eyes and concentrated totally on what I was about to say. The look on her face is still with me. It was the most profound combination of concern and innocence and love and trust I have ever seen. It was kind of like a deer in the headlights thing but with unmistakeable trust.
It occurred to me later that this is what the Lord sees over and over again, as we want and do trust ourselves to Him, but still are concerned and even frightened at times. I believe the combination is OK with Him, as long as we trust in the end. That's what she did this week, and she will be better off letting us take care of things with the wider field of vision we have right now, rather than trying to second guess from a position of weakness. Sound familiar?
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid." Is 12:2
Mother needs to be told. At every one of the moves just described, she has been appropriately
sad, but in the end bowed to the advise of her children and was happy in the new place. That makes the telling even more important in my opinion, to preserve her dignity and gently but firmly move her to the next place. She is very tired and very deaf, so doesn't always catch what is going on or being said in the room. So at the right time, I pulled a chair close to her bed and announced I wanted to talk to her for a spell. She knew some new information would be imparted. She stared straight into my eyes and concentrated totally on what I was about to say. The look on her face is still with me. It was the most profound combination of concern and innocence and love and trust I have ever seen. It was kind of like a deer in the headlights thing but with unmistakeable trust.
It occurred to me later that this is what the Lord sees over and over again, as we want and do trust ourselves to Him, but still are concerned and even frightened at times. I believe the combination is OK with Him, as long as we trust in the end. That's what she did this week, and she will be better off letting us take care of things with the wider field of vision we have right now, rather than trying to second guess from a position of weakness. Sound familiar?
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid." Is 12:2
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Stones & Sand
Nancy and I were returning home by plane a few weeks ago. We were in the last row, behind a family of four, a three year old boy, and an infant baby girl. On the way to our seats, the little boy pushed against his mothers bottom to hurry her along, then as I learned later, did it to Nancy too.
As we were waiting in the aisle to get off the plane, the little boy came across the aisle and stepped on Nancy's shoes. She touched his head to restrain him. The father exploded at Nancy. A verbal altercation ensued. "No one lays a hand on my kid", followed by "No one steps on my wifes shoes". There was no attempt to restrain the little guy, nor was there any apology. As a friend of mine said this week in a different setting, the father "took argumentation to a new level". I noted out loud to the father what a terrible message was being transmitted to the little one, namely that the lad can do whatever he wants without consequence. He countered with the fact that we are probably terrible grandparents. In other words, no discipline was being administered. Nancy and I walked down the concourse with a heavy heart for that beautiful family, knowing it was a ticking time bomb. Either the kid will be in jail in 15 years, or that father and 10 more like him could wreak havoc on an entire school system, or Little League, or city. It was a classic display of zeal without wisdom and common sense. It's being displayed on a global scale these days. What do you think?
"A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, but the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them". Prov 27:3
As we were waiting in the aisle to get off the plane, the little boy came across the aisle and stepped on Nancy's shoes. She touched his head to restrain him. The father exploded at Nancy. A verbal altercation ensued. "No one lays a hand on my kid", followed by "No one steps on my wifes shoes". There was no attempt to restrain the little guy, nor was there any apology. As a friend of mine said this week in a different setting, the father "took argumentation to a new level". I noted out loud to the father what a terrible message was being transmitted to the little one, namely that the lad can do whatever he wants without consequence. He countered with the fact that we are probably terrible grandparents. In other words, no discipline was being administered. Nancy and I walked down the concourse with a heavy heart for that beautiful family, knowing it was a ticking time bomb. Either the kid will be in jail in 15 years, or that father and 10 more like him could wreak havoc on an entire school system, or Little League, or city. It was a classic display of zeal without wisdom and common sense. It's being displayed on a global scale these days. What do you think?
