LIVING THE DREAM

Yesterday afternoon I had the "opportunity" to squeeze into a Delta window seat on an airplane the size of a Volkswagen. I typically hold my breath as I watch people come down the aisle, quietly saying to myself, "I hope it's her... I hope it's her..." and occasionally, "I hope it's him..." wondering who will be my new best friend for the next two hours. Before you think that's creepy, my one criterion? Small. I want a petite person to sit next to. 

The big biker that slowed at my row did not fit the bill. We exchanged an OK, so this is how it is glance, and he folded himself into the aisle seat. I said, "How are you doing?" He quipped, "... living the dream."

The next two hours was a dance of steel-toe-boot footsie and obligatory shoulder bumper-cars. Both seasoned travelers, and big guys, we knew the game; without a word, "You go forward, I'll go back... switch..."

Despite being a  human Pringle I did what I do best on flights: I fell into a hard, yet contorted sleep. However, I woke up just in time for the Belvitas. (Peanuts are a thing from flights long past.) 

I groggily asked my row-mate if KC was home. He said it is and that he'd been working in Detroit and spending a lot of time in the air. (Very familiar territory.) Then he said it again, "I'm just living the dream." But the way he said it struck me. "Are you?" I wondered. "Are you really living the dream? Am I?"

As we talked I realized his work wasn't his dream. But it fueled his dream. It enabled his passion. And that's a good thing. He enjoyed his work, and it gave him some freedom to pursue a dream. And what could be better?

I'm on a fence here. On one side I think, Follow your dreams and don't settle. On the other, are some of the harsh realities that life brings. You know the ones that sometimes force us into choices that aren't quite dreamlike. 

Follow your dreams is great at high school commencements. Student loans water it down just a bit at college graduations. (Mike Rowe - Dirtiest Jobs Mike Rowe - has an interesting take on the subject, but you'll have to do the Google work.) The real world, not the MTV version but the real thing, can be a face-smacker. The realness of reality creates demands of our energies, our time, and even our dreams. 

Life is more complex than any bumper-sticker theology or inspirational meme. Life happens. And in the process dreams sometime fade. That said, I admit to being a dreamer - even at my age. Even with the Niagara Falls of water already under the bridge. I'm a dreamer. There, I said it. 

I remember a line that struck me from the 1983 cinematic masterpiece Flashdance. In a poignant moment Nick says to Alex, the hip-hop-ballet-dancing welder who ran-in-placed herself into every young man's fantasy, "Don't you understand... you give up your dream, you die!" 

We are all damaged in some way: damaged psyches, damaged relationships, damaged dreams. But that's OK. As a matter of fact, it's better than OK. It's human. And it's incredible. 

Dreaming of being an astronaut as a four-year-old is easy. Continuing to dream as a 40, 50, 60-something is fantastic and difficult. The content of the dream may change. Gone are the spacesuits, to be replaced with... well, I won't attempt to fill in your blank. 

As often when I begin to emote on the keyboard, my thought hasn't run it's course. But my time has. I think I have a bunch more to say. And if you've made it even this far through my rambling, you are a warrior. And I thank you. 

So, more to come. 

Keep living the dream!

For now...

D

Untitiled

I've had a few people ask why I stopped writing. My reaction is, "I didn't!" Then I pause and do the math. Wow, I stopped writing. (I have to admit my other thought is: "Thanks for noticing!")

I didn't plan to stop. I guess the inverse is true too: I didn't have a (good) plan to keep going. The world didn't suffer in my absence; and it won't so much benefit by my input. But, I'm picking up my proverbial pen anyway. 

One of the first ditties I wrote in this blog - a forum which will be finding a new title soon - was Shooters Shoot. The idea was built around basketball and my son. 

He was an unselfish player, with great court sense, precise passing skills and tenacious defense. I constantly reminded him though, that often the best thing for the team, and therefore the most UNselfish thing, was for him to shoot. Said like a proud and overly-involved dad I know, but many times his not-so-great shot, was better than any other taken by his team for several trips down the court. 

I would unceasingly chirp, "SHOOTERS SHOOT!"

Writing has been my "shot." I was a pastor for many years and had the opportunity to speak hundreds of times per year. But times change. Directions change. Venues change. We change. But some things are constant. Shooters Shoot is one for me. 

One day I may write something that you find meaningful. Whether that happens or not, I can promise the effort and the joy of releasing the (writing) shot was meaningful to me. 

I will shoot some spiritual shots. Some people won't like it. Some will disagree. (I'm always open for mutually-respectful open-minded dialogue.) Others may too-quickly accept my words because of the ministry credentials. Don't. Weigh them. Filter them. Test them. And always know that before something hits the page, I've wrestled with it - and usually still am. 

