THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS TIMES in my journey as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, that I have prayed, dare I say called out, for an opportunity to see Him face to face. Often these times have come when I am feeling stressed in the face of ministry, or when I have felt lonely. But, to this point in time I have never seen Him face to face like Moses did, or have I heard His voice in the gentle blowing like Elijah, or have I experienced the manifestation of His glory like Isaiah, or witnessed the transfiguration of others in His midst like Peter, James and John. Or have I?
I have cried out. I have fasted. I have sat in quietness. I have worshiped with reckless abandon, and prostrated myself in prayer, but His face I have not seen. I have dwelt in the darkness alone and I have gathered with a multitude of the saints, and still His physical, manifested presence I have not seen. Or have I?
This past week I was humbled by an old truth, a truth that reminded me that I have seen Jesus face to face. In fact, I saw Him this past week in the face of the homeless man walking by the church. I saw Him in the face of the day-laborer who was working at the church. I saw Him in the child at Harvey West Park.
Jesus told His followers (Matthew 24) that as they would serve the least of society they would be serving Him and I guess with that seeing Him as well. As I visited the left out and lonely, and fed the hungry and provided for the needs of the needy, I would in fact be ministering unto to Jesus Himself. No burning bush, blowing wind or transfigured person, just real people like you.
It is in serving others that we see the Savior. He’s everywhere for me to see!

MEXICAN OR CHINESE? HASH-BROWNS or cottage-fries? Spicy or mild? I have lots of preferences when it comes to what I would like to eat. In fact, the list could get rather long as I think about it, though I will admit that sushi and grubs have not made the list.
Living by my preferences gives me lots of options when it comes to eating out. If they are not serving what I like, I can just change my preference for that meal. That’s one of the benefits of having lots of preferences, when things are not going the way I think they should, I can change to another preference. It’s actually the way most of us live. If something is not going the way we think it should, we just change our belief about that thing.
Living by our preferences can affect various areas of our lives such as our politics, favorite sports teams, television shows, reading material, even places of worship. Some of these areas are really not life-altering, but sadly, dangerously even, living by our preferences can seep into our friendships, our character, and even our relationship with God. When things don’t go our way, or meet our tastes, we easily switch to another preference, or another belief.
Thankfully, people like the Prophet Jeremiah did not live by their preferences, but rather by their convictions. It was Jeremiah’s conviction about the faithfulness and compassion of God that gave him the strength to remain steadfast even from the bottom of the pit. It was his conviction that God’s justice is always tempered by His love that sustained his hope, even in the darkness of times.
When it comes to God and His ways, may we live by our convictions, and in doing so find hope and peace.
That’s my conviction!

IT IS IN THE HEART OF JESUS that little children come to Him. Not as quasi-adults, but as they are, little children. He calls them to come with their simple faith and their penetrating questions. He calls them to come with their open hearts and open arms. He calls them to come with their joy, their laughter, their silliness, and yes, even their tears. He says, “Let the little children come.”
He calls them to come to experience His unbiased love, His abundant mercy, His complete forgiveness, and His overwhelming grace. He calls them to come to His gentle touch and His strong arms. He calls them to come to hear the stories of their Heavenly Father and to rest quietly in His embrace. He says, “Let the little children come and forbid them not.”
He calls them to Himself for He loves them so. He calls them to His side for “the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
And He calls us to likewise come…all of us…as little children.
So let us come!

