The Blizzard of 2010

It's now official. The National Weather Service just issued a blizzard warning for Lancaster County (and other adjacent counties). Here is the criteria that a winter storm must meet to be labeled as a blizzard: "Winds of at least 35 mph (frequent gusts are generally considered to qualify), and visibility reduced by falling and/or blowing snow to less than 1/4 mile. The strict application is for the wind and visibility criteria to be met for at least three consecutive hours."

So there you have it. Stay home. Stay safe. And spend some quality time with your Master and your family. And don't forget ... the official start of spring is only 38 days away!

And as you look at the beauty of the snow, remember what God does for us through the gospel: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). Our sins are forgiven and our souls are clean!  Praise Him!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

An Honest Attempt at "Silence and Solitude"

Yesterday was the day I was supposed to leave for a three day, two night personal retreat. One in which I was going to do a lot of praying, some planning and make a grand attempt at practicing the twin spiritual disciplines or practices of "silence and solitude." However, due to the weather (and if you live anywhere near Lancaster you do not need me to elaborate on that!), I decided to stay close to home. Therefore, after spending yesterday morning on certain projects and errands, I set aside the afternoon to practice some silence and solitude. Here's how the afternoon went:

12:30 - retired to my basement study, turned on the heat and sat under a blanket on my comfortable Ikea chair. The only noise to invade the quiet around me was an occasional howl of wind rattling a nearby window
12:32 - I scanned four different books by three different authors on the topics of silence and solitude (S&S)
1:35 - I closed the final book and spend some time reflecting on what I read
1:50 - Focused on God's power and glory ... asked God to help me grow in my love for Him.
2:00 - Fell asleep
2:15 - Woke up - decided to find my copy of the book, The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions (one truism about the Puritans, they had the First Great Commandment down - they had a "high" view of God and their love for Him ran deep and wide!).
2:25 - Drove over to the church office to look for this book. Talked with two of my staffers for about 20 minutes. Did not find the book in my office.
3:00 - Returned home. Found the book here at the house.
3:05 - Returned to study ... wrote some in my journal and then spent time praying through both Psalm 63 and a selection from, The Valley of Vision (see below).
3:40 - Fell asleep again
3:50 - Awoke and then finished my time of S&S with prayer.
4:00 - Began writing this blog posting.

Now ... as a result of my afternoon, here is what I learned:

1. These related spiritual disciplines are VERY difficult for me. My personality type is one of DO, DO, DO and GO, GO, GO! Just sitting still before God cuts against my grain. For me to practice these on a regular basis will require effort (that's why they are often referred to as "disciplines!").
2. These spiritual disciplines are VERY necessary for me. If Jesus Christ took time to unplug from the noisy world around him and his busy agenda - who am I to neglect doing the same? I am afraid that my soul has borne the impact of the too little empahsis I have given to these spiritual practices. If I am to lead God's people, I realize that I must make these practices a higher priority in my life.

And here are some specific goals I have set for myself:

1. I will begin most days with an hour of S&S before God, starting no later than 5:45 AM.
2. I will set aside a minimum of one afternoon each month as time to unplug from the noise and busyness and get quite before God.
3. I will plan an annual personal retreat consisting of at least 2 nights and 3 days. Time to unplug and be renewed in God's presence.

So there you have it. Please pray that I will be able to obtain these goals. Below is a portion of the prayer from the book, The Valley of Vision, that I used to help focus my thoughts and still my heart. Enjoy!

Lord, let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up, 

that to be low is to be high, 

that the broken heart is the healed heart, 

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, 

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, 

that to have nothing is to possess all, 

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, 

that to give is to receive, 

that the valley is the place of vision.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

"Super" Weekend ... Super Story!

This past weekend was super in more than one way. Of course, there was the Super Bowl which is the most watched sporting event in the United States and possibly the world (I had a friend call me from France at half time to discuss the first half - it was about 2 AM there and French television was broadcasting the game). In addition to the Super Bowl ... we had the Super Storm of 2010, part one (I added the part one because there is another storm headed our way for Tuesday-Wednesday that could dump more substantial snow on top of the two feet of snow we already have. I sure hope you snow lovers are happy!!).

During the first quarter of the SB, the much discussed Tim Tebow ad promoting life was aired. My first response was, "Is that it?" I must admit I thought the ad was a bit "lame." But this morning I went to Focus on the Family's web site (as the ad encouraged viewers to do) to see the rest of the Tebow story. I was not disappointed. In fact, I would encourage you when you have about 7 minutes, to go to Focus's web site (www.focusonthefamily.com) and view the interview of Tim Tebow's parents as they tell their story. It's worth your time!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Fidelity and Marriage

Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina was a rising star in the Republican party. Many believed him to be a viable candidate to run for president. But Sanford's star crashed and burned when it came to light last year that he was involved in a torrid love affair with a woman from Argentina. His affair was exposed after he was hard pressed to explain a five day absence (he had told his staff he went hiking on the Appalachian Trail when in reality he was visiting his lover in Argentina). After a tearful public confession (in which he seemed more remorseful about being caught than being unfaithful to his wife) his wife, Jenny  filed for divorce and has taken the couple's four sons and moved out of the governor's mansion.

