We brought her home the other day. Our little daughter that is. She is so tiny she makes her brother seem like he is far closer to adulthood than I would like. Everyone always told me life moves quickly, and they were all right. It did not move quickly as a child, but it does now. As I age more I imagine it will move even faster.
Such a thought is equally sobering and horrifying. It is sobering in that I know that now, and therefore should not be surprised when I find myself with far fewer years to live than I have lived. It will happen. It will come up fast. Somehow it will be a surprise, because it seems to surprise everyone. “Where’d the time go?” I’ve heard so many ask. “How’d I get to be so old?” is the same sentiment asked another way.
It is sobering because it means that I know I should pay attention. I should enjoy the time I can get on the webcam with my parents or better yet I should visit more because one day I will not. Not because I will not want to, but because I will not be able to do so. I should enjoy watching my little daughter move and squirm around, and the way her eyes take in everything. I should enjoy the way my son becomes a boy because one day he will be man. I should enjoy the way clouds move in the sky. The way a Sunday service is always unique. The way people smile when helping others. I should pay attention because it is all fleeting, momentary, and worthy of my attention. I should pay attention because somewhere right now God is at work.
Yet this thought is horrifying because while I know I should do all of these things, I probably will not. I still struggle not to check my e-mails when I am having a phone conversation. I still think about what I have to do during the day when my son is talking to me over breakfast. I still am always trying to stay two-steps ahead of whatever life will throw at me. All I am doing is losing the moments I have. One day I will say with actual puzzlement, “Where’d the time go?” or “How’d I get to be so old?”
Well the time is going on right now. Somewhere my wife is playing with our little girl. Somewhere my son is running around. Somewhere a prayer is being uttered and it might be for me. Somewhere a smile is beginning. Somewhere the wind begins to blow through the leaves and braches of a mighty tree. I will not be able to see it all, but wherever I am, if I pay attention, I will be able to see something. Perhaps it is an awful sight or possibly a great one, but it is there!
A woman dying of cancer told me about the last time she went to the beach. She described the waves, the sound, the smell. The way her feet went into sand as she stood at the cusp between the shore and the ocean. She saw a crab disappear into the sand. She smiled as she told me about what her husband looked like searching for a shell to take home with them.
Two days after telling me about this she died. And maybe she wondered where the time went and maybe she did not. Alas there was a moment she had at the beach that transcended time, and God smiled. In that moment she lived eternally if only because she lived in the moment.
I need to stop writing. I need to turn off my e-mail updates, and facebook pushes, and… it is time for me to have a moment, because it is here where God is.
Riding the wave of the Holy Spirit,
Garrett
Friday, July 29, 2011
Minister's Minute from August Issue of the Journal of Hope and Joy
We brought her home the other day. Our little daughter that is. She is so tiny she makes her brother seem like he is far closer to adulthood than I would like. Everyone always told me life moves quickly, and they were all right. It did not move quickly as a child, but it does now. As I age more I imagine it will move even faster.
Such a thought is equally sobering and horrifying. It is sobering in that I know that now, and therefore should not be surprised when I find myself with far fewer years to live than I have lived. It will happen. It will come up fast. Somehow it will be a surprise, because it seems to surprise everyone. “Where’d the time go?” I’ve heard so many ask. “How’d I get to be so old?” is the same sentiment asked another way.
It is sobering because it means that I know I should pay attention. I should enjoy the time I can get on the webcam with my parents or better yet I should visit more because one day I will not. Not because I will not want to, but because I will not be able to do so. I should enjoy watching my little daughter move and squirm around, and the way her eyes take in everything. I should enjoy the way my son becomes a boy because one day he will be man. I should enjoy the way clouds move in the sky. The way a Sunday service is always unique. The way people smile when helping others. I should pay attention because it is all fleeting, momentary, and worthy of my attention. I should pay attention because somewhere right now God is at work.
Yet this thought is horrifying because while I know I should do all of these things, I probably will not. I still struggle not to check my e-mails when I am having a phone conversation. I still think about what I have to do during the day when my son is talking to me over breakfast. I still am always trying to stay two-steps ahead of whatever life will throw at me. All I am doing is losing the moments I have. One day I will say with actual puzzlement, “Where’d the time go?” or “How’d I get to be so old?”
Well the time is going on right now. Somewhere my wife is playing with our little girl. Somewhere my son is running around. Somewhere a prayer is being uttered and it might be for me. Somewhere a smile is beginning. Somewhere the wind begins to blow through the leaves and braches of a mighty tree. I will not be able to see it all, but wherever I am, if I pay attention, I will be able to see something. Perhaps it is an awful sight or possibly a great one, but it is there!
