More on Hope

It's a bit ironic that about 10 days ago I wrote the previous post about hope. First, the movie I mentioned was just on TV tonight, and I heard the line that I slightly misquoted. Second, and here's where it gets almost surreal, I was asked by John Turner, a friend of mine and an author, to look over a couple of chapters of his new book before it goes to the publisher in its final form. The two chapters I was to look at were about faith and hope.

It was while reading the latter chapter that I finally understood why I am led to this topic, and why it keeps coming up in so much of my daily business. I am to increase my measure of hope to do whatever it is that I must do in the coming days, weeks, months, and years of my life. I'm not one who thinks that God goes about talking directly to me about his will for me, but I know that he is not one to stand and let me miss an opportunity to live this life more abundantly. It is not only in his power to reveal his will to me, but I think that it is in my best interest and his greatest desire to make known to me what he wants for me.

He told Abram that he would be the father of nations. That doesn't mean that Abraham, as he was later called, would ever see those nations. In fact, Abraham only saw two sons born to himself. He knew what it meant to hope in light of a promise made by God. He knew that what God promised, he would deliver. He knew that God would give him land when he left his home. He knew at the alter, about to sacrifice the very child God had given him, that God would make the promise good. He knew. Many people think that these are examples of his faith, and I will not deny it. But, they are also examples of hope. Hope empowers faith. Hope is the unseen of which faith becomes the evidence and substance. Hope is why our works show our faith. Without it, faith has no reason. Hope is what faith's works work toward.

John Turner's soon-to-be-released book on parenting says all of these things more articulately and more completely than I do here. And, since he seems to be my only reader, I'm not sure how to foot note the above paragraph which was inspired by his as yet unpublished work. Thanks John.

"Hope is a good thing, perhaps the best thing."

This is, I'm sure, a mis-quote of a line from the film, The Shawshank Redemption. Stephen King wrote the novel on which it was based, and I can't help but wonder if he gave thought to the message of The Bible when interjecting this thought in a letter from a prison escapee to a recent parolee.

The analogy of this world and our bondage to sin as being like a prison is often alluded to in sermons, books, and film. A friend with whom I work was taken to Dekalb County Jail on February third of this year on a domestic complaint that was filed two years ago in Chicago, and he stayed there for ten days. His name will be cleared of the charges, but his experience of going to jail and not knowing when he would be free left a deep impression on him.

As he told me of his experience, his voice was "filled" with a lack of hope. I wish I could have chosen better words for that sound; but, it was just that, a fullness that expressed emptiness. He said, "Once you are in there, man, they've got you, and you don't know when, how, or even if you will ever be free again."

I'm reminded of my sin. It has me. I sometimes think, hopelessly, that I don't know when, how, or even if I will ever be free of it. But, I have a letter from the only one who has ever broken sin's prison bars. Indeed, he is the one who paroled me from my sentence of death for sin's sake. This letter epresses how hope is a good thing, perhaps the best thing left in this world. It promises me citizenship into the Kingdom of Heaven, and it says my filthy prison uniform will be changed into a pure white robe.

WHAAAASSSSAAAAAAAA?

That was one of the commercials that originally aired on Super Bowl Sunday a few years back. I know that there was a product involved, but at the moment it is not clear what that product was. Most likely beer. There will, no doubt, be more of these great commercials debuting tonight during Super Bowl 40 (not to be confused with Super Bowl Extra Large). If it wasn't for the Super Bowl, the average person would have no use for Roman numerals.

Every year we meet at David's house (where the projection TV lives) to enjoy the game, the half-time show, and the new commercials. The kids run around and make noise; the food is hot, brown, and plentiful; and, the game is on two TVs and the internet. Despite not being a fan, I enjoy watching it. I just don't follow the commentary or statistics of each team or individual players.

I'm not an avid sports fan, nor do my friends expect me to be. John and Dane do a good job of explaining the finest points of the game to me as I have questions, and they manage to do so without making me feel like a loser. Chuck and David enjoy the game, the food, and staying ahead of the announcers. Others successfully pretend not to be annoyed by my lack of enthusiasm for the culture surrounding the game. I love them all for their part in this annual ritual. GO TEAM!

How many times has this happened?

How many times have you made up your mind that you would do something, and you did it? You made a plan and followed through. Nothing stood in the way of your resolve. Well, if you look at the post that I created September the 20th, you will see another failed resolution. I hate New Year's Resolutions because I know this about myself: I don't keep them. I tried not to call my lifestyle choices "a diet" for fear that it would fail. I am still off of sodas, but the salad thing got old. Even the exercise is old, and it really shouldn't be. I love doing that chi kung, but I'm slowing down.

I'm not looking to excuse myself of the conviction that was present in September. I'm actually trying to encourage myself to get back to it.