I will shoot some inspirational shots. I'll quote Rocky, Maximus Decimus Meridius and William Wallace, along with Winnie the Pooh. I hope in these you find just a little spark to get over the hump. I hope you and I realize the incredible souls we are, and can be. We all need a push now and then. 

I will shoot some smart-ass shots. Sorry, not very pastoral. But it's who I am. And it makes me snicker as I write. 

I'll post in various spots and hope to annoy with my presence. Inspiration for me comes in spurts. So I have no idea of my shooting regularity.

So there it is for now. I'm picking up the pen - (He announced, as the world said, "huh, who are you?") No matter, Shooters Shoot.  

At least now I can say to those who asked why I stopped writing: "What are you talking about, I haven't stopped shooting." 

Yeah, but this particular blog ditty isn't inspirational. It's not spiritual. And it's certainly not smart-ass enough to be funny, you say. 

Oh well, I can't express to you at this very moment in a Detroit hotel room, how meaningful it is to me. 

That's my shot.

For now,

D

EVERYTHING

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness...

-- 2 Peter 1:3

We have everything we need.

That is a simple statement, but a hard truth to comprehend.

As I write, I am sitting on the couch in my air-conditioned house, drinking coffee. I am about to head to an air-conditioned church and sit in a padded chair - and drink more coffee. Most who read this will be in similar comfort. 

My point: I've never known extreme poverty or the desperation of searching for a meal. I can only imagine how foreign the statement, we have everything we need, might sound to a family who is being evicted, or to one having just buried a child, or to a mother combing scraps in the Matamoros Mexico dump to feed to her toddler (which I've seen).

Trite answers don't work. And American Christianity seems to often boil down to triteness and self-focus. I'll take it a step further (since it's my blog), trite and self-serving Christianity is not Christianity. And in my Christian journey, I am often guilty of "unchristianess." (Again, my blog, I can invent words.)

When we read Peter's words above, we often miss some important depth.

His divine power - Whose power? God's. (As in, "God's, period!" Not yours, not mine.)

...has granted - past tense, with continuing and ongoing results. (It's a Greek grammatical tense thing.)

...to us - This promise is given to the community of faith. And though it has individual impact, it is us, not me. (More on this in a moment.)

...all things - we have everything we need (keep reading).

...life and godliness - to live as God intends for us, (for our calling and purpose.)

This statement may sound trite, but it is true: We have everything we need in Christ. 

I have often heard it said that God will never allow me to face more than I can bear. I struggle with the statement, though the fact that I am alive and well (and writing), sings the melody of its truth. That stated, I'd like to amend the platitude: God will never allow us to face more than we can bear... together and through his strength and presence.

The Christian life is a life lived in community with others from whom and with whom we share strengths, weaknesses, joys and pain. And it is a body (Paul's analogy) that is completely interconnected drawing its strength and power from Christ.

So, with all these concepts in mind I can confidently state: We have everything we need.

I, for one, tend to want more... to look for more. A blog post I wrote in davidmstanleykineticlife.blogspot.com quotes Bono from U2, whose lyric cries, But I still haven't found what I'm looking for. 

But here is a truth I've learned and am learning: The real and worthy search in this life is not about looking for more. The worthwhile search is not the constant desire for something else, something other. The better journey is one that leads us to deeper understanding of WHO IS this one who provides, and who he has made us to be for ourselves and others.

That for which you search is not out there somewhere. It is instead found in a God who is a whisper away.

Keep searching... deeper.

God, I have everything I need... in you.

For now...

D

THE FURNACE

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 

- 1 Peter 4:12 

TV preachers who talk of happiness and material abundance as the true results of faith, tell only part of the story. We cannot appreciate abundance without knowing lack. We cannot be happy unless we've known joy in the midst of pain.

Through $30,000 smiles and caked makeup, they tell a half-true story. But where there is half-truth, there is falsehood.

I've always wondered how their message would sit with the Apostle Paul. "Paul," they might say, "if you truly had faith, you would be on a yacht and not in a dungeon. God wants you to be healthy, happy and rich." 

Paul might smile to himself - or cry - and continue writing the words:

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.

In any and every circumstance, I learned the secret 

of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 

I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM WHO STRENGTHENS ME. 

-- Philippians 4:11-13 

Yes, God does want us to know joy. Jesus is the embodiment of joy. His presence is the fullness of joy. As one (non-makeuped) preacher put it... KNOW JESUS, KNOW JOY. NO JESUS. NO JOY.

Yes, God does want us to experience abundance. And sometimes with that abundance comes wealth. But wealth measured in only stuff and money is not true wealth.

When we buy what the half-truth-tellers sell, we pay the consequences. We are surprised by trial. Worse, we feel deceived or defeated by trial's mere presence.