A woman dying of cancer told me about the last time she went to the beach. She described the waves, the sound, the smell. The way her feet went into sand as she stood at the cusp between the shore and the ocean. She saw a crab disappear into the sand. She smiled as she told me about what her husband looked like searching for a shell to take home with them.
Two days after telling me about this she died. And maybe she wondered where the time went and maybe she did not. Alas there was a moment she had at the beach that transcended time, and God smiled. In that moment she lived eternally if only because she lived in the moment.
I need to stop writing. I need to turn off my e-mail updates, and facebook pushes, and… it is time for me to have a moment, because it is here where God is.
Riding the wave of the Holy Spirit,
Garrett
Such a thought is equally sobering and horrifying. It is sobering in that I know that now, and therefore should not be surprised when I find myself with far fewer years to live than I have lived. It will happen. It will come up fast. Somehow it will be a surprise, because it seems to surprise everyone. “Where’d the time go?” I’ve heard so many ask. “How’d I get to be so old?” is the same sentiment asked another way.
It is sobering because it means that I know I should pay attention. I should enjoy the time I can get on the webcam with my parents or better yet I should visit more because one day I will not. Not because I will not want to, but because I will not be able to do so. I should enjoy watching my little daughter move and squirm around, and the way her eyes take in everything. I should enjoy the way my son becomes a boy because one day he will be man. I should enjoy the way clouds move in the sky. The way a Sunday service is always unique. The way people smile when helping others. I should pay attention because it is all fleeting, momentary, and worthy of my attention. I should pay attention because somewhere right now God is at work.
Yet this thought is horrifying because while I know I should do all of these things, I probably will not. I still struggle not to check my e-mails when I am having a phone conversation. I still think about what I have to do during the day when my son is talking to me over breakfast. I still am always trying to stay two-steps ahead of whatever life will throw at me. All I am doing is losing the moments I have. One day I will say with actual puzzlement, “Where’d the time go?” or “How’d I get to be so old?”
Well the time is going on right now. Somewhere my wife is playing with our little girl. Somewhere my son is running around. Somewhere a prayer is being uttered and it might be for me. Somewhere a smile is beginning. Somewhere the wind begins to blow through the leaves and braches of a mighty tree. I will not be able to see it all, but wherever I am, if I pay attention, I will be able to see something. Perhaps it is an awful sight or possibly a great one, but it is there!
A woman dying of cancer told me about the last time she went to the beach. She described the waves, the sound, the smell. The way her feet went into sand as she stood at the cusp between the shore and the ocean. She saw a crab disappear into the sand. She smiled as she told me about what her husband looked like searching for a shell to take home with them.
Two days after telling me about this she died. And maybe she wondered where the time went and maybe she did not. Alas there was a moment she had at the beach that transcended time, and God smiled. In that moment she lived eternally if only because she lived in the moment.
I need to stop writing. I need to turn off my e-mail updates, and facebook pushes, and… it is time for me to have a moment, because it is here where God is.
Riding the wave of the Holy Spirit,
Garrett
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Children In Need
But Jesus was irate and let them know it: "Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom.” – Mark 10:14 (The Message)
“Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” (NRSV)
Is there any child Jesus was not talking about? Where are there children in need right now? What can Jesus do for them? What can you do as a member of the body of Christ? What will you do?
I have no story to share this week. Instead these are statistics about what is happening to children right now.
In Dougherty County in 2010 138 children suffered from neglect, 90 suffered physical abuse, 17 were abused sexually, and that is only what was reported! It is estimated that more than 80% of cases go unreported.
In an average year in Georgia 60 children will die from neglect, that is more than 1 a week.
Every day in Georgia over 40 children are victims of confirmed abuse or neglect.
34,540 children were substantiated victims of child abuse or neglect in Georgia in 2007.
Over 8,500 abused and neglected children are in state custody at any one time because their homes aren't safe.
The most recent research suggests that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.
Dougherty CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for children) is working to ensure that children who suffer this evil have a voice. The Lily Pad Center is working to ensure that people who care surround these children of the living God.
Right now many dozens of children are under the care of Dougherty CASA. They need school supplies. Children in one family need two size 6 uniforms and one size 8 uniforms for girls. This Sunday at our 11am service and our 5:30pm 5th Sundays Together First Presbyterian Church will be collecting school supplies that go to the children Dougherty CASA is caring for. We do not need bags, but everything else. Please help, it is the work of Jesus, it is the work of the kingdom. In fact these children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. If you do not live close to help, find out who supports children in your hometown. The need is everywhere.
With belief that hope and joy is on the horizon,
Garrett
“Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” (NRSV)
Is there any child Jesus was not talking about? Where are there children in need right now? What can Jesus do for them? What can you do as a member of the body of Christ? What will you do?
I have no story to share this week. Instead these are statistics about what is happening to children right now.
