Blog Posts

CAN YOU DIG IT?

4/3/2022

I have to admit that I was more than a little psyched when my wife first brought it to my attention. As I read the article she directed me to on Facebook, which told of how scientists were already calling it the best-preserved dinosaur specimen ever discovered, I grew increasingly intrigued.

The article reported the recent discovery of a fossilized theropod found accidentally by a hunter near the Citico Creek area of Cherokee National Forest. The specimen was estimated to be more than 77 million years old. Yet, in spite of this, the skin, bones and organs seem to all be intact!

In fact, according to the East Tennessee State University Natural History Museum in Gray, Tennessee, which recently unveiled the find, the dinosaur was said to be so well-preserved that instead of a “fossil”, it could safely be called a “dinosaur mummy”. A better term might be the “Holy Grail” of paleontology!

Apparently, the researchers examining the find were all completely astounded at the “nearly unprecedented level of preservation” on display. It actually seems as if the creature’s skin, teeth, and even some of its guts are all intact. It goes without saying that this is something never seen before!

As one researcher put it: “You don’t need to use much imagination to reconstruct it; if you just squint your eyes a bit, you could almost believe it was sleeping.”

Clearly, just how the dinosaur mummy could remain so intact for so long remains somewhat of a mystery. At present, researchers’ best explanation seems to be that the unfortunate theropod may have been swept away by a flooded river and carried out to an ancient sea, where it eventually sank to the now exposed ocean floor.

Either way, it is believed to be identified as Appalachiosaurus, based on where it was found. Given the expert condition of its bodily remains, conservation experts are even looking into coding its DNA. A certain Dr. James Harvin even stated: "Knowing this animal once roamed this area, we will be putting all effort possible into restoring the species. We hope to reintroduce it into its ancient stomping grounds.”

I have to tell you I was simply dumbfounded. Visons of “Jurassic Park” ran through my head as I considered the astounding possibilities raised! It was then that my wife, with a smile on her face, brought me back to reality with one simple statement: “Look at the date of the post…”

I did; and to my chagrin, it read: “April 1, 2022”. Needless to say, I felt like the proverbial April Fool!

Now, in my defense, I have always been captivated by anything related to the past. Seriously, I love all things paleontological and/or prehistorical! As well as archaeological! And in all such matters, digging things up is critical. Otherwise, how would we know what all we now do about the past?

That being said, some things are perhaps best left undug and uncovered!

In 1986, Randy Travis released the second of what would be a total of ten number one career singles titled “Diggin’ Up Bones”. This insightful song, written by Paul Overstreet, Al Gore (No, not that one!), and Nat Stuckey, conveys a powerful message with these words:

“Last night I dug your picture out from my old dresser drawer.
I set it on the table and I talked to it 'til four.
I read some old love letters right up 'til the break of dawn.
Yeah, I've been sittin' alone diggin' up bones!”

“Then I went through the jewelry and I found our wedding rings.
I put mine on my finger and I gave yours a fling,
Across this lonely bedroom of our recent broken home.
Yeah tonight I'm sitting alone diggin' up bones!”

The chorus then goes on to state:
“I'm diggin' up bones; I'm diggin' up bones;
Exhuming things that's better left alone.
I'm resurrecting memories of a love that's dead and gone.
Yeah tonight I'm sittin' alone diggin' up bones.

As these words aptly demonstrate, it may not always be in our best interest to dig up the past. In fact, sometimes, it is clearly in our best interest let sleeping bones lie!

Dinosaurs, both sauropod (four-footed plant-eating ones) and theropod (two footed upright meat eating ones), clearly existed in the past. There are simply too many extant specimens in existence today to deny this. Of course, neither I nor anyone else can be exactly certain as to when they existed. But they did once exist.

That being said, I will be the first to admit that I am glad they no longer walk among us! Otherwise, I assure you, my daily walks through the outdoors of east Tennessee would clearly be pared down – and much shorter and much closer to home!

The point is that digging up the past is one thing. But digging up the past in order to revive it is another thing altogether. Some things in the past are probably best left alone.

And while dinosaurs are not likely to be revived and to walk among us wreaking havoc any time soon, other things we so often insist on digging up clearly do! Old wounds, old hurts, old scores, and old affronts are all best left in the grave! Randy Travis was right: some old bones are better left alone!

We all have our pasts. And in these various pasts are invariably some bones that may best be left just where they are. Can you dig them up? Yes. You sure can. But should you dig them up? Probably not! Maybe, just maybe, they are best left just where they now lie – in the grave!

God once used the Old Testament Prophet, Isaiah (chapter 43, verses 18-19), to admonish His people to “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” He then explained why: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Echoing this, the Apostle Paul later wrote in his New Testament Letter to the Philippians (chapter 3, verse 14): “… this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Both Isaiah and Paul were on to something. Maybe, just maybe, we all need to let go of “the former things”, “the things of old”, and “what lies behind”. And maybe, just maybe, we all need to focus more on some “new thing”, some new “goal”, and above all, some ultimate “prize” that God intends for us in the future.

The first day of April notwithstanding, it is no fool who understands that one cannot go forward today into tomorrow when he or she is busy constantly digging up yesterday!

STORY SOURCE:

https://m.facebook.com/sportsmenparty/posts/5338288899516157.

SONG LYRICS:

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/randytravis/digginupbones.html.

