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Spring Is Coming

When your memories are greater than your dreams, you’ve already begun to die. – Eugene May

A mindset doesn’t happen accidentally. It takes a conscious effort to view today as temporal, and stay hopeful for tomorrow.

The present can be overwhelming, a metaphorical season of drought, harsh winter, or severe flooding. You might find yourself hampered by frustrating or debilitating conditions.

Or, maybe you were overcome by your yesterdays. Cumulative trauma, failures, tragedies, or injustices had an affect on your outlook. Bad events outnumbered the good, enough to induce an expectation of more bad ahead. Sometime during all that hardship, your dreams were buried.

It’s understandable that people surrender dreams and default to memories to fill the void. There are few things more excruciating than rallying to try again, to hope again, to end the vicious cycle, only to be met with more disappointment. When dreams cause pain, memories offer solace.

But, When your memories are greater than your dreams, you’ve already begun to die.

breaking-prairie-sod-3536The American pioneers plowed land for a purpose: for food, for survival. It was hard work to break the sod, plant a crop, and keep the plot from reverting to prairie. As long as they worked the land, they improved their odds for an ample harvest. If they quit, the surrounding indigenous plants encroached until the farmed plot succumbed.

It takes work to maintain a healthy mindset, too. If you don’t keep your dreams and hopes for a good future alive, your mind can be overtaken by your past. Instead of forging the best possible future, you can cause your own stagnancy. Instead of being a plowed field able to support a healthy crop, yours can revert to weeds.

Genesis 8:22 (ESV) “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Keep expecting, so when your drought, flooding, or winter ends — as they always do — your sod is already broken, inertia is overcome, and your momentum is forward.

Keep expecting, so when your spring arrives, you are primed and ready to fully engage in it.

11 See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
    the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.

(Song of Songs, 2:11-13, NIV)

 

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Faith Wins Its Crown

You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings. God gives us His promises in a quiet hour, seals our covenants with great and gracious words, and then steps back, waiting to see how much we believe.

“He then allows the Tempter to come, and the ensuing test seems to contradict all that He has spoken. This is when faith wins its crown.

“This is the time to look up through the storm, and among the trembling, frightened sailors declare, “I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.”

 (Acts 27:25) – L.B. Cowman, “Streams in the Desert”

wave over boat, edit for blog

Faith is not a sense, nor sight, nor reason,

but simply taking God at His word.

 Christmas Evans

Youtube license holder of this video is Danwill.

 

 

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Truth Is Our Friend

Nobody likes unwanted news. We don’t want to believe that a diagnosis is dire, or our behaviors are destructive. We don’t like to hear that someone important to us is not who we thought they were — we won’t accept that a person we’re invested in is a thief, a traitor, an adulterer, or an abuser. Some of us will do anything to avoid unwanted truths like these.

To cope personally, or to save face publicly, we spin or outright deny the facts — it’s remarkable how spectacularly we pull off mental contortionism in our quest to disguise truth.

Which is silly if you stop and think about it. No amount of distortion, denial, justification, deflection, or delusionment will ever change truth. Like it or not, truth is what it is.

Isn’t it a marvel that people who initially choose deceit out of shame or inability to cope, quickly progress to actually believing their own lies? They developed habits of deceitfulness, and expect others to adopt their deluded thinking. They slipped unaware into a lifestyle of fabricating, then wonder why they are off-putting to others. Their relationships, home, work, and social lives suffer. Ever-so-insidiously, their physical and mental health are also impacted. Persistence in untruths only compounded their troubles.

All of that web of entanglement could have been avoided. The truth would have set them free, and kept them free, had they chosen that route. As difficult as it seemed, even those truths they despised were best acknowledged and dealt with.

The good news is, it’s never too late to start fresh. And none of us has to do it alone — God will come alongside to face even the most agonizing of truths. The benefits of trusting him to do so are immeasurable, including freedom from mental and emotional turmoil. If we want and allow him to, he will transform our tangled thinking into healthy truthfulness.

He will accomplish it in a way and at a speed that is best for each of us. If we need to slowly come face-to-face with painful, difficult facts, he’ll do it gradually. If we need swift and full immersion in unmitigated reality, he’ll do that instead. He knows us intimately, and much, much more than we know ourselves — if we let him, he’ll improve our lives. He’ll personalize his perfect intervention, knowing and understanding why and when we accumulated our dysfunctions.

Let God peel back the layers of amassed issues that were caused by self-, or other-inflicted lies. Wait on him. Be at peace with not always understanding everything as he exposes and corrects wrong-thinking, and aids in developing factual, healthy right-thinking in its place.

Trust that he is at work upending the chaos that chronic lies caused, for our long-term good. That’s the truth of it — truth is always our friend.

