Sliding

Wow. This is too much.

KETK-NBC news anchors ask: “Will the acceptance of homosexuality in this society be the downfall of America?”

"So?" you ask. "What's the problem? They're taking a survey, getting the audience input. Happens all the time in this land of free speech. So?"

I discovered this info on a site demanding that NBC drop this local Texas TV affiliate because this is intolerable, apparently. The site asserted the following:

Yes, that was a question actually posed to viewers by a Texas-based NBC affiliate TV station, both on the air and online. But it didn’t end there.

Oh, no, it didn't end there. The station then proceeded to have the gall to actually allow callers to answer this question! How dare they? Didn't they know that some people might actually believe that cultural embracing of homosexuality as a legitimate and healthy lifestyle will be the downfall of America? What about that? Some people may voice this opinion and that is NOT ACCEPTABLE!!

It's clearly acceptable to voice the opposite opinion. But agreement in this case is anathema! Agreement is automatically touted as violent hate speech. There is no acknowledgment of the possibility to love and still oppose. We have forgotten that the best parents say "no" out of deep love and faithfulness to their children. We equate love with allowance. Love is NOT the same as allowance. NOT.

I think it is going to require much boldness in the very near future to speak definitively regarding a Biblical position on this issue: much boldness, much faith and confidence, and a clear mind.

I'm thinking we need to carefully teach our children. What about you?

Call Me a Fanatic

In the midst of preparing a musical for 110+ students (as you can see, I've not even taken a precise head count) I am distracted.

This morning I, along with some trusty fellow companions, plowed into a costume shop which is in disarray. My daughter met me there (she has been conscripted -- pretty willingly, I must say -- to do costumes for this extravaganza.) We talked about how to get 110 kids to wear castle garb without spending an arm and a leg and without devoting every waking moment to sewing machines and stitches. Can I say, it looks daunting, but I LOVE costumes!

I am meeting another daughter who is overseeing the instruction of song to 50 of the above mentioned students. We will talk arrangements and staging.

Then I will get together with two other daughters to choreograph large group numbers.

I also met today with the set designer, who has her hands full if she hopes to do all that she and the art students hope to accomplish. She has 5 Fridays (come to think of it, that's what I have, too.) She has plans for transforming our gymnatorium into a Medieval castle of grand and glorious proportions. I wholeheartedly approved her every dream. I hope they come true!

So where is the distraction? As I sat in the office for a 15 minute rest, I discovered that a script I'm considering for next spring's production had arrived for perusal. Soon I was lost in the music and characters laid out in black and white on those pages. Uh, oh. They had already come to life! Instead of talking about Good King Wenceslas, I found myself babbling to the secretary about Cinderella's cat and the Stepmother's song! "What are you talking about?" she asked. Enthusiastically I announced that this show would be so much fun!!! In disbelief she rolled her eyes and chuckled.

Yup, not even near the finish line yet and I'm on to the next race. There's something wrong here. Seriously wrong.

Too Much Food

It seems to have happened, that malady of old age showing signs of asserting ownership over my physical body.

First were the few stray gray hairs at the temple. Wrinkles gave indication of another symptom. Elasticity was dissipating. Next I was aware of subtle and not so subtle aches and pains. "I never had these before. Wonder what I did?" I recall this musing upon more than one occasion. I am slow to catch on at times.

Finally the revelation. I put it all together one morning, realizing that it added up to an obvious conclusion: I am getting older. It has happened to me -- even me.

Continued revelation has followed. I no longer need any where near as much food intake as I once did. If I seemed slow at other conclusions, I was really slow at this one. The hardest part of this dilemma is our culture; we don't readily make allowances for small meals. People love to eat, and they also love to have you eat lots with them. It is hard not to feel rude. But I really cannot eat as much if I hope to stay energetic. I get plain downright lethargic when I overeat. And, of course, chubby.

So, if you invite me over for coffee or lunch, remember that my small portion is no reflection of your cooking. It is a reflection of my reality: old.

Well, older, anyway.

Spain

God did something really special in Spain. I could sense it.

And God did something really special in my heart regarding Spain. I could feel it.

God stirs, imparts, sends vision, gives words. God reveals glimpses of His heart and we are moved.

It was a wonderful two weeks.

Travel Journal

We are staying at the Wycliffe House in Algeciras, Spain. We currently are in the basement bedrooms, sharing the kitchen and common living area with Steve and Lorraine Johnson from Texas, and Trevor from Arizona. They are in the upstairs bedrooms.

I have done a bit of grocery shopping in a local store, fixed our breakfasts and a few suppers here. This morning I set about to do 4 loads of laundry, much of which was hung out to dry. But since I prefer "dryer" dried clothes for the most part, I did succumb to purchasing some time for jeans and some cotton shirts. They are just softer as a result.

On to Baelo Claudio, the most comprehensive Roman ruins on the Iberian peninsula. One can stroll the main street of this fishing town which was settled in the 2nd century AD and abandoned following an earth quake in the 6th century. The theater and temples, forum and fish salting factories are in good form; one can readily imagine the culture and rhythms of this small community. It is supposed that it was home to 2000 persons. Fascinating. Beautiful. Isolated, except for the sea and those fabulous Roman roads. Remains of the aqueduct and Roman baths are still in place. Wonders. Food for thought and inspiration for imagination.

We left the ancient world behind, momentarily. Our next spot was Tarifa, southern most tip of Europe. Here one looks across the Mediterranean to the northern shore of the continent of Africa. More amazement. Merrick was enthralled. We strolled through the medieval walls, of which one gate is yet standing. On the sea side is the Guzman castle built in 960 AD. The ancient streets are narrow and winding. We were lost, but it is small enough that you need not worry. Just stick to following the wall, and you are bound to find your vehicle -- we discovered that is true!

Tomorrow we are off to Gibraltar by day and Estepona by night. We will sight see and then minister at an evening mid-week service with Dick and Ruth Flores. Exciting days, for sure!

Him

reverence -

a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration.

We are to have reverence for God: His commands, His words, His heart, His thoughts. All of who He is. Revered. Respected. Venerated.

We are to love God: His commands, His words, His heart, His thoughts. All of who He is. Loved. Honored. Adored.

Everything. All that He is.
With everything. All that we are.

Not a thing kept or held back for ourselves; not a single thought or word of His rejected.

Nothing for us; all of Him adored.

There is no half-heartedness in this adventure -- not if you have met Him and truly understood Him. When we meet Him and understand we become women like the Luke 7 woman.

Then he [Jesus] turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

Until we see our sin and experience His forgiveness, we will not love Him fully. And we must love Him fully. There is no other way to know victory, peace, and -- dare I say it? -- greatness in God.

Love Him. Ache to please Him, to bless Him, to bring Him joy. Adore Him. Weep with tears of love and wipe His feet.

Remember your sin. You, oh woman, have much sin. You, oh woman, are nothing but what He Himself created. You, oh woman, have nothing to boast in apart from Him, and no answer for your weakness apart from Him. Everything you have to offer is His, and everything you need is in Him.

And He gives it all freely. We now should, can, and must choose to return that love. That, oh woman, is joy -- pure joy!

Oh, please -- love Him today. He is so, so wonderful.