SCRIPTURE VERSES:

https://www.openbible.info/topics/letting_go_of_the_past.

THE (HERBIC)IDES OF MARCH

3/31/2022

In a previous post, I wrote about how March roared in like a proverbial lion, even coming a week early in February. Traditional wisdom asserted then that it would go out like a lamb. But alas! This was not to be the case here in eastern Tennessee, at least, where March arguably went out with stronger winds than those with which it came in.

March 30th saw steady winds approaching 20 mph all throughout the day, with gusts up into the 50s. Overnight, a front passed through in which even stronger winds were generated. As the 31st dawned, the results were all too evident.

My wife and I had a yard littered with broken limbs and twigs. In the woods behind our house, a medium-sized cedar tree was completely uprooted and laid out prone across the ground. And we got off lite compared to our neighbors.

As I went out for my morning walk, I happened upon tree after tree that had been uprooted and blown down. More than a few had taken down pasture fences in the process. A farmer who lives nearby reported to me that he was awakened at 3am by a phone call from the authorities reporting that his fences were down and his cows were out. Needless to say, he had had one tiresome night.

And that was not all he faced. One of his smaller barns had been completely blown over. And his large hay barn had suffered the loss of about twenty percent of its tin roof. His busy night was about to be followed by an even busier day.

As I walked on, I began to notice a pattern. Most of the trees that had been blown over were cedars. As I studied them, I came to the conclusion that their root structure seemed to be shallow and spread out. Without a single tap root, or a large root system, they were far more susceptible to the high winds.

Add to that the fact that cedars do not lose their foliage in the fall. Unlike the hardwoods, which are still without leaves at this point in the spring, cedar trees are evergreens; and their needle-like leaves fill their limbs year round. For this reason, the winds, which easily pass through the hardwoods, invariably meet resistance from the fullness of the cedar’s branches. And the result is inevitable.

At the same time, not every cedar met with the same outcome. Many cedars bore up just fine under the stress. Why then did some cedars fare well and some not? The answer lies in their location.

Those cedars huddled together in groups tended to stand up just fine. Those growing within a collection of other trees, even if non-cedars, also did well. Simply put: the trees that suffered the most were the ones that proudly stood alone. In nearly every case where a tree was damaged, it was a grand old tree proudly standing alone all by itself.

Is there a lesson in this all of this for you and me? I believe there is. John Donne famously said that no man is an island unto himself. And he was right. God said of Adam in the Garden of Eve that it was not good for man to be alone. We were made to live in community; and it is clearly in our best interest to do so.

Let’s face it. Life is full of storms. And even in between them, we face the winds of adversity most every day. As we do, we are far better served if we do so in the company of, and with the support of, other individuals.

In the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, verses 9-12, we read:

9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

In the days, weeks, months, and perhaps even years to come, I will likely still be able to see the tree stumps left behind by the sever winds of March, 2022. Hopefully, whenever I do, I will continue to be reminded of the importance of surrounding myself with others, especially those of the household of faith, who can strengthen and support me, even as I do the same for them.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/niv/ecclesiastes/4.htm.

A DEGREE OF HAPPINESS

3/27/2022

Our forebears boldly asserted that we were all created equal, and endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights - among them, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I’m glad we have those rights. Obviously, I am not alone in this, for a great many people today are seeking to find some degree of happiness in life.

Well, for just such people, I have some good news today. According to an article by Teny Sahakian and published March 26, 2022 on www.FoxNews.com, New Jersey’s Centenary University has announced the first-ever Master of Arts Degree in “Happiness Studies”. The degree program, set to launch virtually in the fall, will educate leaders committed to the “cultivation of wellbeing” by exploring “the implications of happiness for individuals, the workplace, and our broader society”.

But be advised, it also comes with a price. $17,700 to be exact. According to Tal Ben Shahar, a happiness expert and the director of the program: “Whatever profession you identify, there is a place - a very important place for happiness studies - for the science of well-being.”

According to University President Bruce Murphy, It seems that the 1,100 student Hackettstown, NJ private college teamed up with the “Happiness Studies Academy” to create the new online, 30-credit graduate degree as an interdisciplinary program designed for “leaders who are committed to personal, interpersonal, organizational, and societal happiness.”

One person who is certainly happy about the new program is Ben-Shahar, who co-founded the Happiness Studies Academy. As he puts it: “We were thrilled when Centenary University President Murphy and his colleagues were willing to take the leap, so to speak, and create an academic field out of the fields of happiness, which is sorely needed in our world.”

Ben-Shahar continued: “When we're talking about happiness, we're talking about cultivating resilience, the ability to deal with hardships, with difficulties, and there's plenty to go around today. Whether you're talking pandemic, whether you're talking war, uncertainty, whether it's on the economic level, the emotional level. We need some practical advice, evidence-based advice to help people deal with difficulties.”

The degree is designed to accomplish this by incorporating aspects of multiple disciplines “ranging from psychology, philosophy and neuroscience to finance and business to literature, religion and music.”

This last phrase caught my attention. Turns out, religion does in fact have a lot to do with happiness. This is certainly true of one religion in particular: Christianity.

