What About the Game?

I’ve been watching a lot of World Cup Soccer this year. (One of the benefits of being retired is that I have time now!) Our children, who grew up in Africa where “football” meant soccer, played the sport and going to their games was an activity the whole family enjoyed. Even now our family and friends are watching World Cup soccer from various States in America, as well as from Europe and Africa. I admit I feel happy knowing that we are enjoying the same activity at the same time!

World Cup soccer has everything – competition, entertainment, pride of country, athleticism, aggressiveness, speed, turnovers, fan support, tension, drama, and last minute surprises! Also present are many varied responses - frustration, anger, jubilation, disappointment, excitement, hugs and tears. The stakes are high in World Cup. Players accustomed to playing on the same club team, often find themselves facing each other as opponents on the World Cup field.  

Success partially depends on skill. But to make it to the World Cup all the players are skilled in the game.  So it must take more than skill and knowledge of the game.

My observation is that skill without the following doesn’t make for a very good game:

·         Willingness to give up the ball to the player best positioned to make the goal, rather than glory-seeking for self.

·         Keeping your cool under pressure.

·         No unsportsmanlike behavior, as it could jeopardize the outcome.

·         Preparation and training physically and mentally. (No good outcome if your head’s not in the game or if you can’t physically keep up.)

·         Ability to play in all weather conditions - rain, heat, dry or wet fields- and under less than ideal circumstances.

·         Obedience to the coach

Hmmm. Sounds a bit like life, too, doesn’t it?

I’m sure you can draw many more life-lessons from the game yourself, and perhaps you have! Feel free to share them in the comment section below.

Oh! And by the way, if you are reading these posts, why not sign up to follow the blog. I’ll write anyway but I would love to know if I have any readers.

Enjoy the game.

REST

“Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him…” Psalm 37:7a

Ah! Rest!!  The idea of rest sounds so good right now, doesn’t it? And I don’t just mean a good night’s sleep.  Peace, quiet, calm … We crave it and we need it, yet it often eludes us.

Four verbs from a verse in the book of Jeremiah give us steps to finding rest for our souls.

o   “STAND” – Not run or bustle about, not fight or try harder – but STAND.

o   “SEE” – See what? Something was about to happen. God knew it and He wasn’t worried. Danger was coming and all their preparation and scurrying about would not change what God was about to do. Watch God work. Pay attention to what He is doing. Be warned and watchful.

o   “ASK" – “Ask for the ancient paths where the good way is…” Ask direction. Seek the guidance and teachings and instruction God has already given. Stop chasing after every new culturally acceptable idea that comes along. Don’t walk down the easy path. Don’t imitate the people around you. Stop scrambling to be trendy. Go back to the basics of life – Yes, return to that old book, The Bible, for in it you will find the good way! (Did you ever notice how each new idea that comes along is so quickly replaced by the next new idea?) God’s principles are timeless!

o   “WALK in it.” – In what? Walk in the good way, as given to you in My Word. Obey what I have already told you to do.

The Result?  Here it comes…  “You shall find REST for your souls.”

Altogether the verse reads like this:

“Thus says the Lord, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls...” Jeremiah 6:16

There it is! The way to soul rest!   Stand, See, Ask, Walk. But in the next part of the verse we read something incredible!   “But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.”

WE WILL NOT – That was their decision! 

It was an unwise rebellious decision, but they had a choice and they made it. They chose their own way.

              

                Rest is a choice

                Rest comes from the Lord

                Rest requires patient obedience to God.

Choose wisely. And may you find rest.

Until next time,

Ruth

In the Good Old Summertime

“…The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;   You have prepared the light and the Sun. You have set all the borders of the earth. You have made the summer and winter.” Psalm 74:16, 17.

June 21^st is officially the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. And so it begins.  Time to gather flowers and weed the garden … check the vegetables and set the hoses.  Pack up the last of the cold weather gear and fully engage in the warm season.  Roses blooming, water splashing, birds singing. Lemonade on the back deck ... burgers on the grill … potato salad in the fridge.  Rides in the Alfi with the top down … Kids playing in the pool … Lying in the sun … coconut suntan oil … Vacation get-aways … Summer camp.  Ah, “those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer.”