If you will allow an old preacher to preach for a moment (through morning-coffee teeth and with a new blemish on my cheek (who gets those at my age anyway?) - in other words, no $30K smile or makeup)... 

...The fire of trial will not defeat you. 

...It may burn away some things that, though painful, ultimately hold you back. 

...It will not consume you. 

...The fire of trial will REFINE you. It will FORGE your character. It will make you who can be. 

...And in the midst of the heat, you will find the presence of JOY.

I can't say that I have learned to look forward to trials. I don't necessarily embrace them (before or during). But I am better for the pain. And I bear the scars with an odd joy (and almost pride). I don't look forward to my next fiery trial. But I fear it less. Because within every furnace I've walked, there has been one who walks with me.



God, you have always been with me through the fire of trial. Refine me. Forge me.

For now...
D

Past / PASSED

Not that anyone in my little new FB circle needs wisdom from me - my wisdom pool runs pretty shallow anyway. But on the off chance it's encouraging in any way, this is what I'm thinking through today. (Partially plagiarized, partially original - kind of like the hundreds of sermons I preached over the years).

I Am Not Defined By My Past.

Today I am thankful that my past does not define me.

I am more than the culmination of my decisions and circumstances.

My past is just that... past; and it does not dictate my present or my future.

I am not defined by my past: I learn from it... I grow because of it... I find in it both joy and pain.

But I am more than my past. I am present... and I have a future.

Don't believe me... then take it up with the Creator!

Jesus: I have come that you may have life, and have it to the fullest.

Father: “I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

Paul: Forgetting and forgiving the past, I look forward to what lies ahead...

Father, thank you that my Past has PASSED.

For now...

D

HIDING PLACES (a stumbler's walk post)

There is no fear in love, 

but perfect love casts out fear.

--1 John 4:18

Fear cannot reside where love is. In the same way that light, by its very presence, drives away darkness, true love chases away fear. 

As children, we played Hide-and-Seek. I remember feeling a strange dread while hiding in corners of dark closets. I could hear the IT coming close and I would try not to breathe. Fear of being exposed was a little too gripping for a simple child's game. If the IT might just pass me by, just this once, I'd bolt from my hiding spot in hopes of reaching Home Base. There at Home Base I could stand and face the IT with no fear - no fear of exposure, no fear of being caught, no fear whatsoever. 

As adults we play Hide-and-Seek. The game is more covert. It is mostly internal. And it is not much of a game. We hide in closet corners of our own construction. And in the darkness, we fear being exposed. 

Ironically, in this version, there is no IT. Maybe better - the hiding itself is the IT. Lastly, lest I stretch the analogy too far, Home Base is not a static destination. Instead, our Home Base is a person. He is a person both to whom we run for refuge, and who seeks us out, even when we hide in shadows. 

His light exposes us. But just as darkness races away when light invades, fear fails when love enters the scene. Fear becomes memory, and at Home Base we find freedom. 

Jesus said, "I came to seek and save that which was lost," (Luke 19:10). That includes us, hiding in the shadows of our closet corners. He seeks us out and he shines darkness-defeating light into our lives. 

Where light is, darkness cannot be.

Where love is, fear cannot be.

Where Jesus is there is light and love. 

God, forgive me of my closet corners. Be my Home Base.

For now...

D

SUFFICIENT GRACE

My grace is sufficient for you...

--2 Corinthians 12:9

Do you need grace today? I'll ask another way: Do you need power? 

We tend to think of grace in terms of covering our inadequacies, a balm applied to our failures. These are true, but grace is and does much more.

It is by grace that we are not given what we deserve. It is by grace that we are given what we do not deserve.

As James puts it:

Every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.  

--James 1:17

Q: How powerful is grace?
A: It is sufficient.

Wait, shouldn't this covering and empowering grace be overwhelmingly abundant? Shouldn't God cover a "3" on the need-grace scale with a "10" measure of grace? Shouldn't there be puddles of grace everywhere around after the grace shower rains down; so we can scoop a little extra up and store it away for use later?

Grace doesn't work like that. (Think manna from heaven; Exodus 16 - it's worth a read). New grace is given each day; actually moment by moment. Leftover grace, if there were such a thing, would spoil. And future grace, though promised, cannot be utilized. Today's grace... this moment's grace is sufficient for you. It is sufficient to completely cover, completely forgive, completely empower.

And how strong must we be? Well, our part is to rely on God's grace. To lean on and into his power. Our job is to embrace weakness and trust his strength. God says:

...my power is made perfect in weakness. 

--2 Corinthians 12:9

It would be easy to write of God's sufficient grace at certain times. This is not one of those times. It is a time when the preacher (or blogger, as the case may be) must hear and apply what he is writing. (Actually, every time is that time.)

God, I am weak, but you are strong. I need your sufficient grace.

For now...
D