John 8:32 – “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Romans 12:2 – Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Philippians 4:19 – And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

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In the Company of God

We’re each the owners of our own soul and will. It is alone that we reach out to God from the depths of our soul, and alone that we experience his response to us. If our personal experiences with God don’t fit into somebody else’s theology or belief system, firsthand experience wins the debate. Maybe if life were easy, one might trade what God has been to you for the approval of people, but when you’ve suffered you become unwilling to do so. He is who he is, regardless of what anyone argues to the contrary.

Micah 6:8 – He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you— To act with justice, to treasure the LORD’s gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God.

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Istanbul, Target of Terror

Today evil in the form of a suicide bomber ended the lives of ten people. They were tourists to Istanbul, there to see the wonders of the city once named Constantinople. Just two months ago, I stood on the very spot it happened — a dozen times I walked through it to explore beyond the concentrated historic sites of Sultanahmet.

DSCN0042DSCN0041I marveled at the 3,465 year-old Egyptian obelisk, the 2,500 year-old Serpent Column, the Blue Mosque, and the German Fountain, built to honor the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1898.

It is there, beside the German Fountain (photo below), that nine German tourists and one Peruvian lost their lives.

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This is the first time that news of terror pulled me immediately to the place and the people, the first time I could envision what is usually distant and unimaginable. The videos taken immediately at the scene, smoke from the blast still dissipating, showed horrified vendors and shopkeepers who witnessed parts of bodies as they fled. I cannot, I will not, imagine their deaths — I choose to think of their lives.

I think too, of the Syrian refugees scattered throughout the city of 14 million, choked from their homeland to sit cross-legged on the sidewalks silently pleading for help. They need it to survive, but their downcast eyes hint of shame when help is given. How compounded will be the prejudices against them now, considering the bomber is thought to be of ISIS, and of Syria?

They are the innocent Syrians, those unaffiliated with politics or war, forced from their home country lest they too be coerced into fighting for radical militias, or die like their friends and neighbors from explosives, chemical weapons, or starvation. An increasing number of the world’s population is biased against them because some of their countrymen have yielded to evil. Despite Turkey’s relatively limited resources, Turkey welcomed them when many countries have not. Today terror struck in the city they found refuge. How much more can the hospitable Turks and Syrian refugees bear?

I think of the people who were born and raised in Istanbul, who live and work and have their being in a country where war spills into it by virtue of geography — of Sofije, the middle aged women who warmly patted my back each morning as she poured my coffee, her smile and eyes bright with surprise the day I learned a few words of Turkish, “Günaydın/Good morning, Sofije. Teşekkür ederim/ Thank you”; who embraced me and kissed my cheek the day I left.

DSCN0081This is the view from the rooftop of the hotel where Sofije works. That’s how close the hotel is to the Blue Mosque, just steps from today’s violence. Will travelers still come to stay? Will Sofije lose her job, if not? Will she be able to feed her family, considering she lives in a nation whose average annual salary is only $9000 USD?

I think of the shop owners and workers; the restaurants and staff; Turkish Airlines, with its rare high quality and low prices; the museums and mosques who keep safe and allow the world to see 4000 years of human history. Terror in the heart of tourism is new for Turkey; terror elsewhere in Turkey is not. Over 100 people lost their lives in a suicide bombing at a peace rally in Ankara in October, nearly the same number as lost their lives in Paris in November. People will still visit Paris, London, New York City, and Boston after the attacks there, but will they go to Istanbul? Saturated with media reports of violence in the Mideast, will Westerners think Turkey is too near the region to consider travel there? Will terrorism win and keep visitors away?

DSCN0243.jpg edit, owners of Cemal RanchTwo months ago all Turks I met welcomed me without prejudice or restrictions. They treated me with utmost respect and trust. This couple invited me to their family meal, fed me, and hugged me farewell when I left, all without a common language. Will Istanbul stay the way it is now — the way it used to be for all of us not long ago — will their open-hearted welcome to all people continue? Will terrorism win and leave us fearing and fighting each other in the aftermath?

I, for one, am determined that terrorism not turn me against those who are innocent. I am Christian, Turkey is mostly Muslim in faith. That seems to be irrelevant to God, who had me praying for the people and nation of Turkey every waking hour for three days before the bombing, woke me last night at the very hour the bomb was detonated, and continues to lead me to stand for peace, protection, healing, and provision for the people of Turkey today. Would God summon a person across the world to pray in advance of an act of terror if all were hopeless?

He knows. He cares. He sees. He is greater than evil. It is through us that He exercises His power to overcome evil with good. He has solutions for us, if we will listen. As has always been, and is still today, our God needs people to not wilt in fear, but to arise in faith.

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A New Thing

Could it be that in your quest to make a difference or leave your mark on this world, you are in fact on the cusp of realizing it, yet it doesn’t seem so? It was put this way through the prophet Isaiah: “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?”

