Terry Esau

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

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.

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.”

My friend and fellow author, Susan Meissner, just wrote a very nice blurb about my latest book on her blog. (Hmmm, I've been blurbed on a blog. That's gonna leave a mark.) Check it out.

http://susanmeissner.blogspot.com

And then check out her brand spanking new book, The Shape of Mercy. I just 'one-clicked' it on Amazon.

Hey Breathing Lessons Class (and anyone else who drops in),
Here's our first mid-week conversation starter. After reading it, bop the comment button and throw some ideas at it. Let's see where this goes. (If you arrived here and don't know what this Breathing Lessons class is all about, check it out in my Events Calendar and come join us every Sunday, 10:45 AM at the Gleason Lake Elementary School cafeteria on Hwy 101 just north of Hwy 12 in Wayzata.)
Here's the article. Enjoy. See you all on Sunday morning.
Terry
"Compartmentalization"

Everything in the Kingdom of God Building

Compartmentalization
Def. - Dividing something into separate areas or categories.

I came across a story that fits into what we’ve been talking about in class. It talks about how we become ingrown and consumed by an "our own kind" mentality. It's from a book by John Fisher titled, "True Believer's (Don't) Ask Why."


Everything-in-the-Kingdom-of-God Building

there was a man named joe. he had pretty much come to the end of his rope. he had lost all hope. there was no purpose. no meaning. he was completely disenchanted with all that life had to offer him. basically, the music had died!
so he went walking. not going anywhere in particular, just aimlessly wandering through the countryside hoping that maybe, just maybe, he'd find a glimpse of something that might give him a reason to live again. after walking for days, or maybe weeks, he was coming to the top of a hill and he thought he heard music. "couldn't be," he thought. the music had died! but when he reached the top of the hill the music was even stronger and it seemed to be coming from a huge barn down the road. as he got closer the barn turned out to be this gigantic building, a campus of sorts, all under one roof with a hundreds of rooms.
now he could hear the music clearly. it was soothing, peaceful. the lyrics were hopeful and talked about a dream. as joe approached the front door of the building he noticed a sign over the door that read, "welcome to the everything-in-the-kingdom-of-god building."
"oh no," thought joe. this is just what i need. he knew he was vulnerable. and he didn't want to turn to "religion" like a rebound from a former lover. but...he couldn't deny the appeal. a whole group of people from the building saw him outside the door and they welcomed him like he was their long-lost friend. they were so friendly. he felt very welcome and wanted.
well...joe bit. his needy, thirsty soul drank up every drop of living water he could get into his cup...and he was ushered into the huge building in a state of complete spiritual euphoria. in short, joe fell in love with jesus.
for several years he moved from room to room in this huge building finding out more and more about the wonders of the kingdom of god.
but that was twenty years ago now, and once again, joe is restless. in twenty years, he's been through so many rooms in the "everthing-in-the-kingdom-of-god building that he wonders if there is more. each time he had moved from one room to another he had been surprised to find the building grow.
there had been the "born again" room where he was baptised and educated in the elementary doctrines of the faith. he spent most of his time in this room. 7 years. and he had some of his fondest memories of this room.
but after 7 years the room had started to get crowded, and joe wanted to move on in his christian life. that's when someone introduced him to the "second-blessing room." here he learned there was more to being a christian than just being saved. he learned to praise god like he never had before. coupled with this room was the "rapture room." it had a big rapture clock on the wall and daily seminars on the latest scholarly updates concerning the return of christ.
after all those seminars on prophecy, however, joe noticed he was hungry for the word. he realized there was so much he didn't know. fortunately he found the "discipleship room." here he immersed himself in biblical truth. there were seminars, notebooks, textbooks, lectures, small group discussions, weekend retreats; and joe soaked up everything he could get.
the next room was the biggest surprise. joe had no idea such a room could exist in the kingdom of god. maybe he had o.d.'d on spiritual truth...whatever, he landed squarely in the "apathy room"...in the basement. even though it wasn't a great experience he did find out that even there god was with him.
the next room was great...and joe was ready. this was to be the most exciting time since the "born again" room. the "renewal room." he loved the planning and the preparation that went into going back out on the streets to spread the news of the kingdom. they talked renewal; they talked about exploding evangelism; they talked about taking it to the streets. joe couldn't wait to get going,...but...then, something terrible happened. after all their training and preparation, they never made it to the streets. it seemed they had come so far into the building that no one knew how to get out.
now joe reached his lowest point in 20 years. he was bored to death drinking "christian" non-alchoholic beer in the "christian culture room." unable to find their way back to the world, all the christians have decided to create their own version of the world where they can be christians and still enjoy as much as they possibly can of the world. to joe, this is like one big decaffeinated experience. there are tv monitors with three christian networks playing at once. christian aerobics are being held continuously in one corner. there are christian music listening stations everywhere, and christian theater playing in another corner. the place is swarming with chiropractors, nutritionists, body builders, fashion experts, color consultants, psychologists, lawyers, doctors, and professional people of every kind....all operating strictly for christians in the kingdom of god.
joe sits on the floor, leaning against an old red and white banner that resembles a coca cola ad. only this one reads: "jesus is the real thing." he thinks back to that day twenty years ago when the music died. sadly he listens to all the music blaring in this room and realizes that it sounds almost as dead as the old music. in fact the old music actually seems better in his memory, for at least it was honest. it was about a dream that failed, but it was a real hope. this music is about a dream that he knows has come true, but the way it expresses that hope fails to convince him.
his spirit cries out from within him, "god, is this it? is this all there is in your kingdom?"
unable to help himself, joe picks up his guitar and starts singing one of those old songs that seem strangely appropriate: "bye, bye, miss american pie."
suddenly...joe stops. he feels a draft on the floor behind him from underneath the jesus is the real thing banner. what can this be, he wonders. crouching low to see under the banner, he discovers what looks like a crack made by the bottom of a door. squeezing behind the banner, he finds not only a door, but an unlocked door...something he hasn't found in twenty years in this building. all the other doors have doorkeepers.
joe quietly slips into the next room and discovers a musty old back room full of theater props, podiums, choir robes, broken pinball machines...most of the stuff no longer in service. there is no light on in the room; he can see, but barely. he searches to find the source of light and discovers, to his amazement, that it's coming from under two big double doors in the opposite wall.
joe recognizes it immediately as sunlight. these doors go outside!!! trembling, he gently pushes the long handle and the doors swing open, bathing him in blinding sunshine. it's been 20 years since he's seen the outside world.
slowly, as his eyes adjust to the light, he begins to make out the ridge of a hill opening into a wide valley. a stream runs through the middle of the valley, glistening in the sun. and beyond the stream, through a hazy sky, he can see the faint outline of a city. it all looks so good to him...even the smog. he wants to open his heart, to shout, to sing; ... but suddenly his mind grips down on this freedom, holding it hard and throwing it to the ground before him.
"how can i feel this way? my heart belongs to the lord, yet it's leaping at seeing the world outside." he stands frozen in the doorway. he thinks of his old friends...all the people he's lost touch with. he wonders how god could allow his heart to long for something his mind tells him is wrong.
he looks up and cries, "god, speak to me! what are you trying to say? why do i feel so torn? how can i go back inside when i feel as if you're calling me out? but how could you call me out of your kingdom? whose voice is this, god? speak to me. speak to me."
his eyes open from his prayer and immediately fall on something he didn't see before in the faint light of the room...there, over the door. it's a sign like all the other signs over all the other doors in this building. these double doors to the outside have been labeled. joe can make out a few letters but with all the dust and cobwebs, the whole title is unintelligible.
quickly he piles up a couple of wooden crates, finds a broom, and scrambling up, begins brushing off the sign over this unused exit.
what he uncovers brings unspeakable joy and resolve to his torn heart. in an instant, god has answered his prayer.
the sign simply reads:
EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

