Monday, October 27, 2008
Family
Yesterday we celebrated my dad's 89th birthday and mom and dad's 61st wedding anniversary. (The actually date is Halloween...that's right my dad was born on Halloween and they got married on Halloween. His less than endearing joke is "I married a witch on Halloween and she's been Gobblin up my money ever since." He's 89, cut him some slack.) It was a pretty cool day.
This morning I wrote an email to my family. Here are those thoughts.
Hey family,
Just wanted to say how much I (we) enjoyed being with you all yesterday. Like I told Dianne in an email this morning, we may have a quirky family, but it's a darned good one. There was something that felt durable yesterday--I could sense the history as mom and dad told (at length) the story of their first meeting, and then seeing little Sam running around with his odd dancing/prancing run oblivious to what was going on--just being, in the safety of our family.
I love that our family is a safe place to be. (Well, it was safe for most everyone but Ryan. Dude, when the first political ball gets lobbed into the air, you need to run for cover. Three or four generations from now, with the dilution of the gene pool, your great grandchildren might be able to sit around a table and talk politics without fear of bodily harm, but that time hasn't come yet.)
Actually, I saw something that really warmed my heart. After one of the particularly forceful barrages, Ryan got up to dab his bloodied nose and was standing by the kitchen door. I then saw DeVon get up and go over there and put his arm around Ryan. That spoke loudly...a father and son who strongly disagree on 'red and blue,' and yet it doesn't affect their relationship, it doesn't hold any power to diminish their love for each other. That was a cool picture of why I think our family is durable--disagreements are distantly peripheral to our love and commitment to one another.)
The commitment of mom and dad to each other for 61 years of marriage! The commitment of dad, who at 89 years old still prays for each of us by name every day. That's a bull horn that reminds me to live a life of humble love.
So, I just wanted to say that I'm proud to be blood with you all. Proud to call you my family.
Terry
This morning I wrote an email to my family. Here are those thoughts.
Hey family,
Just wanted to say how much I (we) enjoyed being with you all yesterday. Like I told Dianne in an email this morning, we may have a quirky family, but it's a darned good one. There was something that felt durable yesterday--I could sense the history as mom and dad told (at length) the story of their first meeting, and then seeing little Sam running around with his odd dancing/prancing run oblivious to what was going on--just being, in the safety of our family.
I love that our family is a safe place to be. (Well, it was safe for most everyone but Ryan. Dude, when the first political ball gets lobbed into the air, you need to run for cover. Three or four generations from now, with the dilution of the gene pool, your great grandchildren might be able to sit around a table and talk politics without fear of bodily harm, but that time hasn't come yet.)
Actually, I saw something that really warmed my heart. After one of the particularly forceful barrages, Ryan got up to dab his bloodied nose and was standing by the kitchen door. I then saw DeVon get up and go over there and put his arm around Ryan. That spoke loudly...a father and son who strongly disagree on 'red and blue,' and yet it doesn't affect their relationship, it doesn't hold any power to diminish their love for each other. That was a cool picture of why I think our family is durable--disagreements are distantly peripheral to our love and commitment to one another.)
The commitment of mom and dad to each other for 61 years of marriage! The commitment of dad, who at 89 years old still prays for each of us by name every day. That's a bull horn that reminds me to live a life of humble love.
So, I just wanted to say that I'm proud to be blood with you all. Proud to call you my family.
Terry
Friday, October 3, 2008
Horsies, fishies, and stogies
Last weekend I was part of a men's retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming...man camp. It was a variety of outdoor adventures surrounded by great discussion and spiritual digging. Our first day we went fly fishing, floating down the Snake river in Grand Teton National Park. I caught four or five fish. Check out this trout.
Oh, I thought you might enjoy a self-portrait...kinda vacuous, huh?
The second day we went horseback riding up in the mountains...way cool. Here's me and my ride, Gillian.
Here's our horses...weirdest thing, as soon as I pulled out the camera they turned their backs to me. Notice Oscar, with his tail in the air...not sure what he was trying to tell me.
Here's Steve and Pat. We all determined they pulled of the cowboy thing better than the rest of us.
We wrapped up our evenings by doing something a bit odd...we'd fire up our stogies and go lie down in the middle of the paved road and stare at the stars. (Traffic is pretty sparse, only one vehicle came by in the two nights we did this. Of course, I think that driver was pretty curious about why a bunch of grown men were, uh, reclining on the pavement at midnight.) I've got to tell you, I've never seen so many stars. Shooting stars! It was like God was showing off. (I wrote a chapter about this in my last book, check it out.)
The last day we hiked up into the Tetons. Breathtaking! Feet got a bit sore.
We came across this mountain lake with a huge boulder along the shore. We climbed about thirty feet up, stripped to our boxers and jumped. Well, technically, Pat appears to be in 'tighty-whities.' Here we are posing. That water was ridiculously cold!
We wrapped up our last night with a prayer time and communion at this cool log-cabin church in the foothills. The front wall of the chapel was a glass wall with a cross looking up at the Tetons. It was almost as if you could feel God walking about, enjoying it all.
Our trip ended Blazing Saddles style, with beans around the campfire. Okay, actually it ended with a buffalo steak at the Cowboy Bar downtown Jackson Hole. Real cowboys? Uh, no.
Oh, I thought you might enjoy a self-portrait...kinda vacuous, huh?
The second day we went horseback riding up in the mountains...way cool. Here's me and my ride, Gillian.
Here's our horses...weirdest thing, as soon as I pulled out the camera they turned their backs to me. Notice Oscar, with his tail in the air...not sure what he was trying to tell me.
Here's Steve and Pat. We all determined they pulled of the cowboy thing better than the rest of us.