Perhaps the bigger the new thing, the more time needed to be able to look back and see what you were a part of.

As long as I’ve known him, my stepfather, Vern Wilson, has been casual about his seventy-five years as a musician. Actually, I doubt he’s ever called himself a musician, he just mentions things like, “I played with ___ band in this town,” as we pass through on drives, or “I never learned to read music, I only play by ear.” Only play by ear – I wish I could play an instrument by ear!

Over several sittings in the past month, I asked for details of Vern’s early years of playing and unearthed a compelling history. He gave his permission to share it, so for those who know him, or who appreciate local history, or who will recognize the lesson in his story …

Born in 1926, Vern grew up in a musical family on a farm near New Windsor, Illinois, where he learned to play fiddle, bass, mandolin, guitar, steel guitar, piano, organ, and accordion. Here’s little Vernon.

 

 

 

 

 

Around 1938, when he was only twelve, he began playing fiddle at barn dances throughout the region with “The Pleasant Valley Boys”.

By his late teens, he played live radio on WOC-Davenport.

With the end of World War II, broadcast television exploded to replace radio in homes across America. Someone heard Vern on WOC radio and hired him to play at the newly-aired WHBF TV-Rock Island. He played fiddle with “Buddies of the Airlanes”, who provided several live music programs per day. That’s Vern (age 24), in the photo below, second from the right.

DSCN0391.jpg, crop for post

This is their recording of “Wind”.  

We were together at my dining table when I did a search and found the following article. To go from having little to no memoirs of his early band days, to finding a little something online was a nice surprise. He’s in the front in the photo.

http://www.hillbilly-music.com/groups/story/index.php?groupid=12786

From 1951 to ’54, Vern trained tank operators in the U.S. Army. By 1957, he was back at WOC, this time doing television instead of radio, and joined by his younger brother. Vern (age 31) and Ron (age 22) played a live show with the band, “Wes Holly and the Rhythm Ranchers”.

At the end of this article, is one of only two recordings that he has of his decades of playing. Wes Holly wrote “Shufflin’ Shoes” on the drive to Chicago to record at a studio. Vern remembers they had a 2:30 a.m. studio slot, and slept in a YMCA after. Vern played fiddle, Ron played bass, and both sang backup. Those who know them recognize their youthful voices in the chorus. Now 89, Vern hadn’t heard this for years, so Youtube helped make Christmas day heartwarming when I played it for him and Mom.

And lastly, here they are with “Wes Holly and the Rhythm Ranchers” in a book published in 2010 about WOC AM-FM radio and television history. Vern is on the far left, playing fiddle. 

DSCN0401.jpg book open for post

I asked Vern if he realized back then it was a big deal to be part of the birth of television. His honest reply?

“No, we just did it.”

That’s often the way it is when you’re in the midst of a new thing – it doesn’t seem all that significant in the moment. But give it time, and … Oh, it is … So. Very. Significant.

DSCN0403.jpg book cover final, WOC, Pat Sundin

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.  –  Isaiah 43:19 – New Living Translation

( Vernon Wilson passed away in March 2018, a month shy of 92 years old. In his final days, when he was unconsciousness but comfortable, our mom heard him humming a song. We played “Shufflin’ Shoes” at the close of his funeral, which elicited both surprised chuckles and tears.)

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Birth of a Promise

When God births a promise, he does it in a stable.

Why?

The stable is simple, humble, and void of the embellishments which would detract from the miracle.

In the stable, the newborn promise is kept from the public eye. During the infant miracle’s most vulnerable stage, it is shielded from scrutiny, jealously, criticism, theft, and attack. Birthed in seclusion, it is given the best chance to survive and grow to maturity.

Jewel, birth of Brandy pic #2 cropped for blog 11192014_0000

Once the miracle has strengthened, and has acquired agility in its movements, it will be released to spend time in the outdoors. That experience too, will be controlled for safety’s sake. Fences keep out predators and prevent the young promise from roaming naively into the path of danger.

Jewel, Brandy at 6 weeks old for blog 11192014_0000

Development takes time, and with it, the manifested promise will be permitted more and more freedom. Until then, be thankful for the fences. And be grateful for the chosen birthplace of the simple stable, where the newborn promise is accorded its greatest chance of survival.

 

 

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Mary, Did You Know?

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will calm the storm with His hand?

Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know.. Mary did you know

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you’re holding is the Great, I Am.

— Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene

Published on Dec 9, 2015

Watch the #ASaviorIsBorn video
https://www.mormon.org/christmas?cid=…

FREE Downloads http://www.evieclair.com/free-downloads/
Evie Clair’s cover of Mary, Did You Know? for the #ASaviorIsBorn initiative for Christmas 2015.

Performer and Arranger
Evie Clair ( http://www.evieclair.com )