Numerous studies have been released which affirm this. The Gallup Organization, The Pew Research Center, and other entities have all reported such. (See notes below.) And why should we be surprised? After all, the scriptures are full of references to the abundance of happiness in the lives of God’s people. There are as many as 2700 passages in the Bible stressing such words as joy, gladness, merriment, pleasure, celebration, cheer, laughter, delight, jubilation, exultation, and the like among God's people.

We see this on display many times in the Old Testament. For instance…

“Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord” (Deuteronomy 33:29). “Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy” (1 Kings 4:20). “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness” (Isaiah 52:7).

The New Testament equally stresses happiness in the lives of believers.

Thus, Jesus tells his disciples, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17 KJV). Speaking of faithful Christians, James said, “We count them happy which endure” (James 5:11 KJV). Peter said to fellow believers, “If ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye” (1 Peter 3:14 KJV), and “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye” (1 Peter 4:14 KJV).

These New Testament verses all employ the term “happy” in translation of the Greek term “makarios”. It occurs some 26 times in the New Testament. According to scholars, it is best translated as “blessed or happy”. It comes from the root term “mak” meaning “to become long, or large”, from which we get the English cognate “macro”. Thus, it properly denotes the pleasantness experienced when God confers and/or extends His gracious benefits, advantages, and/or blessings upon His people.

True happiness, therefore, is not to be found in the world or its circumstances. Rather, it is based in a proper relationship with the Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. As our delight comes through Him, and Him alone, it therefore transcends all the world offers, whether good or bad. True happiness, genuine happiness, therefore, consists of a quality of life experienced irrespective of the circumstances of daily life.

No doubt this is why Jesus Himself repeatedly chose to make use of this very word, this time translated as “blessed”, to begin the greatest sermon ever preached, the so-called “Sermon on the Mount”:

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

These nine blessings are commonly called the Beatitudes. One preacher called the “Be-Happy Attitudes”. The great thing about the blessed life they describe is that anyone can have it. One does not have to enroll in a graduate degree program to find it. Nor does one have to expend tens of thousands of dollars to find it. All one has to do is to turn to the One who provides it so abundantly, the Heavenly Father, and ask for it.

Centenary University has apparently already received 38 applications for the program since it was first announced at the March 18 “World Happiness Summit” in Miami. This seems to prove that there really are a great many people who desire happiness. You might just be among them. If so, then I repeat what I said in my introduction: I have some really good news for you today. You can be happy – truly happy; and for this reason, I urge you to pursue happiness today.

But in that pursuit, I urge you to consider the happiness provided from above rather than the happiness provided by the world. For only the former, and not the latter, transcends the circumstantial ups and downs of daily life. Therefore, only the former, and not the latter, qualifies as true, genuine, and lasting happiness!

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.foxnews.com/us/university-announces-masters-degree-happiness-studies.

SCRIPTURE:

https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/5.htm;

https://biblehub.com/text/matthew/5-3.htm;

https://biblehub.com/greek/3107.htm.

SEE ALSO:

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/common-christian-myths-about-happiness;

https://www.afa.net/the-stand/culture/2022/02/gallup-says-church-attenders-are-happy/;

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/church-attendance-happy-pew-research-center_n_5c545b34e4b0bdf0e7daac7f;

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/why-america-s-church-religious-service-fans-are-happier-ncna1290940.

CHANNELS OF BLESSING!

3/22/2022

If my memory serves me correctly, it was Jim Dorriety, the self-proclaimed “Syrup Sopping Servant form Slocomb”, who I once heard tell the story of a young man who was new to the pastorate, and finding it difficult to fill the pulpit with the sheer volume of material required to continually produce and deliver three sermons a week.

At his tender age, he had very limited experience and just the mere beginnings of a library. So he kept his eyes and ears open for illustrations wherever he could get them.

Consequently, while attending a preaching conference (Yes, there really are such things!), he took note of the following introduction a speaker used in a message on marriage and the family.

The speaker opened with this line: “I have a confession to make. Some of the best years of my life have been spent in the arms of another man’s wife.” Naturally, the audience, comprised mostly of fellow preachers, was taken back by this. A moment of shocked silence ensued, after which he then stated: “That woman was my mother, the wife of my father. And now that I have your attention, I want to speak to you on why all these relationships matter so much!”

Well, needless to say, the young pastor was impressed by this introduction. He immediately decided to go back home and use it to open his own message the following Sunday morning.

When that time came, he promptly stood up and announced: “I have a confession to make. Some of the best years of my life have been spent in the arms of another man’s wife.” As expected, his congregation was aghast. The excitement he felt at having achieved his desired effect was followed by an embarrassing momentary lapse of memory. After an agonizing moment of silence, he blurted out: “And for the life of me, I cannot remember who that woman was!”

While I have never heard a preacher make such an appalling statement, I do have my ongoing collection of favorite things I have heard said from the pulpit. Some of these have been sad. Others have been hurtful. And a great many have been downright funny.

One of my favorites was when Dr. Bill Young proudly announced to his congregation that he had fixed his own washing machine! Now, in and of itself, that may not sound like much. But he was justly proud of his accomplishment! After all, we preachers are not noted for manual labor. Nor are we noted for our technical prowess. We have been steeped in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, to be sure. But most of us are woefully lacking when it comes to mechanical proficiency.

I share these things in order to proudly announce to you, my readers, that I have just fixed the leaking faucet in our master bathroom sink! I am so proud of that accomplishment that I may well tell the church family this the next time I preach! I replaced the plastic valve inside the hot water lever, including the grommet and spring; and voilà, it worked! And I owe it all to my son!