THIS WEEK MANY YOUNG PEOPLE throughout our area moved their tassels and grabbed a diploma and said “goodbye” to the past and “hello” to the future. For some this week marked the culmination of years of education and possibly a deep desire to never have to open another text book or attend another boring lecture. Yet, for others, it marks the beginning of a new and exciting learning adventure. For some, the diploma signifies the end to a formal education and for others it is the passport for future discoveries.
As I look back on my high school graduation MANY years ago I think I feel somewhere in the middle of the two groups listed above. I was really thrilled to be finished with high school, and I was truly looking forward to a “new way” of doing school. I wasn’t 100% sure where my educational journey was going to take me (maybe a Recreational Education degree with an emphasis in Developmental Ed., maybe underwater basket-weaving). Early on, my journey was all over the map, but I was learning, and it was fun. I may not have had a good plan, but I knew I wasn’t through with learning.
I believe the Apostle Paul had this ongoing education process in mind when he encourage young Timothy to, “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
The challenge is a good one for all of us, no matter how long ago we received the diploma and turned the tassel. Learning is a life-long process, dare I say an eternal process, so let’s keep learning.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME OR NOT four o’clock in the morning is dark. It is most definitely a time for sleeping and dreaming, but over the past number of months I have been waking up ever morning between four and four-fifteen. The reason? Christ and Krista.
I believe that the Lord has been waking me ever morning to pray specifically for our daughter Krista as she serve with the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso, Africa. Four o’clock our time is about noon for her (depending on good old Daylight Savings Time).
Most mornings it is pretty much the same, I awaken, turn my heart and mind toward what she might be experiencing or doing on that day, and then I offer up a few prayers, and then drift back into my state of slumber. I don’t get out of bed, I don’t get on my knees, I just lay in bed and lift up a prayer or two, and back to sleep I fall. Not very spiritual, but at least I do pray.
My Christian life is often like my four o’clock awakenings. Each day I have committed to pray for Krista and I do, if the Lord wakes me, I struggle to keep focused, and once a few prayers are lifted it time to drift back to sleep. I find in my life as a follower of Jesus I have committed to pray, if the Lord wakes me (so much for personal discipline) and then after a few fitful attempts and half-hearted moments I slip back into my slumber. Not very spiritual.
My fear is that this is what we often do on Sunday mornings. We awaken for a few short moments, utter some sleepy-eyed words of praise and prayer, and then slip back into some kind of spiritual sleep-walking. Not very spiritual.
Oh Lord, awaken us fully, so that we can be fully awake to Thee.

A SMALL CONVERTED GARAGE was our first home as a married couple, but to us it was our castle. In those early days of our marriage life was simpler. Not much money, but lots of love and desire.
In those first few months I worked as a department manager in a large retail store making $3.10 an hour. That income didn’t leave much for frills and gifts of affection, but often, while riding my moped home, I would pull off the side of the road at a undeveloped field and grab a handful of wildflowers (some may call them weeds) to present to Linda as I arrived home.
Now, the amazing thing was not that I brought wildflowers home to my new wife, but that she accepted them as if they were a dozen red roses in a gold box with a satin ribbon. What still catches by breath away is that she still welcomes my often silly attempts of expressing my love, but that’s the way real love is, is it not? Real love makes a feast out of sharing a twenty-five cent hamburger at Mc Donald’s or a high-roller vacation out of an afternoon drive through the southern California foothills. Ah, for a return to those days!
I believe this is what the Lord is calling the church to in the Book of Revelation, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 2:2-5) There it is: Do the things you did at first.
Too often life, and love, gets complicated and in the process we lose the depth and simplicity of love. The call is for us to return, and to focus upon that which is of true importance: to give ourselves fully to other person, to see them first, and in the simplest of ways live a life that expresses in both word and deed, “I love you.”

“OF ALL THE THINGS I’VE LOST, I miss my mind the most!,” so declares the bumper sticker I saw awhile back. The sad truth is that over time memory fades. The things that were once so clear now appear as foggy images from last week’s hastily passing dream. This memory loss seems to deepen as we grow older, it’s part of the aging process they say, ugh, I hate that process.
One of the reasons we need holidays, like the one we celebrate this weekend, is because without them we would soon forget the important memories that have brought us to this point in time and that make us who we are.
In 1868, General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared General Order #11 that officially set aside of day of remembrance for those who died in the Civil War. It was first celebrated on May 30, 1868. As the years past it came to be a day of remembrance of all of those who gave their lives through any of the wars that would follow, and there have been a few. In 1971, by act of Congress, it was moved to the last Monday in May, and thus, is so celebrated.
It’s too bad that we need these days to cause us to remember, but given our individual and national memory loss, I suppose it is a needed thing. It’s just that we should remember those who gave their lives without having to be reminded. For whom we are today, and the freedoms we enjoy, is because these brave men and women gave all for the service of their country. And so we stop to remember and reflect and pray for peace.
I wonder if this isn’t why God, in His wisdom, set aside the Sabbath?
To remember…lest we forget.

