I recommend you read the whole advertisement. I recently paid $84 plus tax for one day at Dollywood (which I do not regret), but back in the day you could get a whole lot of entertainment for $39.95. I wish I had a DeLorean or a Tardis some other form of time travel machine to take me back. Of course, back then some people complained about how EXPENSIVE $39.95 was. And how dare they charge over $1 a gallon for gas.

It’s interesting to think that this year marks 25 years since the closing of Opryland theme park, which in my humble opinion was not one of Nashville’s most shining moments. Especially since they replaced it with a mall.

But I have memories. And occasionally I’ll see a vintage picture or ad that brings it all back like it was yesterday. Good times.

“Sometimes the most gracious, merciful thing God could ever do is wound you. To wound you, (and in that wound bind you to Himself) is far more gracious than to bless you with everything you want and have you not know Him” (Matt Chandler).

Wow. That’s hard. My first response isn’t to give this comment a like and a heart. My first is to try and find some kind of loophole or way out of this wounding. Why would God purposefully hurt me? Isn’t God all about love, and love never ever hurts anything or anyone, right?

Most of the time, God wounds me by letting me go my own way and get what I want. That’s when I find out that where I thought I wanted to go and what I thought I wanted completely failed to bring me any satisfaction or contentment. Sometimes, God lets me endure the consequences of my own choices and actions.

I read this recently and it spoke volumes to me about why God allows suffering and tragedy in the lives of His people:

‘The reason verses such as Romans 8:28, which promise Christians ‘good’, seem to jar with our experiences is because we don’t really know what good is. In the Bible, good isn’t a longed-for marriage. It isn’t a comfortable home, a great job or even a faithful church family. Good is God’s name being glorified and his Kingdom advancing. Good is God’s people being made holy and learning to trust in him more. God’s ultimate purpose is to glorify himself and he will not be thwarted. So, when pain seems pointless, the God who wounds shows me that it is good. The God who wounds has done this for his glory, to grow my reliance on him, to make me more like Jesus and to have his name proclaimed. That is good” (Brianna McClean).

I think about the time when Jacob wrestled with God. At some point, God wounded Jacob by dislocating his hip so that from then on he walked with a limp. But with the limp came a change in his character. He went from being the deceiver Jacob to being the fighter and prince of God Israel.

Ultimately, I define good not by my standard but by God’s. If I believe that God is good and everything He does is good, then that defines goodness more than what I see and feel and experience, so I can trust in the true goodness of God.

Here’s a link to the full article by Brianna McClean, entitled When God Wounds.

When God Wounds

So many people don’t like cats because they say that cats aren’t friendly. I for one can’t speak for every single feline in the world, but I can say that my little tortie was quite pleased to see me back home after me being away for a few days of vacation.

She was curious about the contents of my suitcase, so she did her usual investigating until she was satisfied that there was nothing to 1) eat and/or 2) play with. She may also have been telling me that I’m not allowed to go anywhere out of town for a while after this.

Then she decided to curl up in my lap and expose her belly for a good belly rub. Apparently, not all cats are fans of the belly rub, but this little tortie is a fan. That was her way of letting me know that she has forgiven me for abandoning her for those five days and not bringing her anything back with tuna or catnip in it. All is well.

“Use what little obedience you are capable of, even if it be like a grain of mustard seed. Begin where you are. Live this present moment, this present hour as you now sit in your seats, in utter, utter submission and openness toward God. Listen outwardly to these words, but within, behind the scenes, in the deeper levels of your lives where you are all alone with God the Loving Eternal One, keep up a silent prayer, “Open Thou my life. Guide my thoughts where I dare not let them go. But Thou darest. Thy will be done.” Walk on the streets and chat with your friends. But every moment behind the scenes be in prayer, offering yourselves in continuous obedience” (Thomas R. Kelly).

What I’ve learned is that when you feel stuck spiritually, you can go back to one step of obedience that you’ve been slow to take or not even taken at all. Do that, then the next step will come. And keep on praying.

“Do you know why strangers rage at each other online and are so quick to be angry and offended these days? ⠀
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Because their passion has no other outlet. When you refuse to deal in joy, you don’t quit being emotional, you just funnel all that energy somewhere else. ⠀
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Many a troll was born from the heartache of a goal he dared not finish. ⠀
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Maybe a troll is just someone who lost to perfectionism so many times he gave up on his own goals and decided to tear down someone else’s.⠀
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Does your passion have a healthy outlet? If so, what is it?” (Still Jon Acuff)

I can’t tell you how many times I see people lashing out at other people on social media for the absolute dumbest stuff. People rage against each other over why Grease 2 was the worst movie ever or the best 80s movie. They get enraged when you don’t agree with them over why the current Doctor Who series is the best in history (or why it’s the worst).