The two of us could not have experienced any more different educational paths. In the language of Aristotle, he studied physics; and I studied metaphysics. As someone who desired to become a pilot since he was little boy, it is not surprising that he chose a technical aeronautical education from a major state university. He even learned to be a mechanic specializing in the rebuilding of jet engines as he made his way through school.

As a result, to this very day, he is not scared to tackle most any mechanical or technical problem. Even if he does not know anything about what he is about to undertake, he will simply watch a half dozen or so YouTube videos on the subject and then boldly jump right in!

Accordingly, when our faucet began to leak, I took a cue from him and Googled how to repair a leaking sink faucet valve. In no time at all, I knew what I needed to do. I made my way to the local hardware store, acquired the requisite materials, came back home, and performed the procedure flawlessly! I now have a faucet that produces hot water in demand precisely as designed. And I have my son (and the internet) to thank for my success.

Of course, this process of enlightenment is a two way street. Proverbs 11:25 says: “Help others, and you will be helped.” And as my son has helped me, I have tried to help him as well.

These days, given that he is now in his mid-30s and a husband and father himself, my son has increasingly come to me with questions more in line with my own fields of specialization. As he has inquired more and more about my thoughts on matters of history, philosophy, religion, and theology, I am glad that I have been able to help give him guidance in turn.

I can only hope that the day will come when my son will gladly testify that some of the best years of his life were spent in the arms of another man’s wife; and that that woman was his mother, the wife of his father. What is more, I hope that he will be able to testify that he was privileged to have learned a little bit about life from this woman, his mother, and from this man, his father; even as I, this man and his father, have also valued what all I could learn from him, as my son, in turn.

After all, no man knows everything. Nor could he. For this reason, we would all do well to learn from one another – in the process becoming both teacher and student, both instructor and instructed. Besides, it is only when we reach the point that we are no longer teachable ourselves that we cede the right to teach others.

By the way, the culprit in my faucet was an old, rigid, and crusty grommet that was no longer flexible. As a result, it ceased to be an effective conduit though which water could flow, rendering the faucet unable to properly fulfill its purpose. I hope I never reach any such point as an individual. Doing so will surely make it all but impossible for me to be used of God to benefit others.

It is for this reason that my prayer has increasingly become that of the hymn writer of old, who earnestly declared: “Make me a channel of blessing today; make me a channel of blessing, I pray; my life possessing, my service blessing, make me a channel of blessing today.”

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/gnt/proverbs/11.htm.

HYMN SOURCE: https://hymnary.org/text/is_your_life_a_channel_of_blessing.

“HE AIN’T HEAVY; HE’S MY BROTHER”!

3/17/2022

The Apostle Paul concludes his New Testament Letter to the Galatians with a number of admonitions in chapter 6. The one I seem to remember having heard the most back in the day when I was growing up on a farm was from verse 5: “For each one should carry his own load.”

Kudos to my parents, grandparents, and all the others who were fond of quoting this verse! No doubt their reason in doing so was simply to instill within me, along with my siblings, my cousins, et. al., a basic work ethic. And in my case, at least, it certainly worked. Trust me; I quickly learned that I did not want to be viewed as the one slacker around the house and farm! What is more, down through the years, as I have followed this advice, it has served me well.

But these days, I find that certain other of Paul’s admonitions in this same chapter have equal significance for me. One example is from verse 1, where he states:

“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.”

Granted, the latter portion of this verse admonishes us as individuals not to fall prey to temptation to “some sin”, whatever shortcoming that may be. I pray I will always do my best to heed this warning. But having lived much of my life, I now understand a little bit more of how susceptible any and all of us are to falling prey to temptation and sin. Let he who is among us without sin cast the first stone!

But the initial portion of this verse bears attention as well. Our responsibility as believers is to look for ways to help restore fellow believers who have fallen prey to temptation and sin. After all, it is only in so doing that we reflect the spirit of Jesus Christ, is it not?

One has to wonder, then, why we are so often quick to distance ourselves from a fellow believer who has stumbled! Beware, brothers and sisters, if you are one so quick to abandon a fallen comrade. There, but for the grace of God, go you!

But it is yet another admonition given by Paul in Galatians 6 that I wish to emphasize today – the one found in verse 2, where he states: “Bear one another's burdens and thus you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Wow! Talk about responsibility! Carrying your own weight is one thing. But carrying yours and your brother’s or sister’s is another thing altogether! The first is commendable in that it is doing what is expected by society. The second is praiseworthy in that it is doing much, much more than what is expected by society!

In recent blog posts, I have spoken of the spring winds we have been experiencing here in eastern Tennessee. As a consequence, one of the pine trees in our woods broke about two feet above the ground; and, as a result, it leaned over onto an equivalent sized poplar tree.

This week, I had a tree surgeon out to assess the tree and see if it could be saved. Sadly, he told me that it could not. He further stated that I should be glad for the poplar, which had actually kept the stricken pine standing, thereby preventing it from falling across the driveway.

Consequently, he took the tree down. But the way he cut it was to take out the bottom three feet and allow the remaining trunk to slip down to the ground, while still leaning on the adjacent poplar. He repeated this process, three feet at a time, until the pine tree eventually stood a mere six feet tall and toppled over.