FOR ALMOST TEN YEARS THEY HAVE HUNG across my office window softly filtering the light and obscuring the view. Over the past few month the dusty white sheer curtains have begun to show their age with rips and tears. Alas, I have removed them…but therein is the problem.
The light they once filtered now comes through with increased brightness, and in the late afternoon, with increased heat. The view that was once softly obscured is now strongly evident, not to mention the dirty windows that I have left unwashed for too long. It is amazing how much “seeing” these see-through drapes have hindered. One has to wonder if it would not have been better to leave the torn sheers in place, but it’s too late now.
As I contemplated my new “view” I thought about the prayers I have prayed to God to help me see Him and His world more clearly. In many ways my vision was obscured by a sheer vale, allowing me to see, but not really. In asking God to help me see more clearly He has removed the drapes from my eyes, and in the process I have seen things that I wish were still softly veiled.
Yes, I do see his brightness and glory, but I also see the dirt upon my windows, and the activities of life around me. I find myself more easily distracted, watching, curious, but I also experience more heat as well. I wonder if it would not have been better to not pray that prayer.
But it’s too late now!

LAST SUNDAY SOMEONE BROKE INTO OUR VAN, shattering the side window and stole Linda’s purse. Not a tragedy, just a huge inconvenience, as Linda puts it. Through this “inconvenience” we have learned some lessons, one of them being; safety glass may protect people from serious lacerations, but it is a real bugger to clean up!
Those little pieces of tinted window were everywhere. We swept the car, vacuumed the car, cleaned all the nooks and crannies and still more and more pieces made themselves known. And, before the window was replaced, all you had to do was walk by the car and more glass would fall from the edges of the exposed shattered window. It was a mess!
As I thought about this shattered window it became clear to me that it represents what happens with shattered lives. First, most lives are shattered by the some sort of crisis. Second, when lives are shattered, pieces go everywhere. It’s never an easy clean-up process either. Sometimes, just when you think you got things cleaned up more pieces appear. Like the window in our van, people experiencing shattered lives need to be handled with care, lest more pieces dislodge. But, with the right care and a little patience, shattered lives can be repaired, just like the window in our van.
So, if you’re experiencing a shattered life right now, take hope, your shattered life can be repaired. The good news is that Jesus, like the glass repairman, does not come and glue the pieces back together, he replaces the whole window. Jesus is about making all things new! And that, my friend, is good news!

HAVING FINISHED MY LEG of the Big Sur International Marathon Relay, I decided to take the extra time to walk the second leg of the relay and enjoy the early spring morning strolling along the Big Sur coastline.
It was warming nicely as I began walking to the next transition point about 5 miles up the road, and I thought it would be a good time to walk and pray and worship the Lord in the quietness of the new morning. But things would soon change. About a mile into my walk the wind began to blow, and the fog began to roll in. My sweat-laden clothes only enhanced the cold wind blowing into my face. The farther north I walked, the stronger the wind blew and the damper the air became. But I continued on, praying, singing, and trying to worship the God who created all this beauty before me.
When I shared this above scenario with a few people this past week they gazed at me with the quizzical look that said, “Why didn’t you just turn around and return to where you started, and wait there, where things were warmer?” My answer? “I don’t know,” I said, ”I guess I just had determined to walk forward, and going back did not seem like an option to me.”
In life, like in a marathon, the elements of weather are part of the race. Cold or hot, windy or calm, all these add to the experience. In life, like in a marathon, going back is not part of the equation. WE may stop running. We may hobble to the finish. We may even wait to get picked up by the “shag-wagon,” but going back is not an option.
Head winds will hit us, but we must keep moving forward. Slowly. Struggling. Cold. Alone. Praying for the sun to break through the fog, for the winds to turn, but we still move forward. Knowing that for those who finish the race a crown of glory awaits.
Run on, friend, run on!