I think it’s easier to be mean and critical when you’re hiding behind a keyboard and will likely never see your opponent face to face. Also, as society continues to devolve into chaos and violence, there’s less and less room for things like mercy and grace.

Those who follow Jesus know there’s a better way. We’re called not just to know it but also to show it. A great quote from one of my favorite TV series says that we live in the world as though it were the way it should be to show it what it can be.

In other words, we live out God’s original design for humanity and creation — namely, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever by how we speak and act. More specifically, how we speak to and act toward those outside the faith. T

he way of responding to rage with more rage says that we’re no different and that our words are meaningless. But to respond to a harsh word with a gentle answer shows the better way and allows us to be heard over the din. May we always choose grace and mercy as well as truth.

“Prayer is not a way of being busy with God instead of with people. In fact, it unmasks the illusion of busyness, usefulness, and indispensability. It is a way of being empty and useless in the presence of God and so of proclaiming our basic belief that all is grace and nothing is simply the result of hard work. Indeed, wasting time for God is an act of ministry, because it reminds us and our people that God is free to touch anyone regardless of our well-meant efforts. Prayer as an articulate way of being useless in the face of God brings a smile to all we do and creates humor in the midst of our occupations and preoccupations.

Thinking about my own prayer, I realize how easily I make it into a little seminar with God, during which I want to be useful by reading beautiful prayers, thinking profound thoughts, and saying impressive words. I am obviously still worried about the grade! It indeed is a hard discipline to be useless in God’s presence and to let him speak in the silence of my heart. But whenever I become a little useless I know that God is calling me to a new life beyond the boundaries of my usefulness” (Henri Nouwen).

“Maybe I have been living much too fast, too restlessly, too feverishly, forgetting to pay attention to what is happening here and now, right under my nose. Just as a whole world of beauty can be discovered in one flower, so the great grace of God can be tasted in one small moment. Just as no great travels are necessary to see the beauty of creation, so no great ecstasies are needed to discover the love of God. But you have to be still and wait so that you can realize that God is not in the earthquake, the storm, or the lightning, but in the gentle breeze with which he touches your back” (Henri Nouwen).

When was the last time you were still? I don’t mean just sitting down or sedentary while looking at your phone. I mean you were still. No books, no phone, no television, no radio or streaming. Just you alone with your thoughts and God.

One of the most needed commands in the Bible comes in Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.”

How can we ever hope to hear from God when we are allergic to silence and stillness? How can we discern God’s voice if our days are filled with constant noise and tasks filling up the margins of our existence?

Being still isn’t natural. It’s as much a discipline as prayer, fasting, meditating, or studying your Bible. And if you wait until you have time, you will never start. As with anything that’s important, you have to make time by prioritizing stillness over activity and busyness. But in the end, it’s worth it.

If envy is the enemy of joy, then gratitude is surely its friend. When we harbor critical spirits, we double down in our fallenness, but when we embrace thanksgiving, we remember that the present isn’t eternal but only temporary. Hope is eternal. Joy is forever.

If I had to name my biggest pet peeve at the moment, it would probably be tailgating. Nothing makes me lose my religion (to use an old Southern expression) more than people who ride my bumper. Especially when there’s ample room on both sides for passing.

I don’t get it. Someone tailgating me isn’t going to make me drive any faster. I can only drive as fast as the person in front of me. And the person in front of the person in front of me. Unless they speed up, I can’t speed up.

I try not to be judgmental, but seeing someone behind me who is practically attached to my rear bumper tests my patience more than anything. I personally have never been that much in a hurry or that impatient that I have to tailgate.

So the moral of the story is that I need to work on my patience. And people in this town need to learn to drive better.

I’ll be the first to admit that while I’m a fan of The Message translation, it can be hit or miss with me. Sometimes, it misses the mark. Other times, it gets it right. And when it gets it right, it changes the way you will look at that particular passage from then on. Like for instance, 1 Corinthians 13. I think Eugene Peterson absolutely nailed it on this one:

“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, ‘Jump,’ and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always ‘me first,’
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.”