"A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, but the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them". Prov 27:3
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Work
Do you work for a living? If not, why not! If yes, are you happy about it? Well paid? Get time off? Great work environment? It's OK to be happy about Friday night, but do you look forward to Monday morning? Who's in charge here? Is work good or bad? Is it a curse or a blessing? What is it's purpose? Is there a thing in the genes of mankind that wants to be productive? Or did God make us to rest and take it easy? By the way, what is "a living"? Just enough to get by, or enough left over to indulge our pleasures? If you have just enough to get by, is that a bad thing? Does that make you a failure in life? Wow, some good questions, but do we ever ask them of ourselves? Here are some thoughts:
First Level of Work - To make money to live on
Second Level of Work - To be a place to grow as a person, and find fulfillment
Third Level of Work - To be a platform to promote our religious beliefs
Fourth Level of Work - To fulfill God's call on my life
You might not be at just one of these levels, but how high do you go on the list? How many of us get to level four? Does the church really believe everyone should get there, or just Pastors/Priests? Does the church really believe the exhortation to equip the saints involves anything but delivering great sermons? Have YOU sought the Lord about getting to level four? And by the way, what does reaching Four have to do with the Kingdom? What do you think? So much more to say, but maybe later. Reading too long a disertation can be work, you know!
First Level of Work - To make money to live on
Second Level of Work - To be a place to grow as a person, and find fulfillment
Third Level of Work - To be a platform to promote our religious beliefs
Fourth Level of Work - To fulfill God's call on my life
You might not be at just one of these levels, but how high do you go on the list? How many of us get to level four? Does the church really believe everyone should get there, or just Pastors/Priests? Does the church really believe the exhortation to equip the saints involves anything but delivering great sermons? Have YOU sought the Lord about getting to level four? And by the way, what does reaching Four have to do with the Kingdom? What do you think? So much more to say, but maybe later. Reading too long a disertation can be work, you know!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The New Me
What I think about various things has changed over the years. Funny how we think we had IT all figured out, whatever IT is. It's not a waffling as much as it is being willing to learn and let new information impact our view of the way things are. What we had believed before was based on less information than we have now, so whatever picture we have today is by definition more informed than before. Sometimes we are stunned, sometimes saddened, sometimes euphoric, sometimes just plain contemplative, about that new piece in the puzzle. Whatever the reaction, it must be dealt with and goes into making the new me.
That "new me" can be a product of an absolute accumulation of information, esp if you have a photographic memory like I don't, or more of a "moving average" where old information drops off over time, or is just discarded. We can have different ways of accumulation, depending on how interested we are in a certain area. For me, I seldom forget information about geography (I read maps for fun), but choose not to remember the ins and outs of medicine. I barely know the difference between viral and bacterial. That's a case where something usually drops off the end if a new disease pops up on my screen. Isn't that principle true of us all, if we want to admit it.
In the area of religion, I have come to know that all of history revolves around the person of Jesus Christ and His work of creation and redemption. Yes, new insights come almost every day, but the reality of Him is central and unchanging and in fact becomes more of the core of my life with every new revelation of Him. That can come through the Words of life, the ability to love the unlovable, a new sunrise, a renewed hope of the future, something no earthly "messiah" is able to fulfill, as some believe these days.
What do you think?
That "new me" can be a product of an absolute accumulation of information, esp if you have a photographic memory like I don't, or more of a "moving average" where old information drops off over time, or is just discarded. We can have different ways of accumulation, depending on how interested we are in a certain area. For me, I seldom forget information about geography (I read maps for fun), but choose not to remember the ins and outs of medicine. I barely know the difference between viral and bacterial. That's a case where something usually drops off the end if a new disease pops up on my screen. Isn't that principle true of us all, if we want to admit it.
In the area of religion, I have come to know that all of history revolves around the person of Jesus Christ and His work of creation and redemption. Yes, new insights come almost every day, but the reality of Him is central and unchanging and in fact becomes more of the core of my life with every new revelation of Him. That can come through the Words of life, the ability to love the unlovable, a new sunrise, a renewed hope of the future, something no earthly "messiah" is able to fulfill, as some believe these days.
What do you think?
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