Now, I have no idea just how he knew how to cut the pine in order to make it step itself down this way. But I do know that he could not have managed this if the adjacent poplar tree had not been there all along, assisting him by holding up the pine each time he made a cut.

I trust you see the point here. The poplar tree stood by the stricken pine. Irrespective of the level of damage done to the pine by its own experiences, the adjacent poplar tree stood by and faithfully supported it through its ordeal. In simple terms: the poplar did right by the pine! It did its part and more!

As I have reflected on this matter, I have asked myself over and over again just how many times I might have been given the opportunity (and responsibility) to support a stricken brother or sister. But I have asked myself more. I have asked myself, not only how sensitive I was to those opportunities when they came my way, but how faithful I was to stand tall when I did recognize them!

The resultant conviction has been profound. And for this reason, I have concluded that I now need to stand tall! Whether or not I have always been faithful in the past, I now hope to be in the future. After all, doing so is not just in my best interest. It’s also in the best interest of the poor individual(s) next to me who has (have) sadly been stricken.

My Lord and Savior can relate!

SCRIPTURES:

https://biblehub.com/galatians/6-5.htm;

https://biblehub.com/galatians/6-1.htm;

https://biblehub.com/galatians/6-2.htm.

NOSE JOB!

3/12/2022

The seasons are once again changing here in eastern Tennessee; and it is hard not to notice. Take this weekend for example. It was sunny and in the high 60s on Friday afternoon; yet by Saturday morning, four inches of snow had blanketed the land.

Yet, within twenty four hours, by Sunday morning, it is projected to be a bone-chilling16 degrees! And by Sunday afternoon, the sun should once again be shining; and the temperature is predicted to have risen into the high 50s, melting almost all the snow in the process. Go figure!

Of course, such extreme changes in weather will inevitably result in an outbreak of colds. Thus, one can reasonably expect a lot of sniffles in this coming week. But even without the impact of the ever-changing weather, the spring of the year always brings its share of problems for the average nose.

As the earth warms, plants come to life; and pollen counts invariably rise. Those of us who suffer during this season generally rejoice in the availability of allergy relief medications. In the last few weeks, I have personally blown my nose more times than I can possibly count.

But I persevere through this because I know that allergy season will eventually pass. And once it does, my nose will recede into the background. That is to say that among the various components comprising my face, my nose will largely recede into its characteristically ignominious place.

Let’s face it – with the possible exception of my eyebrows and my forehead, my mouth and my eyes will largely dominate my facial expressions, and portray any concerns related to my emotions and my thoughts. In such a context, my nose may well find itself, not only overlooked, but with little or nothing else to do apart from breathing.

That is why I was delighted when I recently came across the following piece titled: “TOP TEN THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR NOSE WHEN YOU’RE BORED”…

10) Look down it at somebody   (Pride)
09) Poke it into someone else’s business   (Strife / Dissension)
08) Snoop around with it   (Nosey / Gossip)
07) Get it out of joint   (Anger)
06) Cut it off to spite your face   (Bitterness)
05) Pay through it   (Materialism)
04) Find something right under it (Love / Salvation)
03) See past it   (Eternity / Hope)
02) Keep it clean   (Humility / Obedience)

And the number one thing to do with your nose…
01) Get it stuck in a book   (The Bible!)

Already, I can see how easy it is to employ my nose in undertaking items 10 through 04 on this list. Nevertheless, I hope to work on using it for numbers 03 and 02 as well. Any maybe, just maybe, the best way to accomplish this is to use it to work on item 01 in the first place!

I’ll nose around and let you know!

NOSE JOKE SOURCE: http://javacasa.com/humor/sermon.htm.

STANDING TALL!

3/7/2022

My wife went walking earlier this week; and shortly thereafter, my phone started blowing up. She sent me the following picture, along with her accompanying observations, via text messages.

As you can see, it is now the spring of the year; and jonquils are springing up everywhere here in eastern Tennessee. A few weeks ago, the woods began to display patches of green against the brown backdrop of winter. Now, those patches of green have brought forth the beautiful yellow flowers that are so beautiful as they herald the coming of spring.

The picture she sent me shows a single jonquil blossom detached from the group of flowers some yards beyond it. Upon observing this, my wife texted me the following thoughts to ponder.

1. Sometimes we bloom with the bunch. 2. Sometimes we stand alone and bloom. 3. Notice the one standing alone in the light of the sun. Its blossom is much bigger and brighter than the ones in a bunch standing in the shade. 4. Why? Because last fall, when the utilities company put in the new water line and then graded our yard, it obviously got dragged out of its comfort zone and was forced to go it alone! 5. The point here is that we may not always like where all life takes us; but it is still important to bloom where we are planted.

How astute her observations were! And how applicable to each and every one of us! For my part, I can see how the picture above is a beautiful depiction of my life! Maybe you can relate.
After all, who among us cannot look back over our life and see those times when we were suddenly and inextricably wrenched from our moorings and deposited in some unfamiliar and perplexing new place. Maybe, when this happened, we were even made to feel quite uncomfortable.

And yet, with the passage of time, perhaps we came to realize that the entire ordeal was actually to our advantage. Once detached from our comfort zone, maybe we found ourselves forced to go it alone. And as scary as that was, maybe what came about as a result was miraculous. Maybe the whole experience helped to make us into the person we are. And maybe, just maybe, as a result of it all, we then shown forth in all the glory associated with the fulfillment of our God-given potential!

