Ramblings and Reflections

I need your help.
Am I my brother’s keeper? Cain asked God this, while hiding his dead brother’s body.
Today, this question comes home to roost. Look at America’s southern border. Look at the people at the entrances to Mall parking lots, seeking a hand out.
Am I my brother’s keeper?
Jesus answered a similar question, “Who is my neighbor?”
By allowing illegal aliens to cross our borders, are Americans helping the poor? I don’t want to get into the politics of that issue. It’s just, we Christians- Is that all we’re required to do? What about the Gospel? Which is more important, a full stomach or salvation?
On top of this, do all those people truly need our help? Being a pastor, I’ve seen scores of phoney-baloneys at my front door, with their hands out. What do I do?
And I believe the church has become jaded, cynical on this issue. Recently, I asked a group of Christians a question- What percent of the “beggars” outside of Malls are con men?
Without hesitation someone answered, “98%”
Then someone else chimed in, “99%”.
Wow!
What about you? Do you roll down the window and hand over some cash?
I don’t know. Maybe we’re using our suspicion of other’s intents as an excuse to cling to our money.
So I’m asking, being our brother’s keeper, how far do we go? Can I give to a stranger, or am I just being conned?
Talk to me. I’d love to hear you’re opinion.

Luke 10:25-37
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

I want to destroy a squirrel. You heard me. Destruction to the bushy tailed varmint!

Why such open hatred? A gang of them are ruining my life, pushing me off the deep end, sending me to the looney bin! Let me ask you, have you ever seen a gang of squirrels? Yes, I said gang, like in a street gang, seeking to destroy civilization and graffiti the world with their evil intent. . .  I have.

One day, I was stepping out of my car, and heard this odd noise. A gang of squirrels were swaggering by, arranged in a V formation. Not scurrying, but swaggering, their claws clacking against the ground. The leader, who looked like he should have been wearing a leather jacket and playing a part in West Side Story, gave me a What-do-you-think-you’re-looking-at? kind of glare.

Fearing I’d find the squirrel equivalent of a horses head in my bed, I kept my distance. 

But now, they’ve gone too far. They’re holding my bird feeders hostage. Don’t tell me how to squirrel-proof them. I’ve tried! It won’t work. They’re smart. They’re devious.

The breaking point. . . My humming bird feeder. It doesn’t even have bird seed in in. It’s sugar water. We hang it way up high so the gang can’t get to it. The other morning, the leader was perched on the rail of my deck. He was up on his back legs. One tiny paw was tipping the feeder so the water was shooting out of the opening, like a water bubbler (Water fountain for those of you who don’t understand New Englandese). The fool rat had his mouth open and was filling himself with my sugar water. That’s all I needed, a squirrel hyped up on sugar. PETA will probably be after me for contributing to squirrel diabetes or something.

The crowning touch. He brought his cousin, the chipmunk, who was hanging upside down on my bird feeder gorging himself on sunflower seeds. The squirrel turned his head and gave me the look- What-do-you-think-you’re-looking-at?

That’s it! I burst out onto the deck. The varmints scurried off into my yard, leaving two empty feeders, a pile of seeds on the ground below. From about fifty feet away they look back and, I swear, . . . they laugh at me.

I point a shaking finger. “You’re dead. More than that, I want to torture you. Destroy you!!!!!!”

. . .My neighbors think I’m crazy.

So please, my friends. If anyone knows an inhumane way to treat a squirrel, I’d love to hear it. They’re making me lose my mind! I lay awake at night, hatching evil plans!  Help me!

 Wow! My book’s showing up everywhere! A MESSAGE TO DELIVER published June 3rd- One month ago. Here are some things I’ve learned since then. These aren’t mind shattering lessons. As a matter of fact, most of my author friends will read this and say, “Yuh? No Duh!”