I looked back over the posts I created, and here is the update.

Work... I like what I do. Commission sales is fun and profitable. The nature of what I do on a daily basis leaves a great deal of time between customers. I am still looking (and I have a few leads) for a way to use that time to write for money.

Fitness... See the first two paragraphs of this post.

Family... My girl is growing more and more headstrong. She is determined to question everything, and I glory in the wonder with which she approaches life. I'm also more aware now of what Jesus means when He talks about the faith of a child. God, Jesus, and Heaven are in many if not most of the conversations she has.
My wife loves teaching. She is a natural. I've spoken with a number of her colleagues, and they think the world of her. She lights up when she talks about what she does, and it even makes me think that Math might be fun to learn (from her at least).

I'm not really sure why I stopped to write here accept that I can not sleep and needed to get a few thoughts together in order to make up mind about some stuff. Perhaps I'll unscramble my mind enough to be more specific about it later, but it looks like I'm past the writer's block.

Sorry I took a month to write

What about your life do you think should have been different? Robert Frost says in his poem "The Road Not Taken" that he saved the alternate route of his journey for another day, "yet knowing how way leads onto way," doubted that he would go back and try the other path. I've heard many people call this poem "The Road Less Travelled," as they look only at the last line to glean its meaning. But Frost's title implies that he regrets not having taken the road more travelled, and the last stanza's tone is forlornly pensive.

So, what roads do I feel sorry that I did not take?

I wonder what it would have been like if I had stayed in Texas instead of returning home after college.
I wonder also if I had not left Greater Atlanta Christian in 1989.
I wonder how things would be now if I had not left BellSouth to go back into teaching.
I wonder where I would be if only I had...

You know, whatever path I've taken and whichever paths I currently choose, God walks with me, and I don't need to feel, as Frost did, that the road he took made all the difference. I know that the Father who goes before me, the Son who walks beside me, and the Spirit who lives within me make all the difference in my journey.

I hope that this post was worth waiting a month for.

Killing Myself

Don't worry. I am planning no such thing! I have been a strong proponent of staying fit most of my adult life. I've taught Kung Fu for a decade and a half, been through two summers of US Army physical training, and was a gymnast in collage. About a week and half ago, I weighed in at 260 pounds during an insurance physical. I noticed that I felt pain when trying to tie my own shoes. I became winded just playing with my four-year-old daughter.

I don't understand how any of my Kung Fu students can take what I have to say about health to heart when I am so out of shape.

I've been reading the book by Kevin Trudeau, Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About. If you can get past his obvious and admitted sales pitch, he offers a perspective on healthy living without drugs or surgery that I have understood and raved about from the time I started teaching Kung Fu. Reading his "tirade" about how we are killing ourselves brought my attention to the way I was eating, avoiding exercise, and living with pain that's unnatural for a man of 39 years (my previous post was on my birthday).

Today is the 5th day of my new routine. I'm avoiding calling what I'm doing a "diet" because I want to make this lifestyle a habit and not a phase I am going through or a fad I latched onto.

I get up and drink water.
I exercise (a Tibetan Chi Gung I learned from an old Chinese guy).
I eat a good and filling breakfast.
I snack only on nuts, fruits, and an occasional bottle of fruit juice.
I drink water throughout the day. ( I am beginning to crave it.)
The largest part of my lunch and supper is salad, but some meat and starch are not forbidden.
I drink water before going to bed.

Notice, I have given up all carbonated beverages (even my Diet Pepsi and Diet Dr. Peppers)!After only 5 days, I can't say that I've lost weight, but I've felt better today, all day, because of the choices I made.

Standing Next to Steven

The origins of the address of my blog are not clouded in mystery. My closest friends and I share a common view of how God chooses to bless us, in particular me, my wife, and our daughter. It all too often seems as though blessings fall from the sky, unbidden, to more than provide for our physical and financial needs. John Alan Turner wrote about me on his blog last September 2nd (http://johnalanturner.blogspot.com/2004_09_01_johnalanturner_archive.html) that "so many good things happen to him, that all I have to do is stand next to him -- something outrageously cool is bound to fall on me."

I would love to tell you that it's because I'm living right, but I'd be lying. I still worry that I'm not doing enough or working hard enough to earn what I make. (I almost edited that last sentence, but look at the last two words to see into my heart.) He keeps on blessing me in spite of my undeserving behavior and attitudes.

He allows the sun to shine on us all. He causes it to rain on the just and the unjust. If He clothes, feeds, and provides abundantly for me in spite of my efforts to earn it all, perhaps I don't have to earn all of His gifts. Maybe my salvation has already been paid for in full without my having earned it. That being said, I am all the more appreciative of it.