Again, I know I can relate. I trust you can.

Oh, and by the way. My wife added one last observation. She pointed out that even though the jonquils in the shaded patch off in the distance were now being out shown by the brave trailblazing one currently basking in its well-deserved glory out in the sun, they were still beautiful in their own right.

You see, even though they were each destined to bloom in the shade, and to be merely one among many as a result, they nonetheless mustered up the courage to bloom exactly where they too had been planted.

Kudos to my wife for her insight! Thank God for trailblazers. Whenever they arise, they tend to expand our borders and broaden our horizons. But in the end, they remain few and far between. By comparison, the vast majority of us live our lives in the relative comfort and anonymity of the crowd.

And yet, this too will always have value. For here, in the midst of our fellow men and women, we are called to live out our lives, and in the process, to manifest our God-given talents in such a way that we glorify our Creator by beautifying and enriching the world in which we live. No matter where we have planted, may we bloom and glorify the God Who placed us there!

In his First New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 10, verse 31), the Apostle Paul writes: “… Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Implicit in this is “wherever” and “whenever” and “however”, (and even though it may not technically be a word) “whyever”. No matter where or when or how or why you have been planted, find a way to shine forth and glorify the God who placed you there!

Abraham, who was taken from Ur to Canaan, did. Joseph, who was taken from Canaan to Egypt, did. Jeremiah, who was taken from Judah to Babylon, did. Daniel, who was taken from his home to the home of a heathen king, did. Paul, who was wrenched from his Jewish moorings and made the Apostle of the Gentiles, did. And the Apostle John, who was taken from his pastorate in Ephesus to imprisonment by the Romans on the isle of Patmos, did.

My wife took notice of a single jonquil doing much the same. Others will invariably take notice of you for doing much the same!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/10-31.htm.

BEARING FRUIT

3/3/2022

I recently came across the following exchange of letters between a father and his son…

Dear Son,
Your mother and I love you very much, and we miss you dearly ever since you went to prison. I especially miss you now that spring is here, and it is time to plow the fields. The ground is hard, and my back is old. I am afraid I will never be able to plant the crops in time.
Your Loving Father
_________________________

Dear Dad,
Do not dig in the field. That is where I hide that thing. You know I cannot say what it is because they read our mail. Just do not dig out there.
Your Son
_________________________

Dear Son,
The cops came out and dug up my fields. They said they were looking for something. Thanks, son. It looks like I will get the crops planted.
Your Loving and Grateful Father

These days, thankfully, my wife and I do not have any fields to plant. But as a child growing up on a farm, I knew this spring routine well. The ground had to be broken up before row after row was laid off and seeds were planted in the freshly tilled soil. This was done on a smaller scale for the garden and on a much larger one for the corn and other crops grown as food for our animals.

While I have not technically farmed in decades, I can still remember how I dreaded the annual process. But not this year. In fact, I have been looking forward to this particular spring precisely because I desire to do some planting.

You see, I have fond memories of the numerous fruit trees that populated the yards of my parents and grandparents. These included varieties of apples, figs pears, plums, pomegranates, quinces, and the like, as well as arbors full of muscadines, scuppernongs, and other such grape vines.

Few pleasures were as blissful to me as eating myself nearly into a stupor when the branches of each bore their fruit in season. I even remember the occasional belly ache from too many apples with affection. After all, such episodes are arguably a rite of passage for all children a part of their growing up.

What is more, now that the Lord has given my wife and me seven precious grandsons, I intend to provide just such opportunities for each of them. I have ordered and intend to plant fifteen fruit trees and two arbors of grapes.

The trees I have in mind should not take that many years to mature. I trust that I will live to enjoy their produce right along beside of my grandsons for years to come. Of course, that is all in the Lord’s hands. Nor do I know how long the trees themselves, once planted, will live and produce. Who knows? If the Lord tarries His return, maybe they will be around for my great-grandsons and even their children to enjoy.

The poet, Henry Cuyler Bunner, understood this well; as his famed poem, “The Heart of the Tree”, attests:

What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants a friend of sun and sky;
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high;
He plants a home to heaven anigh;
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard--
The treble of heaven's harmony--
These things he plants who plants a tree.

What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants cool shade and tender rain,
And seed and bud of days to be,
And years that fade and flush again;
He plants the glory of the plain;
He plants the forest's heritage;
The harvest of a coming age;
The joy that unborn eyes shall see--
These things he plants who plants a tree.

In like manner, I hope my own efforts this spring will lead to joy for future eyes to see. And for future palates to taste!

One additional thought has often come to mind as I have envisioned the planting and nurture of these trees. I have plans to place them in a flat part of our yard not far from the banks of a creek that flows through our property. They should do well in this site, receiving ample portions of both sunshine and moisture necessary to secure their growth and productivity.

Many times as I have envisioned them flourishing there, I have been reminded of the words of the first three verse of the Old Testament book of Psalms (chapter 1, verses 1-3):

1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. 2But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. 3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.

In the days and years to come, as the Lord gives me opportunity, I pray I can do as much if not more to nurture the souls of my children and grandchildren as I can to nurture the fruit trees from which they devise enjoyment.

