Milk Money

The movie Milk Money (1994) is a comedy about 3 curious boys who save their milk money to gaze upon the naked body of a prostitute in the city. In a twist of fate, the woman who agrees to participate, rescues the boys from being mugged, and brings them home. On the way, one of the boys, Frank, decides this woman would be the perfect match for his widowed father.
Well, I have a little milk fund of my own going on; though, I am not going to use the money for the same purpose as the boys in the movie. Instead, I think I am going to use the money to purchase an engagement ring when the time comes. This is how it works: I empty my loose change from my pockets into these milk bottles at the end of each day. I also have a jelly jar in my truck so I can deposit change from when I go through a drive through or after I buy a snowball (this encourages me to save because I don't spend my change this way).

I do not think I am anywhere close to being engaged (I really need to have a serious relationship with a member of the opposite sex before pursuing an engagement, or I could kiss dating goodbye). Also slowing my progress is the small amount of money I have been able to put away. If I were to attempt to purchase a ring today, I would probably have to go to a machine and turn a lever and have one come out in a plastic container.

But there is hope! You can contribute to the fund. Give me your loose change and I will put it to good use for me! If you need help finding some, I will be happy to check your car, your sofa, and your pockets. And by the way, next time I ride in your car and you notice me picking up the change behind the seat--–NOW YOU KNOW WHAT I AM DOING! ;)

I Hate Buzzwords!!!

Buzzwords–it’s hard to have a superficial conversation without them, which is why they are so often in “churchy” conversations. One phrase that was presented in a preaching class the last week of school (before classes were postponed due to Hurricane Katrina) fits the bill of a buzzword (even though it is a phrase); it is “preach from the overflow.” I guess this means that those God calls to ministry should have perfect lives, with quiet times that stretch into the hours, and devotions from the original languages. In short, they should have peachy little lives where everything is just great. To borrow a phrase from a “pastor” of a large church on television, they should have “a triple scoop of God’s favor.”

Well, I happen to live in a little place called the real world, or at least I hope so. In my world, even those who have surrendered to God’s call to ministry don’t have perfect lives. How am I to “preach from the overflow” if I’m running on empty? A city that I love has been destroyed by the immense power of a hurricane, my best laid plans for school have, at least temporarily been put on hold, I have presumed loss of most of what I own, and I have learned of more bad news today. Can one really preach from the overflow when everything seems to be going wrong? I don’t know, but please don’t give me another buzzword!

P.S. I understand what these preaching profs are trying to convey, but their semantics might not make real world application. I know that we ministers, especially those that proclaim God’s Word often, should take care to ensure that their messages reflect a vibrant walk with the Lord--they should come from what God is showing them in their own lives. When all seems to be going wrong (we do live in a world damaged by sin after all), we can still proclaim the Word of God, even though it seems we are running on empty.

N.O. Baptist Seminary 'homeless not helpless'

I found a Gannet (USA Today, The Daily Advertiser, etc.) article concerning the condition of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. It appeared in The Sunday Advertiser. Follow the link to see what is happening with our seminary and how we are making an impact with the relief!

BTW, it has been really difficult for me lately to see or hear anything about the seminary lately. I cried when I read the article and I cried when I saw video footage of the damaged buildings. I did not realize how much I loved the place; however, I am encouraged with the effort our school of providence and prayer is making to help our neighbors during this difficult time.

Love–An Epiphany

Say the words, Say the words, Say I love you.
Say the words, I long to hear.
Say the words, Say the words, Say I love you.
Say the words, I long to hear.
(DC Talk, “Say the Words,” Free At Last, Forefront Records, 1992)

A few days ago I was slapped in the face with a couple of words uttered by a friend. These few words have caused me to do a lot of thinking about the way I am. She said something like, “It hard to have feelings for someone and not have the reciprocated.” The problem was not what she said, but the struggle that I have been facing to show my affection to others, especially those of the opposite sex. Yes, it is hard for me to express my feeling toward people of the female persuasion. It is not that I don’t have deep feelings for them; rather, it is hard for me to put my feelings in words and actions.

I have thought that it may because I fear rejection, but I think that is a weak excuse. I don’t think I really fear rejection or embarrassment as much as I fear failure. I fear that what I do will not be met with approval; that it will not be what I am supposed to do. I fear that what I say will not be appropriate, or that when I lean in for a kiss it will be the wrong moment. That is what I thought.

