It's Been a Long Time!!!

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted something here. It's not like I've been doing nothing. My last post was on my birthday 2 years ago. Since then, my daughter has made me a grandpa twice, my son has gotten married, and my youngest daughter has just about finished college. My wife and I have moved into our fourth decade of marriage (32 years this January) and I've been playing bass quite a lot, growing in knowledge, wisdom, insight and understanding.

I bumped into a friend from church last Friday and he mentioned that he enjoyed reading my blog. I asked him if he meant my "family" blog or my "bass" blog. He answered "both"! I was quite surprised. "How did you find my blog" I asked in an embarrassed tone. He explained how he had been looking for my wife's web site in search of a recipe and stumbled onto mine. Wow!

So...here I am with a new post. I've actually been writing 1-2 pages daily in my journal but haven't taken the time to post any of that. Maybe now that I know I have at least one reader, I'll be more faithful.

Today's journaling centered around words and actions. I was reminded of the verse "Let us not love with words and tongue but with actions and in truth"(1Jn 3:18). This verse came to mind from today's reading in Matt 21 where the man's son said he won't work in the vineyard but changed his mind and went. Martha & I were talking last night about how easily we accept the words that say Jesus came not to be served but to serve, and that the first shall be last and the last first, and all the other nice phrases that tell us that if anyone wants to be great he must be a servant, but when it comes down to actions, we resent it when people treat us like servants. We say the words that we want to be servants but we resist the actions and the posture of a servant. How many times have I thought to myself in the last few weeks, "Who does he think he's talking to?" In Matt 21, Jesus tells the chief priests and the elders that "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it." He also tells us to "produce fruit in keeping with repentance". So, when my actions don't match my words, which is more important? To say "I'll be a hearer of the word" and then don't do what it says, or to say "I don't like what this says" but then repent and do it?

My prayer for this Holiday season is that I will "produce fruit in keeping with repentance" and that when someone treats me like a servant, I will see it as an opportunity to put some flesh on words that are easy to say but not always easy to do.