In Dougherty County in 2010 138 children suffered from neglect, 90 suffered physical abuse, 17 were abused sexually, and that is only what was reported! It is estimated that more than 80% of cases go unreported.
In an average year in Georgia 60 children will die from neglect, that is more than 1 a week.
Every day in Georgia over 40 children are victims of confirmed abuse or neglect.
34,540 children were substantiated victims of child abuse or neglect in Georgia in 2007.
Over 8,500 abused and neglected children are in state custody at any one time because their homes aren't safe.
The most recent research suggests that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.
Dougherty CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for children) is working to ensure that children who suffer this evil have a voice. The Lily Pad Center is working to ensure that people who care surround these children of the living God.
Right now many dozens of children are under the care of Dougherty CASA. They need school supplies. Children in one family need two size 6 uniforms and one size 8 uniforms for girls. This Sunday at our 11am service and our 5:30pm 5th Sundays Together First Presbyterian Church will be collecting school supplies that go to the children Dougherty CASA is caring for. We do not need bags, but everything else. Please help, it is the work of Jesus, it is the work of the kingdom. In fact these children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. If you do not live close to help, find out who supports children in your hometown. The need is everywhere.
With belief that hope and joy is on the horizon,
Garrett
Monday, July 18, 2011
Having Some Hope
Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. – Romans 12:12
How’s your hope? Are you patient when the bad times come up? How do you cope? What does it mean to persevere in prayer? How’s your prayer life?
The following is by William M. Buchholz, M.D. and was e-mailed to me.
As I ate breakfast one morning, I overheard two oncologists conversing. One complained bitterly, "You know, Bob, I just don't understand it. We used the same drugs, the same dosage, the same schedule and the same entry criteria. Yet I got a 22 percent response rate and you got a 74 percent. That's unheard of for metastatic cancer. How do you do it?"
His colleague replied, "We're both using Etoposide, Platinum, Oncovin and Hydroxyurea. You call yours EPOH. I tell my patients I'm giving them HOPE. As dismal as the statistics are, I emphasize that we have a chance."
In the movie “Dumb and Dumber” Lloyd asks Mary what his chances are of being able to date her. She says, “Not good.” When he asks if they are about one in a hundred not good she replies, “More like one in a million.” After pausing for a second Lloyd says, “So you’re telling me there is a chance… YEAH!” Some might say he was being optimistic but what he was really being was hopeful. Hopeful that however small the light there is, that there is a light. Paul believed there is always a light, even when it appears nearly extinguished. In that light he always had hope. It is what allowed him while locked in a prison to sing hymns and to pray. May we hold onto that same hope! With it we can do so much more.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
How’s your hope? Are you patient when the bad times come up? How do you cope? What does it mean to persevere in prayer? How’s your prayer life?
The following is by William M. Buchholz, M.D. and was e-mailed to me.
As I ate breakfast one morning, I overheard two oncologists conversing. One complained bitterly, "You know, Bob, I just don't understand it. We used the same drugs, the same dosage, the same schedule and the same entry criteria. Yet I got a 22 percent response rate and you got a 74 percent. That's unheard of for metastatic cancer. How do you do it?"
His colleague replied, "We're both using Etoposide, Platinum, Oncovin and Hydroxyurea. You call yours EPOH. I tell my patients I'm giving them HOPE. As dismal as the statistics are, I emphasize that we have a chance."
In the movie “Dumb and Dumber” Lloyd asks Mary what his chances are of being able to date her. She says, “Not good.” When he asks if they are about one in a hundred not good she replies, “More like one in a million.” After pausing for a second Lloyd says, “So you’re telling me there is a chance… YEAH!” Some might say he was being optimistic but what he was really being was hopeful. Hopeful that however small the light there is, that there is a light. Paul believed there is always a light, even when it appears nearly extinguished. In that light he always had hope. It is what allowed him while locked in a prison to sing hymns and to pray. May we hold onto that same hope! With it we can do so much more.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Clean Windows
Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn't so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you've done. – Romans 2:1-2 (The Message)
Go ahead and look up some other translation, what does this mean for you? What might Paul be calling you towards? How do you judge others? Do you know you are judging?
This story was e-mailed to me:
A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean", she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:
"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."
The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."
And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.
I once read, “It is a vital moment of truth when a man discovers that what he condemns most vehemently in others is that to which he himself is prone.” Maybe we aren’t always judging in others the faults that we ourselves have (although we often do), but we use others as a way of making sure we never have to look in the mirror and do some self-assessment. It is easier to point the finger than it is take time working on ourselves, but quite honestly, if we don’t start at home we won’t be able to help anyone else either.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Go ahead and look up some other translation, what does this mean for you? What might Paul be calling you towards? How do you judge others? Do you know you are judging?