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Now all the choices are ours. Do I want to continue to integrate my spiritual beliefs with my everyday life, or do I segregate them…live in a compartmentalized way?

1 Corinthians 10:31b “…so whatever you do, do it ALL for the glory of God.”

Conclusions:
You are who you are…all the time. There is no such thing as the EKG Building!!
Don’t talk more ‘religious’ when you’re in church. Talk at the level of faith you own.
Don’t talk less ‘Christian’ when you’re with your non-Christian friends, that’s not being true to what you believe.


if we know god—have a growing intimate relationship with him, we'll be unable to live within the confines of a "building." like joe, we'll want to see the sunlight and the smog! we'll be dying to rub shoulders with the sinners of the world...who, incidentally, look a lot like us! we should be more spiritually excited to leave church than to come!! the game is out there. this is just practice.

One of the local newspapers did a story on me this past week. Check it out at...
http://www.weeklynews.com/main.asp?SectionID=10&SubSectionID=10&ArticleID=5099
(BTW, she quotes me as saying I was "grazed in gratitude." What I actually said was I was "glazed in gratitude." Subtle, but different.
If you're local and want to be part of this Breathing Lessons class every Sunday, check out the events section of my website for details. (www.terryesau.com) I'd love to see you there.

Yesterday I noticed the shadows in our front yard are getting really long. Check it out.



That means that this is a couple of weeks away.



Which means that this is just a couple of months away.



Just call me Debby Downer.