Given that their souls have immeasurably greater value then their bodies, such an endeavor will surely be far more beneficial for them. And I can only hope that the day will come when they themselves will come to understand and appreciate that very truth. If it does, I will have succeeded in giving them not only simple pleasures which they will fondly remember form their past, but also a solid foundation for living out their lives along with a reassuring anticipation of a secure and blessed future!

JOKE SOURCE: https://upjoke.com/spring-jokes.

POEM SOURCE: https://poets.org/poem/heart-tree.

The third verse reads as follows:

What does he plant who plants a tree? He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty And far-cast thought of civic good— His blessings on the neighborhood,
Who in the hollow of His hand
Holds all the growth of all our land--
A nation's growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/bsb/psalms/1.htm.

HEART AND SOUL!

2/28/2022

I have a confession to make. I’m a hardcore carnivore! I’ve always preferred a little salt and grease to a little sugar and spice. Give me a belly full of protein over a belly full of carbs any day of the week. That’s just my preference.

This likely has to do with the fact that I was raised on a farm where we worked a large garden and ate vegetables, either fresh or canned, pretty much year round. However, given that we also raised beef, pork, and chicken on that farm, early on I came to believe the old adage that “a meal is never complete unless it has a piece of meat”. In fact, the meat was always the foundation of any meal, which was garnished with an array of vegetables. Desert of any kind was hardly ever included.

Now, some will contend that eating red meat is inherently unhealthy. A review of my ancestry shows that most of them subsisted on much the same diet and yet lived well into their eighties. In fact, it seems as though the two who lived only into their sixties (my father and grandfather) did so concurrent with the advent of slickly marketed and packaged cigarettes.

Those before them utilized tobacco as well, but nowhere to the extent that they themselves did in the mid to latter part of the twentieth century. In effect, they became chain smokers, consuming two or more packs daily. (On his 16th birthday, my father his father asked for permission to smoke openly. Sadly, he pretty much did so for the remainder of his life until his death at age 61.)

What is more, as improvements in farming methods came along, the Jackson family’s approach to agriculture naturally became more sedentary. Let’s just say that it was conducted more and more from the seat of a tractor and less and less from afoot behind a mule and a plow.

I will always believe that such a combination of factors worked to sorely tax the cardio-pulmonary systems and shorten the lives of my father and grandfather. This conviction is what compels me to exercise regularly to this day. Sitting, as they say, is the new smoking. And while I have never undertaken the latter, I do far too much of the former.

Thus, it was with more than a little curiosity that I read an article this week titled “These Are the Best Foods for Your Heart, Experts Say:”. The February 28, 2022 piece, sub-titled: “These 10 Foods Are Especially Good for Your Heart”, was written by Perri Ormont Blumberg and published on www.FoxNews.com in view of February being American Heart Month.

The ten foods included were: Dark Leafy Greens, Olive Oil, Avocados, Berries, Beans, Salmon, Whole Grains, Grapes, Walnuts, and Flaxseed.

How did you score? I did okay on most everything except for Olive Oil, Avocados, and Walnuts. I guess I’ll just have to work on developing a taste for these. You may be asking whether I actually eat flaxseed. No, but I do take a flaxseed pill twice daily. Along with Oat Bran tablets, Garlic pills, and capsules of Fish Oil, Salmon Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Krill Oil, and other such Omega-3 packed supplements. In short, if it claims to defeat high cholesterol, I take it!

Plus, while I truly love beef, pork, and chicken, and regularly eat these selections for lunch, I still choose to eat oatmeal and salmon for breakfast each and every day. Hopefully, such dietary discipline, when combined with my daily exercise routine, will allow me to live into my eighties and beyond, as so many of my forebears once did.

Now you may well be wondering why I am sharing all of this. To begin with, I know I am not alone in my concern for my physical well-being. A great many people are in today’s world. But I also know how futile it ultimately is to go to great lengths to take care of one’s body if one does not also vigorously care for his or her soul.

We live in a world where clicks matter. No doubt the article I have referenced above has drawn tens of thousands (or more) of such clicks, as curious people have joined me seeking to find out how good a job we are doing at caring for our hearts. But how many of us will take time to inquire as to how good a job we are doing at caring for our souls?

The ten foods listed above are referred to as heart-healthy superfoods precisely because of the good effect they have on our heart. It behooves us to ponder their benefits and consider consuming more of them. Likewise, it behooves us to consider what we consume spiritually, and the benefit or lack thereof that such a diet has on our souls.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to consume a regular diet of God’s Word. The 5th and 6th chapters of the New Testament Book of Hebrews make this abundantly clear. Verses 11-14 of chapter 5 encourage us to begin with consuming the milk of the Word and proceed in time to consuming the meat of the Word.

The meaning here is that new believers should study God’s Word in order to learn the most basic spiritual truths. But over time, the frequency and intensity of their study of God’s Word should increase in order that they may mature and grow strong in their faith. As chapter 6, verse 1 puts it, this is so that believers may “move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity”.

Of course, the writer is not just concerned to communicate that what we consume matters for the health of our soul. He goes on to assert that we must practice spiritual exercise as well. More than any other New Testament Book, Hebrews draws on the analogy of physical exercise.

After rehearsing the faith practiced by a huge crowd of Old Testament believers in chapter 11, the writer of Hebrews begins chapter 12 by painting a picture of a marathon runner entering an ancient stadium as he or she vigorously competes for victory.