HAVE A PLAN
How am I going to promote this book? What’s my marketing plan? In May, I went to the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference to hone my craft. In a marketing class the instructor shared these very helpful facts- What to do one year before you publish your book. . . What to do 8 months before you publish . . .5 months . . .3 months . . .     You get the picture. I raised my hand. “What do I do two weeks before publishing?”
Oh boy. My plan was to write a book, sell 5,000,000,000,000 copies, and buy an island off the coast of Maine. Not a good plan. Though I may be a little behind schedule, it’s never too late to plan, never too late to learn. Have a marketing plan, my friend.

HAVE ANSWERS
Wow! I’ve run into several people who’ve actually read my book. They all have questions. How long did it take you to write this? Where did you come up with the idea? Can I borrow ten bucks? Hey. I know I’m far far far from famous. But to some people, I’m a step up in the book publishing biz. I have to have answers, and sound like I know what I’m talking about.

HAVE SOME PRIDE
My wife and I went into a local pro-life organization to give them a free copy of my book, and to talk about an upcoming launch party where I’ll be distributing pro-life literature. A portion of my profits goes to these groups.

The woman in charge approached me. “Is there something I can do for you?”

I stood like a junior high kid, who’s struggling to ask the prettiest girl in the school on a date. “Gee, golly…I …er…”
Thankfully, my wife pushed me forward. “Yes. There is something he’d like to talk to you about,” she said.
Don’t get me wrong. I think my book is good. It’s getting good reviews. But its so . . .weird, promoting yourself. I guess my best advice for me and others- GET OVER IT! If you spent hours and hours creating something, take some pride in it.

Well, that’s it. Just sharing some of the many things I’ve learned. Again, thanks to those who’ve gone on Amazon and purchased A MESSAGE TO DELIVER. If you haven’t done so, I invite you to go for it! And please remember to review it on Amazon. That is sooooo important. Thanks again.

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A tribute to the best mother I know. With apologies to my own mom, who was a wonderful lady, I must give this award to my wife, Jodie. Let me tell you about her. What makes her a terrific mom isn’t the fact that she raised six children. Though, the fact she did this without going insane (At least I don’t think she’s insane), speak volumes.

For any young moms out there, let me give you some words of wisdom; advice about raising children I’ve gathered from watching Mrs. Jodie Peters. By no means do these few words encompass all there is to motherhood. Nor do they state all my wife has done in that regards. Just a few tidbits.

1. LOVE YOUR CHILDREN  I hear so many young moms today disparaging motherhood. If that’s the way you’re going to be, I’ve got news for you, sweetheart– DON’T HAVE KIDS! At least, don’t go around trash-talking them, or talking like they’ve ruined your life. Have any of you heard moms do this? You’d think motherhood was akin to being sent to the Roman coliseum!

My wife loves being a mom. We had six kids and guess what? Here’s the only proof I have that she may be a tiny bit crazy– She wanted more! She loves her children. She loved raising them. She loved teaching them, nurturing them, being with them.

It goes without saying, but I guess it shouldn’t– My wife was an example of Jesus Christ before my children. That is the ultimate act of love. My wife’s love for our children blossomed in a willing sacrifice of her time and talents for them.

2. LET YOUR CHILDREN BE CHILDREN     Jodie made this choice. It isn’t as easy as it sounds. There’s a ton of pressure out there to allow your children do things far beyond their young, immature abilities to handle.

Guess what? Children don’t belong in R rated movies. They don’t belong in PG-13 movies. Hey, Stupid Parents! The warning is there for a reason! Also, children don’t need access to every TV show, as if that is going to help them socialize and grow up to be mature adults.

When my kiddos were younger, there were some people (the ignorant) who mockingly referred to my family as the Brady Bunch, because my wife loved our kids enough to let them enjoy their childhood innocence. God bless her for realizing something– That’s part of being a mother. Children are not mini adults. They are children!

3. THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING. . .or is it “the proof is in the putting”? I never understood that saying anyways. Recently, I was out with a Pastor friend of mine. We were talking about families and the pastorate. He made the comment to me (and I paraphrase), “Jerry, you did something right. You’ve got great kids.”

Can I let you in on a little secret- Pastor’s kids are notorious for not being the best behaved. They are the inmates of the Parsonage; current monsters and future axe murderers. OK. I’m, exaggerating a bit. But I bet you all know some awful PK’s.

I have six great kids, ages 21 to somewhere in their 30’s. (Leave me alone. I’m lucky if I can remember how old I am). I’m proud of them all. Some of them are a little thick headed. Some of them have some growing up to do. Some of them have made some wrong decisions. They aren’t angels, nor are they the Brady Bunch. They are good kids, hard workers, and respected by all who know them.

And that, my friends, is the results of having the most wonderful mom in the world. 

Okay. That’s it. Like I said, it’s not the complete dossier on Motherhood, just some things I’ve noticed over the years.

And to my wife I say, Thank you, Jodie. I love you. 

Proverbs 31:28-31 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.” Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

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Ever watch that television show about hoarding? It features people who keep all their ancient Time magazines, because some day they may need that article about McGovern running for president; individuals who stuff their homes with everything from cats to comic books. Walls of junk create tunnels they crawl through, in order to get from room to room.

Hoarding has ruined these people’s lives. The clutter in their homes makes it impossible for them to live like normal human beings.

Know what? Christians can be hoarders, too. Not physical hoarding, but spiritual; emotional. Piles of junk we store in our hearts and heads make living for Christ difficult.

One thing you might hoard is UNFORGIVENESS. Like boxes of old mail, we can keep grudges and regrets stacked up in our hearts, blocking our path to God until it finally crashes in on us.

Two Main Types of Unforgiveness.

1. Unforgiveness of Self. “Regrets. I’ve had a few. . . ” When I look back at my past, there are things I wish I never did; terrible memories that clog my life. Should I mention some? NO! When I recall them, they start crashing down on me. Like piles of newspapers, stained with cat urine, they suffocate my spiritual walk.

Pretty gross, huh? 

But seriously, I’ve known people who can’t forgive themselves for past mistakes. The devil likes to remind you of your failings? But, Jesus doesn’t want you beating yourself up. He’s forgiven you. Remember what Paul called himself? The chief of sinners! God forgave him!

Question. If you can’t forgive yourself, are you limiting Christ’s atoning power, saying there’s something He can’t forgive? Just wondering.

2. Unforgiveness of Others. All of us do it. Hey. We’re so wonderful, so perfect that when others sin against us, we have the right to hold a grudge. NOT!  Jesus said, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” It ain’t easy, is it? We have a pride issue. Is it possible we’ve stacked old lamps, toasters, and other small electrical appliances so high, we can’t see our own sin on the other side. Some day we’re going to fix up those old things. Maybe sell them at a yard sale. Make millions! But until then, we ignore them, allow them to block our view.

Hoarding unforgiveness is deadly. It blocks our view of God’s grace and mercy, both for ourselves and others. If He’s forgiven us, who are we not to forgive ourselves? AND Who are we to hold a grudge against someone else?

So how do we stop hoarding? Can we call a team of experts to clean out our junk?  (“NONONO! Not the Superman comics!”) Get on a national television show and claim our fifteen minutes of fame?

How about we go to the real expert on forgiveness? God. Here are some steps.

—Recognize that He offers forgiveness, no matter how terrible we are. 1 John 1:9  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

—Remember He wants you to forgive others. Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Is there someone you need to forgive?

—Reach out to the Lord for help and guidance when you fail to live His way. Wow! I’m saying you’re going to fail. I am, too. But thankfully God is there to forgive.

I know, I know. It’s like a three point sermon, all the points beginning with the letter R. I have boxes of them stored in my attic, waiting for the right moment. . .

Maybe it’s time for a clean sweep. Gotta stop this hoarding.

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