AT THE BIG SUR INTERNATIONAL MARATHON, taking place today on the beautiful Central California coast, there are some real VIPs among the 9,000 runners and walkers. But these VIP’s are not the elite runners like the Kenyans, or it is the “Grizzled Vets” who have run every Big Sur Marathon, as specials as these two groups are. No, these VIP’s are the hundreds of volunteers who will wake up early, and stand all morning long, holding out to small cups of water, or packets of energy gel to the runner who steadily pass by.
Without such volunteers, both young and old, a marathon like the BSIM could not be run. Their selfless acts of caring for the needs of the runners and walkers, along with their constant shouts of encouragement, are often the very things that keep the participants moving forward. Knowing that a mile or two down the road there will be friendly faces who seek to nourish both body and soul, can keeping one moving forward when everything else in you says to stop. This I know firsthand.
Many of these road-side servants are themselves runners. But on this weekend they “return the favor” to those who now run the race. These VIPs know the truth that both runners and servers are need to complete the race.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are told that we all run in a race, but I have found that sometimes I run, and sometimes I stand along the course encouraging others in the race. I seek to nourish both body and soul so that my fellow runners can run well the race set before them. Whether to run or to support, both are vital to helping us all finish the course. May we all so encourage and serve as we run this race together.

THE TRAGIC EVENTS OF THIS PAST WEEK, at Virginia Tech, cause us to cry out, “Why?” Sadly, no answer we are given adequately answers that cry. As I have watched the events unfold I have felt helpless to do anything to help. Yes, I know I can pray, and that I have done, but I feel like there must be something more I can do.
Those who are close by the college have attended memorial services, or dropped by the campus to offer comfort. Those who knew those murdered have written blogs and sent emails. The rest of us tune into CNN and continue to ask the question, “Why?” We long for something to do, but what? There is very little I can do besides to continue to bring this tragedy before the Lord in prayer. Or is there?
As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to be peace-makers in our world. That world can be as close as our neighbor or classmate, or as far away as Africa or Asia. Statistics tell us that over 500 million people are facing the danger of battle, the loneliness of false imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of deep hunger. Looking at these numbers can leave us with the same feeling as hearing about the tragedy at Virginia Tech, feeling helpless to do anything.
The problems are just too big. But, there is something you can do. You may not be able to change the world, but you can help to change one life. Maybe it means reaching out with the love of Jesus to the one next to you or maybe it means reaching out to a child in the two-thirds world who is going to bed hungry.
That’s what Compassion Sunday is all about; making a difference in a child’s life. Showing God’s love in a very tangible way. Yes, you can be a peace-maker in our world. Now the question is, “What’s stopping you?”

I REALLY DO MEAN WELL. Every year I have plans to do my taxes in February, but it never fails, things get left to the last minute. At least this time I had things well organized. One of the reasons this time of year is so taxing is that I (we) make it so. When we push things off until the end life gets taxing.
That which is true about my tax preparation can also be true about other areas of my life as well. If I leave things to when “push comes to shove,” then life is going to always be more taxing than it was meant to be.
If I don’t care for my physical body, then I will pay a price in regards to my health. If I do not take time to maintain my home, I will myself having to do twice the repair work for often twice the cost. If I don’t take time everyday to enrich and development my family relationships, then when a crisis erupts (and they do), the damage repair will be much more costly in terms of emotional energy. If I fail to keep my relationship with God fresh and growing, then when I happen upon the valleys of life they will seem that much more dark and foreboding.
Being prepared reaps great benefits. Keeping on top of things, whether home maintenance, family relationships, or my walk with the Lord, pays great dividends. To leave things to the last minute only makes life more taxing and who needs that? Take time today to make life less taxing, especially as it relates to your family and your faith.
Now, where did I put those receipts?

NOTE: I DID NOT SAY I AM A MORNING PERSON. I really do like snuggling down under the covers and catching an extra few moments of shuteye in the morning, but when I force myself out early I find just how much I love a new morning.
I especially love early mornings in the spring and summer. I love getting outside before the sun begins to crest over the local hills and enjoy the briskness of the morning air. Just before the sun rises the bird song is incredible. It is if as they too are enjoying the blessing of a new day. At no time in the rest of the day are their songs so full and sweet. They sing at the expectation of the new day.
The birdsong, the still, cool morning air, the dew upon grass and spider web, speak of the reality that God was at work while I slept, and place in my heart the hope of new possibilities in the day that is before me. The death of night is fading and the life of the new day is rising.
I suppose that is why the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a morning event. It was a new day of new beginnings. The night of death had been powerfully swept away, and the dawning of a new Day had begun. The women and the disciples came that early morning of the first day of the week with the dust of death still clouding their eyes, they came as sleep-walkers only to be startled awake by the power of a new beginning. It was a morning in which I am sure the angels sang their songs full and sweet, for the Lord had risen, death was defeated, sin atoned for, and a new grace-filled day had begun!
Don’t you just love new mornings?!
He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

