Monday, September 21, 2015

Calvin & Birdfeeder


Calvin & B.F. (the birdfeeder, not Hobbes?!)

          I stepped out the front door, and the little F16 met me and inquired about the empty fuel station.  I could not really decide if he was threatening me, or just sounded menacing, with his whirring wing activity.  But, I ducked back inside, and told my wife that the hummingbird feeder was empty, both of them!  She looked up from her sewing machine, and said, “… 3 cups water, 1 cup sugar … now you know how …”  (we make a good team with our different databases of knowledge?!)


          Soon I had both feeders back on line, and the squadron of fighters reappeared from their perches in the oaks in the yard.  They really are not very nice to each other, competing and combating, posturing and pushing, … finally settling into an uneasy truce with 5-6 birds keeping both eyes open as they sip the sugar nectar.  But, I had helped, maybe.


          “… your Heavenly Father feedeth the birds …” came to mind as I returned to my forgotten sidetrack.  I mused, “… so, I am a worker with God!”  I know the Book says that He feeds the birds; but, He had used me to take care of this task, this time, this place.  Sure, there were flowers all over the place screaming for cross-pollenization with nectar to entice the little fighters.  Maybe I was no better than Sarah offering Hagar to Abraham?  God can do it on his own.  But, birdfeeders are no sin!


          “Salvation is the work of God; and you really can do nothing about it…” is the sentiment I hear from some of my Presbyterian brothers, with Baptists echoing the sentiment, with some of the mental framework stripped away.  “… whosoever will …” is the mantra of the Cumberland boys.  “… choose ye this day …” is quoted by the A-team.  One side considers the other a bunch of birdbrains; but, they, in turn,  think the other side is flighty and ...


          “what if God predestined …”  “no sparrow falls, unknown to the Father …”  “a sower went forth to sow, and … the birds came and ate …”  Let’s just keep slinging the seed!

(the birdbrain is at work, again…”  guess these birds were not elect?!)




Friday, September 18, 2015

FAILURE LESSONS



FAILURE LESSONS
(Not lessons that were failed to be learned, but, rather, lessons that were learned by failure)
God can indeed work out all things for our ultimate good, even our failures?!
1.        HUMILITY

1.1.      All are sinners, even me
1.2.    Drop my stones and walk away
2.      DEPENDENCE
2.1.    “I need thee, every hour, stay thou nearby…”
2.2.  “childlikeness”?!
3.     FUTILITY
3.1.   Struggling alone is recipe for failure
3.2. Even Michael did not rebuke Satan
3.3. Rom.7
4.      PATIENCE
4.1.    Patience with self
4.2.  Others “getting-there” also
5.     TRUTH
5.1.   Satan is a liar
5.2. The ads are wrong
5.3. Sin is sick
6.     PERSEVERANCE
6.1.   Get back on horse, and ride on…
6.2. “winners” get soft; losers fight for next victory
6.3. Temptation – opportunity to say “no”; Failure – opportunity to say “next time!”
7.      GRACIOUSNESS
7.1.    “poor loser”?!
7.2.  Smiling recognition of common struggles
8.     FORGIVENESS
8.1.   Sweet place resting in forgiveness
8.2. When a wife accepts confession and apology, and then forgets.
8.3. “cast into sea of forgetfulness…”
9.     EXPECTATIONS
9.1.   Recognizing ones own failure demands acknowledgement of “failure”
9.2. No rationalization; no excuses; no blame-casting; no scape-goating
9.3. No renaming failure as an “alternative”
10.  DEAD-ENDS
10.1.The dark-side is a mirage
10.2.   “broad way” is “Highway to Hell”
10.3.   “this is going nowhere good…” is a detour sign that needs attention!
11.     ESCAPE
11.1.   Not continue in wrong direction
11.2. “godly grief produces repentance”
11.3. God gives a way of escape – before, and after temptation encountered.
12.   COUNSEL
12.1. Help next guy
12.2.  School of hard-knocks is not best education, but can teach
13.   COST
13.1. Reap what we sow
13.2.  “sword departed not from David’s house…”
13.3.  Disease, divorce, death, derision, dollars…
14.   PAIN
14.1. Broken bones, broken homes, broken bank account
14.2.   Embarrassment and shame
14.3.   Loneliness and isolation
14.4.   Usefulness and position lost
14.5.   Witness lost, diminished
14.6.   Physical pain is good – hand on hot stove?  Spiritual pain?!
15.    CAUTION
15.1. Wild and reckless hearts are good for some reasons, but …
15.2. Esau vs. Jacob
15.3. Count-the-Cost mindset
16.    WARNING ALARM
16.1. Beeping monitor on my hardhat hard to hear above process noise.
16.2.  “…take heed, lest he fall…”
16.3. Chest pain? Heart?! EKG…  >> Failure? Heart problem?!
16.3.1.   Divided heart.
16.3.2. Hard heart
16.3.3. Carnal heart
17.    WEAKNESS (PERSONAL ARMOR CHINK)
17.1. White-hat hackers probe for program security weakness (black-hat, in this case)
17.2.  An unlocked door that can now be locked.
17.3.  My problem may be unknown (or ignored) by myself, until I fail?
17.4.  “when I am weak, then I am strong…”?!
18.   Plan-B can be better.
18.1. NOT "... let us sin that grace may abound ..."
18.2. but, a receiver trips, a block is missed, and the QB goes with his busted-play plan.
18.3. "contingency planning" for mill’s maintenance major outage for unforeseen problems.
18.4. Garth Brooks’ song,  “unanswered prayer…”
18.5. Solomon instead of Absalom?  A lot of sin manipulated to bring blessings?!
19.   "IGNORANCE IS BLISS"
19.1. 21st century man is so full of himself
19.2. smarter than all previous generations?!
19.3. new is better?!
19.4. old is just superstition, myth, ... ?!
19.5. technology that connects us all instantly, with nothing really to say?!
19.6.  "secret things belong to God..."
19.7.  Job put his hand over his mouth and shut up!
19.8. I do not have to drive, nor even navigate! relax and enjoy the scenery?!
19.9. we stress over getting it all exactly right?  Spiritual-OCD?!
20.NEXT-TIME
20.1. "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me?!
20.2. "insanity is doing the same thing, repeatedly, and expecting different results"?! -- Einstein
20.3. At work, drove way-around pile of lime dust, after dealing with sinus inflammation for a couple of weeks!
20.4. learn from experience, especially bad experiences.
20.5. do not pet snarling dogs; they bite.