We wrapped up our evenings by doing something a bit odd...we'd fire up our stogies and go lie down in the middle of the paved road and stare at the stars. (Traffic is pretty sparse, only one vehicle came by in the two nights we did this. Of course, I think that driver was pretty curious about why a bunch of grown men were, uh, reclining on the pavement at midnight.) I've got to tell you, I've never seen so many stars. Shooting stars! It was like God was showing off. (I wrote a chapter about this in my last book, check it out.)
The last day we hiked up into the Tetons. Breathtaking! Feet got a bit sore.
We came across this mountain lake with a huge boulder along the shore. We climbed about thirty feet up, stripped to our boxers and jumped. Well, technically, Pat appears to be in 'tighty-whities.' Here we are posing. That water was ridiculously cold!
We wrapped up our last night with a prayer time and communion at this cool log-cabin church in the foothills. The front wall of the chapel was a glass wall with a cross looking up at the Tetons. It was almost as if you could feel God walking about, enjoying it all.
Our trip ended Blazing Saddles style, with beans around the campfire. Okay, actually it ended with a buffalo steak at the Cowboy Bar downtown Jackson Hole. Real cowboys? Uh, no.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
President Jesus?
A local radio station asked me to be part of a discussion today on Christians and politics. I couldn't do the show, but I wrote something for them to read. Check it out.
Here are a few of my thoughts on this election…for what they’re worth.
I love this country. I love our system of government. And I try to love the people who run our government, (admittedly with sporadic success) including the ones I disagree with.
But something is desperately broken.
Somehow we've stopped being a people who dream, and have become a people who control, and manipulate, and spin, and blame, and posture. Candidates don't campaign for election anymore, they petition for the demise of their opponent. They say, "I'd like your vote, but more importantly here are 5 reasons why we need to bring down Senator Know-Nothing.”
“Of the people, by the people, and for the people” has become “Patronize the people, target-market the people, and harvest the voting-blocks of people.”
But we can’t lay all the blame on the politicians. Our blindfolds are self-constructed and self-applied.
We know what we're against more than what we're for. We fall for prime-time personalities when we should be seeking out humble, authentic altruism. We opt for slick personas rather than passionate character. We rarely listen to and deliberate contrary opinions. Intellectual arrogance is epidemic, and it most often finds it’s greatest patriotism in the company of ignorance.
Both parties seem to share equally in this subterfuge. It even appears, for the most part, that Christ-followers fare little better when it comes to campaign integrity.
Still, I can’t help but wonder, how would Jesus run a campaign? (Assuming he would actually ‘run’ for office)
It seems to me he would:
Talk straight without talking down
Disagree without belittling
Contradict without slandering
Own his words, not spin them
Serve people, not segment them
Demonstrate a hope deeper than simply lowering taxes
Demonstrate a currency of love that dwarfs handouts and bailouts
Demonstrate a charity that feeds children—all of them
Institute an economy of grace void of ledgers
Wash the feet of detractors, not wash his hands of responsibility
I wonder if he would get distracted by children, and ask them what they needed, what they wanted? I wonder if he’d forego speeches to sit with the homeless and brainstorm with the entrepreneurs?
I wonder if he might run on a platform he laid out years ago…”Love God, Love people.” Period.
I wonder what it would be like if America ran on the fuel of love—if our politicians chose to be the greatest champions of that fuel?
I suspect we would once again be the nation of great hope for the world…or better yet, we could legitimately point to the Source of that hope. Maybe we could even say, “In God we trust.”
Here are a few of my thoughts on this election…for what they’re worth.
I love this country. I love our system of government. And I try to love the people who run our government, (admittedly with sporadic success) including the ones I disagree with.
But something is desperately broken.
Somehow we've stopped being a people who dream, and have become a people who control, and manipulate, and spin, and blame, and posture. Candidates don't campaign for election anymore, they petition for the demise of their opponent. They say, "I'd like your vote, but more importantly here are 5 reasons why we need to bring down Senator Know-Nothing.”
“Of the people, by the people, and for the people” has become “Patronize the people, target-market the people, and harvest the voting-blocks of people.”
But we can’t lay all the blame on the politicians. Our blindfolds are self-constructed and self-applied.
We know what we're against more than what we're for. We fall for prime-time personalities when we should be seeking out humble, authentic altruism. We opt for slick personas rather than passionate character. We rarely listen to and deliberate contrary opinions. Intellectual arrogance is epidemic, and it most often finds it’s greatest patriotism in the company of ignorance.
Both parties seem to share equally in this subterfuge. It even appears, for the most part, that Christ-followers fare little better when it comes to campaign integrity.
Still, I can’t help but wonder, how would Jesus run a campaign? (Assuming he would actually ‘run’ for office)
It seems to me he would:
Talk straight without talking down
Disagree without belittling
Contradict without slandering
Own his words, not spin them
Serve people, not segment them
Demonstrate a hope deeper than simply lowering taxes
Demonstrate a currency of love that dwarfs handouts and bailouts
Demonstrate a charity that feeds children—all of them
Institute an economy of grace void of ledgers
Wash the feet of detractors, not wash his hands of responsibility
I wonder if he would get distracted by children, and ask them what they needed, what they wanted? I wonder if he’d forego speeches to sit with the homeless and brainstorm with the entrepreneurs?
I wonder if he might run on a platform he laid out years ago…”Love God, Love people.” Period.
I wonder what it would be like if America ran on the fuel of love—if our politicians chose to be the greatest champions of that fuel?
I suspect we would once again be the nation of great hope for the world…or better yet, we could legitimately point to the Source of that hope. Maybe we could even say, “In God we trust.”
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