JoJo, A Groundhog, and Yoda

My dog JoJo and I struggle with our relationship. I know there are dog-lovers out there who love their dogs unconditionally. No matter what your dog does you continue to love them. I don't know whether to respect that or make fun of it. I named my dog JoJo to remind myself that it was my idea to get this dog. Some people think I am like the famous boxer George Foreman who named his four boys George and one daughter's middle name is George. I used to laugh about that until I talked with an old boxer named Scott LeDoux who actually knew Foreman. He told me he had asked George why he named all his kids George. George said, "I never knew my Daddy's name. I wanted my kids to know their Daddy's name." I liked that and have not made fun of it since. Anyway, the other day I heard JoJo making a ruckus outside. That is never a good sign. I went out and found JoJo in a life and death struggle with a groundhog. JoJo was nearly out of her mind trying to get this groundhog who was circling and trying to keep from being dragged off by this crazy dog. JoJo is a Jack Russell Terrier so she and the groundhog were about the same size. I was shouting at JoJo to cease and desist. She was in a zone and I could not break through. I was afraid the groundhog might get the better of her. He looked like he came from a rougher neighborhood. JoJo was barking her head off and circling, the groundhog was spitting and biting and circling, and I was shouting and yelling and circling. Finally JoJo got close enough to me for me to grab her and take her inside. It was one of those times that my adrenaline was pumping and I was frustrated that JoJo would not listen. My dad came in a few minutes later. He had witnessed the whole thing. He said simply, "JoJo was doing what she was made to do. She was trying to protect us with all she's got." That is all he said and then he left. Living with my dad next door is like having Yoda as a neighbor. He's old and wrinkled but wow, he has some wisdom. I am glad he hasn't started talking like Yoda yet, "Protect us she must." After dad left I looked at JoJo and my whole demeanor changed. I picked her up on my lap and looked in her eyes. I think she really would lay her life down to protect me if she could. She really does just do what she is wired to do. I think I project myself onto her sometimes. I am the one who rebels against my Master. So, I am thankful for three things. I am thankful for a dog who is more giving and sacrificial that I am. I am thankful for a Master who loves me unconditionally even though I do such silly, stupid, and rebellious things sometimes. And I am thankful to have Yoda next door to remind me of truth when I have ears to hear.

The Wallet Purge

The first time I met John Durfee was on a mission trip in the Philippines. It did not take long for me to really like John. He is extremely bright, so much so he would be dangerous if his heart had not been so changed by God. John's heart is very soft. As soft as anyone I know and I love that about him. John and his wife both have put their money where their heart is and invested in ministries all over the world and even brought the needs of the world into their home through adoption. Anyway, John called me some time ago about a friend he met in Guatemala who was running an orphanage while pastoring a church. I find it tough enough to do the one. John brought Pastor Jacobo up to visit and we met in Starbucks two days ago. They were heading to Charlotte to meet another friend of mine who has a heart for orphans and the means to make a difference to many. At the end of the meeting at Starbucks we prayed together and as they left I felt compelled to do something. I grabbed John and emptied my wallet into his hands and sputtered something about gas money for the trip. I did it in part because my friend Tom Randall gives every missionary he meets a hundred dollar bill. He keeps several of them tucked in his wallet at all times in case he meets a gaggle of missionaries. I could be putting him in danger but since he hangs with mostly professional golfers I think he is safe. The other reason I did it is because of John. Love is a strong elixir. The purer the love the stronger it impacts people who are close to it. John's love for Jesus and the children Jesus loves made me love too. Sometimes it is good to allow someone to inspire you to love and then empty your wallet completely. I think everyone should do it a couple of times a year. Call it a love inspired wallet purge. I don't care how much money you carry in your wallet, what the purge will do for your soul is worth every dime.