This story was e-mailed to me:
A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean", she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:
"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."
The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."
And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.
I once read, “It is a vital moment of truth when a man discovers that what he condemns most vehemently in others is that to which he himself is prone.” Maybe we aren’t always judging in others the faults that we ourselves have (although we often do), but we use others as a way of making sure we never have to look in the mirror and do some self-assessment. It is easier to point the finger than it is take time working on ourselves, but quite honestly, if we don’t start at home we won’t be able to help anyone else either.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Minister's Minute from July Issue of the Journal of Hope and Joy
I am going to use this space for a couple of things this month. For those of you who look forward to whatever I normally write I apologize but I have to make sure you know some things.
I would love to see you at our 5th Sundays Together on July 31st! If there is one thing the South does better than other places without a doubt it is a potluck… or covered dish… or whatever term you think is best. Before we eat we will have a little time of worship and prayer and song. It is our little way of acting like that first church in the book of Acts, and it is a great way to get to know each other. I’m going to be exhausted from a lack of sleep, and changing diapers, and God knows what else, and can’t wait to see you all that night and just feel at home. Come be at home with me, Jesus is our host.
Also I hope you get a friend to bring to church on our Bring a Friend to Church Sunday on August 7th! I know it is only July but start inviting people now. Get it on their calendar! I’m writing this after our service on June 26th, and it was incredible. Someone came up to me afterwards and said, “I wish I invited my friend to come to this service, he needed it.” Too often we open up the doors of the church and just wait for people to come in. While we wait others are waiting for an invitation. The purpose of having a day for such is to make sure that we give that invitation. There will be giveaways and celebration and maybe someone’s life will change through the power of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ.
At some point during this month I will be holding a newborn, a little girl. Perhaps she will be crying, or then again maybe she will be silent, or maybe even asleep. However she is, she will be my daughter, my little one, and I shall rejoice. I think one of the reasons I want to see you all at our church is so that I do not rejoice alone. You see you have all become family to me. I thank my God that I have been able to come to this foreign land and discover family. I thank my God that I have been blessed with children and yet they will not live as aliens, for they have brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord who make sure they have all the family they need.
I think another reason I want to make sure this church is full is because I know there are others who feel all alone in our community. They need some kind of family, some kind of connection… they need us. And quite honestly we need them.
Life is better together, because there is much that we cannot do alone. We try to do a lot of things alone, but that is a mistake. Pain is easier to handle when there are others to hold us up, and joy is better when there are others to share it with. So yes I can’t wait to share my joy with you on our 5th Sunday Together, and I can’t wait to see others who may need this family on that first Sunday in August. Together we will ride the wave of the Holy Spirit into a brighter tomorrow.
Riding that wave now,
Garrett
I would love to see you at our 5th Sundays Together on July 31st! If there is one thing the South does better than other places without a doubt it is a potluck… or covered dish… or whatever term you think is best. Before we eat we will have a little time of worship and prayer and song. It is our little way of acting like that first church in the book of Acts, and it is a great way to get to know each other. I’m going to be exhausted from a lack of sleep, and changing diapers, and God knows what else, and can’t wait to see you all that night and just feel at home. Come be at home with me, Jesus is our host.
Also I hope you get a friend to bring to church on our Bring a Friend to Church Sunday on August 7th! I know it is only July but start inviting people now. Get it on their calendar! I’m writing this after our service on June 26th, and it was incredible. Someone came up to me afterwards and said, “I wish I invited my friend to come to this service, he needed it.” Too often we open up the doors of the church and just wait for people to come in. While we wait others are waiting for an invitation. The purpose of having a day for such is to make sure that we give that invitation. There will be giveaways and celebration and maybe someone’s life will change through the power of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ.
At some point during this month I will be holding a newborn, a little girl. Perhaps she will be crying, or then again maybe she will be silent, or maybe even asleep. However she is, she will be my daughter, my little one, and I shall rejoice. I think one of the reasons I want to see you all at our church is so that I do not rejoice alone. You see you have all become family to me. I thank my God that I have been able to come to this foreign land and discover family. I thank my God that I have been blessed with children and yet they will not live as aliens, for they have brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord who make sure they have all the family they need.
I think another reason I want to make sure this church is full is because I know there are others who feel all alone in our community. They need some kind of family, some kind of connection… they need us. And quite honestly we need them.
Life is better together, because there is much that we cannot do alone. We try to do a lot of things alone, but that is a mistake. Pain is easier to handle when there are others to hold us up, and joy is better when there are others to share it with. So yes I can’t wait to share my joy with you on our 5th Sunday Together, and I can’t wait to see others who may need this family on that first Sunday in August. Together we will ride the wave of the Holy Spirit into a brighter tomorrow.
Riding that wave now,
Garrett
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