Blog Redirect

Hey everyone, I am blogging over at Middle Places today.  My wife and the fine ladies there have asked their other halves to do guest posts this week in honor of Valentine's Day.  I am obviously the favored one since I get the Day itself.

Just kidding, my dearest usually does the Thursday so it was just the luck of the draw.

Anyway, head on over there and give my post a ponder (and stick around to read other great posts from the great ladies there).

Thanks for stopping by.

Too Young to Die

I get a bit thinkerly sometimes and a word or phrase will stick in my head.  If it were song lyrics, it would be considered an "ear worm," that song or portion of a song that stalks your subconscious and you swear you hear it everywhere or that just never fades out and provides a distraction, usually at an inopportune time.  But I tend to just get bits and pieces of a phrase and it causes me to think about it in depth; sometimes, much more than needed.

Today, the phrase "too young to die" has been on my mind.

Sure, the implications and depth of the phrase are troubling (from personal application especially), but I disagree with he complete concept.  Having a Judeo-Christian world view, I have to disagree with it.

I am NOT a five-point Calvinist in my theology, but I do believe things are preordained to happen.

If, God has numbered our days, how can we die too young? Sure, I understand the sentiment: very young and there was the potential for way more life had s/he lived.  And it always seems like a tragedy when a child passes.  But there is always a plan behind it.  We may never know what that is, but we are called to have faith and believe it to be true.

Newtown, Columbine, Aurora, and so many other things are truly tragedies, but they were ordered long ago.  Could something have been done to prevent these? Depends on your world view.  I think not.  Does that make me a cynic? Again, I think not.  I feel it makes me someone who has faith in My God that His ways are not my ways and His plans are bigger than mine.

I think, by way of analogy, the story of Lazarus from John 11:20-22 {ESV}:

So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.  Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

Yes, there is more to it, Jesus weeps, Lazarus comes forth, and all that, but I think the message is in these verses since it is OUR reaction to death: Why did God allow this to happen?

Why do we question God?  We need to just believe that there was a purpose and a plan for the event.  It is a hard sell, I admit.

When my time comes, I really don't want anyone to question why or think I was too young to die.  I want to have lived in such a way that there can be a celebration of what was and all to be assured that I have finally found rest.

Remiss and Remission

Just a thought.  The words remiss and remission came to mind today.  don't really know why, but it happens sometimes.  For similar root words, the definitions are very different.

To be remiss is to be negligent in a duty; while, remission is the cancellation of a debt or the temporary alleviation of pain or disease.

Two simple words, three letters added to the first to create the second.  Polar opposites. 

I have been remiss in my attention to this blog.  I have not been very consistent in my writing the past week or so.  I have also been remiss in the pursuit of my goals.  I have not run yet this month and the last several days of January have also been silent for me.  Not much I can offer by way of excuse other than I just have not been feeling it.

I have plans to get back on track and do not feel I am in an irrecoverable position yet.  It will be a bit of work, but highly possible.

Remission is something I am both thankful and hopeful for, based on the two potential definitions of the word.

I am thankful for the remission of sin through the sacrifice and subsequent ressurrection of Jesus.  He paid my sin debt and I am ever thankful for that.  I also am hopeful and praying for remission (and complete recovery) of/from my cancer.  I know God has the power.

Do NOT misunderstand, I am not laying out fleeces to test God nor am I claiming it as the only outcome I will accept and lose faith if things do not work out my way.  As it stands, I want and am actively seeking remission through prayer, lifestyle change, and diligently following medical advice.  I am, however, resigned to the fact that either way, I am good with the end result.  I have made peace with my frailty and humanity and know that no matter how this plays out it is God's design.

Sure, I want to see my 90th birthday, walk my daughter down the aisle at her wedding, hold my grandchildren and great grandchildren, see all my children well into their adulthood, love and hold my wife for a VERY VERY long time.  But if not, I know they will be well provided for through the steps I have taken financially and through the wonderful network of family and friends who will be there for them.

Just my thoughts today...aimless ramblings perhaps, but still part of the process of how my mind works.

Things I Would Like To See

I sit here thinking.

Not an unusual event for me, I think A LOT.

Sometimes, I am overwhelmed by thoughts and other times they are organized and perfectly in order.

Today, I am thinking about things I would like to see in my lifetime (in no particular order).

So, here goes...

1. Obviously, my 90th birthday would be great.
2. A book written by my wife (or in combination with her cyber sisters at Middle Places; the writing there is top notch)
3. My grandchildren, so I can spoil them to pay my children back. 
4. An earned (by me) finishers medal for a marathon in all 50 states (or at least 25 states).
5. Denmark, to get an idea of my heritage.
6. Italy, same reason.
7. Mt. Rushmore and Devil's Tower.  Different reasons, but both involve movies.
8. The "Blue Hole" in Belize from my scuba mask.
9. A cure for cancer, or at least less damaging treatments.
10. The smile in my beautiful wife's eyes (ok, what I want to see EVERYDAY not just once in my lifetime)

Simple man, simple pleasures.