Now I mention this because of what Jenny Sanford has just revealed in an interview with Barbara Walters (scheduled for ABC's 20/20 to be aired tonight). In the interview she tells Walters that when she and the Governor were married, he did not want to include a vow of fidelity in the ceremony. Hmm. No vow of fidelity?  What was she thinking when she agreed to that? This is what she told Walters about not having a vow of faithfulness in the ceremony, "It bothered me to some extent, but ... we were young and in love. I questioned it, but I got past it" (I am betting that now she wished she had done far more than just question it!).

Listen to me carefully. Fidelity is what marriage is built upon. Without it, one's marriage will struggle to survive (if it can - most will fail). If you are reading this and you are married, then let me ask you this: what are you doing to strengthen the fidelity of your marriage. Have you expressed your faithfulness to your spouse lately? What are you doing or not doing that might be eroding this essential foundation of marriage? If you are single, then let me encourage you that before you say "yes" to a marriage proposal (or make the proposal), that you be sure you are entering into this relationship FOR LIFE! A life in which you will be faithful to your spouse come thick or thin, for better or for worse. After all, marriage is to be a picture of the relationship between Jesus Christ (bridegroom) and the Church (His bride). And there is no question of Christ's fidelity! Let's imitate Him in our marriages! Without fidelity marriage is on a road you don't want to be on ... the road to divorce court.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Snow: Appearances Can Be Deceiving!

Those who are snow lovers among us are right now just loving our current weather pattern (which by the way is forecast to be with us for the foreseeable future). A cold High pressure system in Canada is pushing waves of arctic cold our way. At the same time an active southern branch of the jet stream is generating storms. And when those storms from the south collide with the arctic cold over us, bingo! - you get snow, and sometimes lots of it! Our snow of Tuesday night is just a foretaste of the snow that weather forecasters is saying is on the way! As I write this posting, Accuweather.com is looking at the probability of a substantial snow storm hitting us this coming Friday into Saturday ... with another possibly arriving in our neighborhood next Tuesday. Well, what can we say? It is February. And historically, February is the snowiest month for southeastern Pennsylvania! So for those of us who are growing weary of shoveling our driveways ... we can either pay someone to do it .. or just GRIN AND BEAR IT - remembering as we do that spring will eventually arrive! 

Now one thing you probably don't know about snow is this: Snow is actually clear or transparent. Snow appears white because the crystals act as prisms, breaking up the light of the sun into the entire spectrum of color. The human eye is unable to handle that kind of sensory overload. Therefore, we see the snow as white. Interesting, eh?  

So ... not everything is as it appears! And what is true of snow is often true of people. Yet, we are so quick to misjudge others - and this is usually in the area of why people do what they do (or why people say what they say). All of us could (and should) heed the advice of Jesus Himself when he said, 

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1-5). 

Jesus does not forbid us from making evaluations of others (so if they have a speck in their eye we can help them remove it) - but He does forbid us from critically condemning others, especially while our house is out of order! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

A Groundhog Disagreement and Hope!

In case you missed the big news of yesterday, here it is: The groundhogs are at odds. That's right! The well known Groundhog Day weather forecasters (Punxsutawney Phil, Octoraro Orphie and Staten Island Chuck) were NOT unanimous on whether or not we will see an early spring. Phil saw his shadow while Orphie and Chuck did not. So ... according to the groundhogs, we have a 66% chance of seeing an early spring. With more cold and snow in our short term forecast, I sure hope Orphie and Chuck are right!

Of course, these long range meteorological forecasts by these well known groundhogs are actually quite groundless! I am sure given the fact that Groundhog Day falls on the second day of February each year, that odds are pretty good that we will see another 6 weeks of winter type weather. That's just the way of the climate in these parts (but having said that, I am still holding out that the Orphie and Chuck are right). You see, I can HOPE that Orphie and Chuck are right and that we will experience the warm breezes of spring early this year. But the hope I have of that happening is a hope-with-a-question-mark-following-it kind of hope. This is the kind of hope that we often embrace (like I hope the Phillies win another World Series this year, or I hope my car doesn't break down anytime soon). But there is a hope that is a hope-with-an-exclamation-mark-following-it kind of hope. And that is the hope we have in God. The word "hope" appears some 80 times in the New Testament. One of these occurrences shows us why our hope is a "hope!" kind of hope. In Hebrews 10:23 we read:

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

 Our hope is certain because the God in whom we hope is FAITHFUL! So what He has promised He will be faithful to bring to pass. So my prayer for you is the prayer offered by the Apostle Paul for the believers in Rome, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 13:15).

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

A Follow Up ... Tim Tebow and Tolerance

Last Thursday I posted some thoughts on the University of Florida senior quarterback, Tim Tebow. Arguably one of the best college quarterbacks to ever play the game. I made reference to an upcoming pro-life Super Bowl commercial that features Tim Tebow. It's not surprising to me that Tebow agreed to appear in the ad. He has never been one to shrink from speaking out and standing up for what he believes. What is surprising to me is what a pro-choice female staff writer of the Washington Post had to say about Tebow and his upcoming ad. It's worth your read! Just go to the following link for the article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2010020102067.html

I praise God that there are young men like Tim Tebow willing to raise up the flag of Jesus Christ! May his tribe increase!

Thanks for stopping by ...

pj