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.

Surely all of this raises important questions for any of us who purport to follow Christ. How’s our spiritual diet? With what do we choose to nourish our souls? And to what degree do we exercise and strengthen them?

If the answer is less than commendable to any of these questions, then how can we ever expect to grow into maturity and become strong in our faith? We are what we eat. We are what we do. For these reasons, we must nourish and nurture not only our hearts, but also our very souls!

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/best-foods-heart-health-experts. The author, Perri Ormont Blumberg, is a contributing lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent on Twitter at @66PerriStreet.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/kjv/hebrews/6.htm;
https://biblehub.com/niv/hebrews/6.htm;
https://biblehub.com/nlt/hebrews/11.htm;
https://biblehub.com/nlt/hebrews/12.htm.

HOW AND WHY

2/24/2022

One of the folks over at www.jojojokes.com recently shared a version of the following story:

I just got off the phone with a friend living in North Dakota near the Canadian Border. She said that since early this morning the snow has been coming down, it is nearly waist high and is still falling. The temperature is dropping way below zero and the north wind is increasing to near gale force. Her husband has done nothing but look through the kitchen window and just stare. She says that if it gets much worse, she may have to let him in.

If that be the case, I’m sure glad I’m not in the Dakotas! Still, we have had our share of windy weather and precipitation right here in eastern Tennessee over the last few days. The wind has blown one tree completely over down by the creek near our house. It has also littered the better part of our yard with sticks and limbs aplenty. If we can ever get a day or two of sunshine to dry out the yard, we will then spend the better part of a morning picking up nature’s debris.

Of course, this was all to be expected. As a child, I was taught that the month of March would either come in roaring like a lion and then go out like a lamb or else it would come in like a lamb and go out like a lion. It seems likely, therefore, that the lion simply showed up a week early at the last of the month of February this year.

How is it that we tend to get these winds each spring? While I readily admit that I am no meteorologist, I do recall being taught in school that it all has to do with the fact that the old earth is just shifting on its axis. Scientists tell us that our planet does not just spin on its axis. It also wobbles as it rotates. For this reason, here in the northern hemisphere, daylight hours are shorter in the winter and longer in the summer. Conversely darkness lasts longer in the winter and shorter in the summer.

The two extremes are of this planetary wobble are called the summer and winter solstices, with summer’s, usually falling on June 21, having the most daylight and winter’s, usually falling on December 21, having the least. (Naturally, these solstices are exactly the opposite in the southern hemisphere.)

Halfway between the two annual solstices are the two annual equinoxes. On a given day in the spring (usually March 21), the vernal equinox occurs, wherein the amounts of light and darkness are equal in a 24 hour period. The same happens in the fall of the year at the autumnal equinox, around September 21.

(So much for my summation of seventh grade earth sciences, aptly demonstrated to our class by a gifted teacher with a flashlight and a basketball. But I digress.)

All of this is to say that these annual rhythms of adjustment in the earth’s wobble continually impact the weather as the shifts in temperature either heat up or cool down the air, inevitably affecting its flow over land and sea.

Of course, figuring out how something happens and understanding why it happens are two entirely different things. As I ponder the natural world, I am reminded that the why of it all is a far weightier matter than just the how of it all. And while modern science can well address the how, the question of why will always remain above her pay grade.

It is little wonder, then, that theology has traditionally been known as the queen of the sciences. For only she can properly address the questions of why. If we ask why we have day and night, we posit that it is because the earth rotates on its axis. If we ask why we have seasons, we posit that it is because the earth wobbles as it spins. But what if we go a step further and ask why the earth wobbles. Or what if we ask why it rotates. Better yet, what if we ask why it even exists! For that matter, what if we ask why anything at all even exists?!

After all, the ultimate philosophical question is really quite simple: “Why is there something rather than nothing?” And quite frankly, for all her theories, enlightening as they might be, from that of relativity to the big bang to evolution to quantum physics, etc., science still finds herself only addressing the how and not the why of all things. There are things she simply cannot explain.

With theology, however, it is a different matter. Why does the earth exist? The very first verse in the Bible tells us why. According to Genesis 1:1, the reason the earth exists is because “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Why does earth have light and darkness? Genesis 1 goes on to tell us that God structured the world to have them both. Why does the earth have days and seasons and resultant temperature changes? Genesis 8:22 tells us why: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

An even more profound question might be: “Why do I exist?” Why can I even sit here and ponder all these things to begin with? Again, Genesis provides the answer (chapter 1, verse 22) to that fundamental question: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Does science have value? Absolutely. Her role is to pursue the questions of how, and to use the knowledge she gains in the process for the benefit of us all. And I for one am extremely grateful for these many benefits. This is especially so tonight as I sit inside my well-lighted house all warm and cozy following the radar on my smart phone and typing away on my laptop with a soft drink by my side and music softly playing in the background, while the wind and the rain and the darkness all rage outside.

But when it comes to the greater questions of life, I’m far more thankful for the Word of God. For it is in the Bible, and in the Bible alone, that I find the answer to the truly great questions of life.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/niv/genesis/1.htm;
https://biblehub.com/niv/genesis/8.htm.

JOKE SOURCE:

https://jokojokes.com/wind-jokes.html.

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