A Drop of Grace

My son Jeremy is home and that means I have my bicycle riding buddy back. We are not exactly recreational riders. We don't stop to smell the roses or anything else for that matter. We rate a good ride not on the basis of the beauty of God's creation but on the volume of sweat that the ride produced. Anyway, the other day we were riding on the paved bike path. There were a couple of ladies riding toward us and Jeremy glided in behind me so we would be single file. The ladies were busy talking (imagine that?!) and did not move to single file. Three bikes passing on the bike path can be a little dicey especially when two of the riders don't recognize it is about to happen. So, Jeremy and I are hurtling toward these unsuspecting chatter boxes at about 22 mph. The gap closes surprisingly fast at that speed and I wait until I cannot wait anymore and yell for them to get over. It is hard to gauge a yell on a bike because you are moving one direction and your voice seems to be grabbed by the wind and heads in the opposite direction. I am sure a physics person can explain it. Anyway, the woman hears me yell and looks up in time to quit talking and get her bike over just in time for us to rush by like a train. Jeremy is a man of few words so he moves up next to me and we just look at each other and roll our eyes. We don't say anything but both of us are thinking, "Those crazy women. How hard is it to look ahead every once in a while to see if someone is coming?" We rode in silence for the next few miles but it was like a dark cloud covered us. We weren't saying stuff out loud but the thoughts themselves were dark and that was enough. We kept riding to our turn around place and then started heading back. As we headed back it occurred to me that we might pass the ladies again and sure enough I saw them around the next bend. They were side by side again happily chatting away. They would later be sorely disappointed at the amount of sweat their ride produced. We rode up and as we did I found myself feeling a little uneasy. We hadn't said much about the ladies but I had yelled and we had thought plenty of bad thoughts and even bad thoughts have an impact. We yelled up ahead that we were going to pass and as we did the one lady looked up and yelled, "Sorry about that guys." That is all she had time to say. We were long gone. But that is all it took. Jeremy pulled up next to me and we looked at each other and nodded and said, "Those are some nice ladies." A single drop of grace and she not only redeemed what we thought about her but she unknowingly released us from a cloud of dark thoughts. Today, I have already had opportunity to use a drop of grace here and there. It is some powerful stuff and if enough leaks out of you it will change everyone around you today.

Saviors, Lovers, and Good Old Cleveland

I keep thinking about the LeBron thing. I have a lot of thoughts. There are a lot of layers. There is the action of LeBron, the reaction of many fans, the re-reaction of other fans to the irate fans, the response of Dan Gilbert, the reaction to the response of Dan Gilbert, the response of people who see this as a symptom of what is wrong with our country. The whole thing is pretty amazing. Here is my thought. Whether LeBron intended to be or not, he became a savior of sorts. He was going to put all of us on his back and bring us to the Holy Grail of a Championship and release us from the dungeon of sports losership where we have languished since the 1950's. I hope I have mixed enough metaphors. That was exhausting. Ezekiel 16 is an allegory. It is very raw and if it were not in the Bible it would be profane. In the allegory there is a groom who courts a young woman. He does everything for her and makes her ravishing in her beauty and her apparel. She uses that to attract other lovers and has sex with one after another breaking the heart of her husband. At the end of the chapter God comes out to say the allegory is about him. He is the groom and we are the unfaithful woman who looked for love everywhere else. Then God says that her lovers will come and cut her to pieces. It is a strange thing to say. God isn't the one who will cut her to pieces. All her lovers will. God warns us that we are prone to give our affection, to place our hope for self worth on things that are not worthy and will not last. He tells us that those lovers will eventually turn on us and break our hearts. I saw photos of people sobbing at the news that LeBron was leaving. I have sat in my office with grown men who are inconsolable after being fired from a job they had given their lives to. I have seen mothers sob over a child who is breaking their heart. If you are as old as I am you have felt your heart break and sometimes it is a greater and deeper breaking. It is a lover coming back and cutting us to pieces. It is someone or something we have made into a Savior. Someone or something that will make our lives worthwhile. I keep thinking about LeBron but I keep thanking God for the One savior who promised me he would never leave and never forsake. And here is the good news...He is still in Cleveland.

The Messiah Has Left the Building

I realize everyone who reads this blog is not a Cleveland Cavalier fan but unless you are from another planet you know what has happened with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. I have found it fascinating for a long time how advertisers have made such a conscious effort to cast LeBron in a messianic role. From the 50 foot billboard with his arms outstretched as if on a cross to the black "Witness" t-shirts the message has been clear. LeBron James would bring sports salvation to a city that so desperately longed for redemption. I just heard a Sportscaster say that LeBron has crushed the collective Cleveland soul. Well, LeBron decided to go to Miami in pursuit of his own agenda. His explanation kept going back to the same theme. "I just need to do what makes me happy." Not exactly a messianic tone. It has me thinking of what a wonderful Savior we actually have. Imagine If Jesus ever held a news conference to tell the world that he was just going to do what made him happy. Last night reminded me how rare a Messiah really is. Let's be honest. You are not one and nor am I. We are all much more like LeBron than we have ever wanted to admit. The good news is that is no surprise to the real Messiah. He knew all along what we were really like and yet he went ahead and sacrificed for us. Not just his chance at a championship, this One sacrificed everything. And we are witnesses.