However, when I was driving the other day I was not paying attention to what I was doing. Instead I was thinking. My primary focus for this exercise in day dreaming was what my understanding of love is. I have often thought that I must do something to be loved–I must say the right thing, do the right thing, or be the right person. Then I began to think of the necessary requirements for love. The question was simple: what must one do to gain my love?

Ambrose Bierce wrote:

Love is a temporary insanity curable by marriage… (Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, Dover Publications, 1993, p. 93)

With all kidding aside, I realized that one must not do anything to gain my, or anyone else’s, love. Why do people love babies? Because they are babies. Why do I love my family, even when I often do not like all them? Because they are my family. I love, not because of what they have done, but on account of their existence.

Is it not the same with God? Does the Bible say that God proved His love for us while we were sinners? God stuck out His love while I was a sinner, before I even existed. Why would He do such a thing if I never did anything to make Him love me? It is because God loves people. I did not have to do anything to earn His love.

This is a new perspective for me. I think it will help me get over my fear of rejection, which is really my fear of failure. I can shake the fear of not doing the right thing because love should not about what I do; instead, it should be about who I am. So maybe I can sing a new song hence forth and live with my new perspective.

Say, won’t you say,
Say that you love me,
With love, ever, love,
Love everlasting?
All my devotion put into motion by you.
(Jennifer Knapp, “Say Won’t You Say,” The Way I Am, Gotee Music, 2001)

Hurricane Rita!

Saturday, September 24, 2005, 1:23 p.m. CDT (18:23 GMT), St. Martinville, LA—Nearly12 hours after Hurricane Rita made landfall, she continues to produce winds and rain throughout the southwestern portion of Louisiana. While the damage has yet to be comprehensively assessed, it seems that the damage the small city of St. Martinville has sustained is minimal. Power outages were few and have been relatively short, traffic signals have power but are not functioning correctly, and the storm’s primary affects have been the scattering of debris from trees and damage to roofs.

This community now waits for the weather to clear so clean-up operations can begin.

A view of the yard from the balcony. Observe the scattered debris.

A view of the neighbor’s yard from the balcony.

A neighbor’s tree during a strong gust of wind.

The street on which I live with debris in the street and in yards.

Hurricane Rita! (More Pictures)

The pharmacy where I work survived the storm.

The store’s sign, moved from its original
position, appears to be the only damage.

Metal roofing from torn from a building.

Felled limbs from Hurricane Rita in the foreground and
felled limbs from Hurricane Katrina in the background.

Hurricane Rita Fashion Report

Style expert reports that when making wardrobe selections for the storm one should consider the following questions based on their situation.

If you are evacuating:

· Will the clothes endure the long ride and still look good? Will it wrinkle on the way and require ironing when I get there?

· Is it functional? Does it have a place for your wallet, cell phone, and a bottle of water?

For those remaining during the storm, ask yourself:

· Am I willing to make my television debut wearing these clothes? If there is a camera crew from a major network carrying my rescue, is this what I want to be seen wearing?

· Guys, remember to ask yourself does it match? Do my shoes match my belt? Do my socks match my pants? etc.

· Is it functional? Does it accommodate the tools necessary for quick evacuation of my attic? If I am forced to climb out of my attic onto my roof, will it tear easily? Is it durable enough to allow me to sit on the roof for several days before the water receeds?

Timeless

This is a picture of the clock that is in my bathroom. Ever since I came back from New Orleans the last time (the Saturday before Katrina devastated the city), this clock in my bathroom has been stuck on 7:38 because the battery was dead. I guess you can say I was timeless.

Is the clock in my bathroom being frozen in time a big deal? Heck yeah, I would not be writing about it if it wasn’t.

You see, this is how it is. I’m usually running a little late in the mornings. Every morning when I would get out of the shower, I would check to see how much time I had before I was supposed to be at work, which is 8:00 a.m. Twenty minutes, I have plenty of time… there’s no need to rush.

For the past two weeks I have been late to work just about every day. I knew before I went into the shower every time that the clock was broken and that I was running late, but whenever I would get out of the shower, I would check the clock and then think that I had plenty of time to get ready for work. Think of the surprise I got every morning when I was putting on my watch right before I left my house and realized I was already 20 minutes late for work! I was thinking, “I got out the shower twenty minutes ago and I thought I had twenty minutes then?”

There is a happy ending. I bought a new battery for the clock and I was able to make it to work a little early this morning. So boys and girls, the moral to this lesson is that even a broken clock can be correct twice a day, but if it has stopped twenty minutes before you are supposed to be somewhere, don’t believe it day, after day, after day…

The Question of Why

It is probably the most oft asked but least answered questions throughout history. It is the inquiry that seeks to ascertain why the unimaginable happens. The question may take different forms such as, “Why do terrible things happen?” or, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” or, “How could a loving God allow such a disastrous event to occur?” Although the question may take be fashioned in many different ways, when it is distilled the major component is always “why?”