In each season I savor memories from past days and years. Spending our summers at Bible camp where my parents were camp directors when I was a child, and a vacation at ocean city after the camp season was over. Taking our own children to the Indian Ocean over school break, or camping with them by a lake and waking up to see hippo prints in the mud around the tent. Each year the season brings new ventures to enjoy in the present, filling me with contentment and wonder. 

Thank You, God, for giving us seasons filled with special moments. How good You are to fill our days with beauty and variety!

Any favorite thoughts or memories of summer?  Share them with us in the comments section.

Happy summer!

Father's Day tribute to Dad

On Fathers' Day my thoughts turn naturally to my dad, Rev. William B. Haken. It was from him that I learned what a good man was like.  Here are some of the life lessons I learned from my dad.

• Put God first.
• Love God's Word, study it, live by it and teach it to others. 
• Care about the souls of others and share Jesus whenever you can. 
• Love people.
• Show compassion.
• Trust God.
• Ask God. 
• Pray with and for others. Each phone call from Dad ended with prayer. 
• Be where God wants you to be.
• Respect my mother. In our household back-talking or showing disrespect was not excused. 
• Work hard. No job was too menial. Whether cleaning gutters, raking leaves, painting buildings, teaching classes or preaching sermons, all was to be done to the glory of God. 
• Appreciate what God gives you and don't be wasteful. Be a good steward of the Lord's resources. 
• Share.
• Support and encourage missionaries.
• Let my children go. All three of Dad's children went into full-time Christian ministry. Two of us went into foreign mission work, raising 7 of his 9 grandchildren in different countries on another continent. Our brother went on the road in full-time evangelism, later founding a church where he still ministers. Dad never complained about us being so far away. Rather, he supported us, encouraged us, kept in touch with us as often as possible, and visited us.  
• Be patient. (This lesson I, unfortunately, am still struggling to try to learn!)

Dad "fought the good fight" and finished the work God gave him to do, passing away from leukemia in 1990. I still miss him. On this Fathers' Day I thank God for the wonderful father He gave me. I hope Dad knows how much his life influenced me over the years.  My one regret is that my own children didn't get to spend more time with this honorable and amazing man before God took him home. 

God is God, whether we believe it or not.

I came across Romans 3:3-4 in my reading this morning. "If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! ..."

How often we live as though something is only true if we believe it. What foolishness!

• Does the postal service deliver my letters if I refuse to believe a stamp costs 46 cents and affix only 23 cents?
• Will the police officer withhold my speeding ticket because I don't believe the zone is posted at 30 mph?
• Will the teacher give the student an "A" who refuses to believe 2+2=4?

Yet how often is the love, mercy, and faithfulness of God discounted because of unbelief?
Perhaps if we start taking God at His Word, instead of following our own fearful thinking and insecurities, we would allow His faithfulness, lavish love and comfort to wash over us. We would obey the leading and counsel of His Spirit. We would hear His voice instead of the cacophony of voices surrounding us.

Father, impress upon our hearts the truth of who You are, Help us to take You at Your word today. Believing You is a choice. I choose to believe You today. And I have peace.

Be Still

"Be still and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10

There is something about the stillness and quiet of early morning that allows me to stop and think and ponder.  God knew what He was doing when He told us to "be still."  Reading through this verse I feel like the Lord had a message especially for me.

Be STILL - stop striving, relax, let go, be quiet.
and KNOW - intellectually, experientially, emotionally. Know it as a true fact, believe it, enjoy it.
that I -  not you, not them, not it, not a force, not a philosophy.
I AM - present tense, today, in this very moment, whatever you are facing, I AM. As I was, so I will be.
I am GOD - Almighty, Sovereign, King of the universe, majestic, omnipresent, totally sufficient, omniscient, unchanging.

I'll do my part, being God. You do your part, being still. And in the stillness meditate on who I am. Allow my peace to wash over you. Allow my strength to empower you. Allow my wisdom to plan your day. I AM GOD.

Amen! Hallelujah! Thank you, God. Help me to be still outwardly and inwardly. Cause me to remember always that you ARE, ever present, always the great "I AM."
Because you are the "I AM" I don't have to fear uncertainty, insecurity, instability, political upheaval, society or cultural depravity. I can rest, secure in You.

So I choose rest.