I’VE RUN THE SAME TRAILS through Henry Cowell State Park so many times that I think I could run them blind-folded. Of course, that would not be a good thing to do for a number of reasons! For example; tripping over twisted roots, or breaking an ankle in one of the various-sized varmint holes, and maybe most importantly, I would miss the ever-changing scenery that each new run brings.
It never ceases to amaze me that every time I run through the Park I see something new. I have noticed new trees that have fallen in the last storm and new blooms upon bushes or flowers. I have witnessed new little creatures scurrying across the path in front of me. I meet new runners and walkers, as well as cross the path of old friends. It is never the same old path, there is always something new to encounter, but only if I keep my eyes open and my mind alert.
This week we embark upon a well-worn path, a path that goes by the name of the Passion Week. It begins with Palm Sunday and ends with the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and along the way we encounter, the teachings, temple-clearings, miracles, meals, prayers, and crucifixion of our Lord. It is a path that so many of have traveled so many times we could do it with our eyes shut. Please don’t!
I encourage you to travel this journey with your eyes, mind, and heart wide-open. Ask the Holy Spirit to keep you alert along the path this week. Train your eyes to look for new reality, the deeper truth, the greater love. Take time, real time, to enjoy the journey, with all it joys and all its sorrows, I guarantee you, that if you take the time to walk these paths this week seeking to be fully aware, the celebration at the end of the path will be that much greater.
Will you join me in the journey?

SIMPLE TRUTHS ARE OFTEN THE BEST. Take for example this truth about running; it’s difficult to move if you’re standing still. Duh!
Too often I am content to run by standing still. I read books and magazines about running. I check out articles online. I even spend time digesting the records of my past training runs or races, but none of these things are running. I do learn a lot about running, but I am not going anywhere. Let’s face it, is not the whole idea about running, getting somewhere different than where you are, whether that different place is geographic, emotional, spiritual, or physical?
The downside about really running is that it can be tiring and sweaty, not to mention, for a slow plodder like me, time-consuming. Yet, the benefits far outweigh the costs; better health, a clearer outlook on life, and hey, even the opportunity to put your training to the test in the crucible of “the race.” Yep, the moving part of running truly trumps the standing still part.
In our lives as followers of Jesus (runners in the race) we are expected to move. We are expected to put all the running knowledge to work on the track of life. Sure it’s tiring and sweaty at times, but moving forward has its benefits, even if the moving might be scary and tough at times. Moving is for what we were created, it’s where faith is built. And, if we’re not moving, it will not be possible to see the new and exciting things around the bend.
With all this moving in mind, it is with a lot of sorrow I say “see ya later” to Derek, Colly, Kallen and Forest Klein. God is leading them to a different spot on the track, I’m going to miss them, but I know we’ll meet from time to time as our paths cross in the race we are all running for Jesus.
God bless them as the move, and may God give us all strength for the Race.

IT WAS A SUNNY LATE WINTER MORNING on the Santa Cruz Wharf and there, taking full advantage of the weather, was a group of seals sunning themselves on a boat dock attached to the wharf. Every so often there would be a snort or a belch or a scratching of an itch, but for the most part things were pretty quite and peaceful…until…
Until, a newcomer to the crowd ascended the ladder (yes, came up the ladder) and proceeded to climb over a seal who had placed himself squarely in front of the ladder. Needless to say, the once sleeping, sunning seal was not happy. There was a lot of barking and biting going on until everyone found a new place to settle down. As Linda and I watched this little skirmish, we both said, “Well, that’s what you get for sleeping in front of the ladder, ya silly seal.”
As I have thought about this over the past few weeks, yes I know I think about pretty amazing things from time to time, I pondered how often people find themselves napping in the wrong spot, only to get their toga-in-a-knot when somebody wants to climb up the ladder. This often takes place when we are feeling pretty comfortable, sleepy even, because we are happy where we are. Everybody is in their assigned place, we all have room, and the deck is silently floating on a calm sea and the sun is warmly shining. When all of a sudden somebody has to rock the boat, disturbing our comfortable slumber…well the nerve of some people!
Well, what can I say? If you are just seeking for some place to slumber, I suggest not sleeping by the ladder.