I should probably preface this discussion with the disclaimer that this attempt is more of a personal quest to answer the age-old question and less a definitive explanation. I will be the first to acknowledge that I do not have the answer to this question, as well as many others. This effort is more of a stage on my journey as I reflect on the magnitude of the events of the past week (i.e. Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath of the storm). Again, this is not a systematic theology nor is it an exhaustive response; this is simply a personal reflection still in its preliminary stages.

I have not yet witnessed “preachers” or “televangelists” attempt to explain why Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region and destruction resulting from the storm. I imagine that there are many who utilized their position and the open ears of their congregation (and, in some cases, television audience) to attempt to explain these tragic events as a judgment from God. They probably alluded to the casinos of New Orleans and the Mississippi coast (namely Gulfport and Biloxi) and the notorious “debauchery” of New Orleans, including drunkenness and “fornication.” They possibly used Old Testament references, most likely referring first to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and to Noah, to substantiate their position. Those that really wanted to be “original,” possibly referred to the invasion of Israel by the Assyrians and Judah by the Babylonians, with references to the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and others. Is this really the answer? Was it simply that God was angry with the people of the region that He decided to destroy the property and, at the same time, lives? What about the good that was in the city and region, would the good be destroyed with the bad?

I prefer to reflect along a little different path. My answer to the question of why do bad things happen begins with an understanding that sin exists in the world. The biblical material provides the understanding that sin entered the world through Adam (Romans 5:12ff) and there are ramifications for living in a world where sin exists, such as the need to work for food and pain during child bearing (Genesis 3:16-19). The primary affect of living in a world marred by sin is that the world is not as it should be. The creation is as much ruined by the sin of man as man’s relationship with the creator is ruined because of sin.

Please do not understand that I am reinforcing the argument that these events occurred because of the sin of the people in the region; rather, recognize that sin exists and, because of the fact that we live in a fallen world, bad things to happen. Yes, there is a penalty for sin. In the New Testament, we find two realities: that sin is personal (Romans 3:23) and the just compensation for sin is death (Romans 6:23a). Sin is personal in that every person is faced with moral choices-choices they know to be right and wrong. At some point, even the most moral person chooses what they know to be wrong and, therefore, sins. While the fair result of sin is death, eternal separation from God, God has provided a way to forgiveness and life. Even while we were sinners God demonstrated His love for us (Romans 5:8) so that, by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, we might have eternal life (Romans 6:23b). All this to say, a New Testament understanding of the effect of sin leads one to the understanding that if God was in the business of destroying cities and people because of sin, there would not be a single inhabitable place on the planet and there would be no one alive. Instead, God’s love provides individual’s with a lifetime to choose eternal life through faith in Christ or eternal separation from God in a very real place of torment called hell; after a person’s life is over they must, they must face the final consequences for their own sin.

I cannot pretend to understand why this has happened, though an understanding of the results of sin helps me understand that this world is not as it could, and it really should, be. I also cannot dream of how this fits into God’s plan for the world, though I rest confidently that God is in control and that He has a plan, though it often does not make sense to me (probably because it does not have to make sense to me, I am not in control). Like Abraham, whose account begins in Genesis 12:1 with an amazing call to leave everything that was safe and secure to live a life of faith in God as provider, I must trust that God has control of the big picture. I must confess as Isaiah proclaimed God’s message, “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9

No reflection on suffering can be complete without some reflection on the seemingly unjust suffering of Job. The biblical account claims that Job was righteous, but still suffered great losses. In his search for an answer to the question of why, God responds to Job by reminding him that He is in control. God says:

Who is this who obscures [My] counsel with ignorant words? Get ready to answer Me like a man; when I question you, you will inform Me. Where were you when I established the earth? Tell [Me], if you have understanding. Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket, when I determined its boundaries and put [its]bars and doors in place, when I declared: “You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here?” (Job 38:2-11)

My response to His power must also be as Job’s when he says:

I know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted. [You asked,] “Who is this who conceals [My] counsel with ignorance?” Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. [You said,]“Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform Me.” (Job 42:2-4)

I don’t know if what I just wrote makes much sense or if it is even coherent. But this is just the beginning of my reflection on the question. In the future, I may reflect again on this question, but I will probably consider some lessons from the storm and its aftermath.