I’M NOT RUNNING FOR MYSELF, at least not at this present juncture of my life. I am running for 4 other people right now, not that their not running too, but they are in some fashion dependant upon my training, as I am of theirs.
There are five of us who are training to run in the Big Sur International Marathon Relay. We are running under the team name of “Hebrews 12.” Take a look at the passage and you’ll see our “motivation.” Anyway, these teammates are dependant upon my training. If we are going to compete as a team, and finish as a team (winning is most definitely not the issue), then I must train with due diligence. They need me to run my best, if I give in, or give up, they suffer, the team suffers, and in fact we become disqualified.
This past week, while running, I was listening to a preacher talk about the Apostle Peter’s words to the young men seeking to lead the church. He says that we are to “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:8-9) What rang in my ears was a new understanding regarding the reason I am to resist Satan and to stand strong; it is not because fellow believers throughout the world are in just as bad situations, but because my standing firm, in some way helps them to stand firm. I run for them. When I resist it helps them to resist. I don’t know how all this works out, for it is truly a spiritual battle that we wage, but I do know what I do, that is how I run this race set before me (Hebrews 12) matters.
Train well. Run well. Race well. For we run not for ourselves alone.

THIS PAST WEEK MARKED AMERICA SAVES WEEK, but according to an article in US News and World Report, we are not doing very well at saving. The article states that the Federal government has reported “that the nation’s personal savings rate fell to negative 1 percent last year. In other words, for every $100 in disposable income workers enjoyed in 2006, they spent about $101.” The article goes on to state that “this marks the lowest household savings rate since the Great Depression.” Ouch!
Now, if we were all a little honest, we have to admit that if it were not for those generous employers who take some of our pay and “sock it away for us” for that proverbial rainy day, it would be increasingly difficult for most of us to save anything. Day-to-day living costs so much more than ever, and pile upon that the constant barrage of our consumer-driven culture, and it’s no wonder that so many find themselves only a paycheck away from living on the street.
But my purpose in writing this edition of the Shepherd’s Staff is not about opening a savings account at Bay Federal, but about the increasing our savings accounts in regards to our spiritual life. As I read the article in US News and World Report, I began to wonder how they would report the “savings rate” of the Christian church in America? Of the blessings that we have each received from the Lord this past year how is your saving rate? How have we done at turning the blessings we have been given into blessings for God and His kingdom? The Lord told Israel they were blessed in order to be a blessing, and that through them all the world would be blessed. It was through them that the saving One came.
I think it’s time for some investment in saving souls. Care to make a desposit?

IT’S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT SPILL from a cup that has been filled to the brim. Try as you may to walk across the room without spilling, sure enough some will drip over the sides or worse yet, slosh out onto the floor. That’s the problem when we fill a glass too full.
As I have journeyed through this life as a follower of Jesus the Messiah, I have been privileged to meet people who, like that glass, are filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit. Try as they may to cross the room without spilling, it will inadvertently happen, Jesus will spill out. They just can’t help themselves. For a “filled-up” Christian sloshing happens!
Vivian Edman was one of those “sloshing” Jesus followers. She and her dear husband Arnie were filled to overflowing with the grace, love and joy of the Lord. You couldn’t spend much time with them without getting Jesus spilt on you. It wasn’t that they were trying to spill on you, it just happened because they were carrying around a full cup.
Vivian was a constant reminder to me that the life of a Christian could be a joyous one, if fact, she may rather have me say, “a fun one.” Sure Arnie and Vivian knew difficult times, they knew of the seriousness of the Lord’s work, but they also knew the reality of that spiritual character trait called “the joy of the Lord.” They both expressed well the words of the Apostle Paul, “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
One of my fondest memories of Vivian is her shouting my name across the mall at Mount Hermon, to which I would answer back in my loudest voice, “Vivian!!!” I look forward to the day when across the courtyard of heaven I will hear her shout once more, for the joy of the Lord shall be her strength.
May we all be filled to the brim, sloshing over, with the joy of the Lord.