It's been a while since my last post, so I am back now.

Life is good. We face all sorts of circumstances in life that create multi-faceted situations that either depress us, or send us 'thru-the-roof' with unexplained joy. Not every day can be a happy day. Things go wrong, things happen... and just 'things.' There are so many variables for whether we have a good day or bad day. Jerry Bridges, a Christian writer talks about this in his books. Whether you are having a "good day" or "bad day" God is still in charge, and He will use you to glorify His Holy Name even though you 'feel' like you will never be able serve him. It's on a "day-to-day" basis for most Christians. And my opinion is that is the way it should be... "daily walking close to thee..." (Just a Closer Walk). We worry too much about how we "feel"... and don't worry enough about living moment to moment. OK, I had a few bad days this month. I felt disconnected and maybe even a little bit 'on my own'. But that 'feeling' is just that - a 'feeling' - a momentary splash of emotion, physical symptoms, and mental attitude. That's what 'feelings' are. They are temporary. It is only God who who is not affected by these fleeting human characteristics. (Except, of course, Jesus in His humanity). So, we accept our human-ness and realize that one day may have more emotional/spiritual/physical challenges than another. But at the same time, we have a supernatural God to intervene and bring us back to reality.

OK, feelings are important - mainly because they are such a large part of our lives. But we need to check our feelings against the backdrop of God's love and mercy. We look at 'yesterday' and rest in God that He will lead us through the crazy forest of life.... and we WILL come into a "wide space".

"Lord I Am Thankful...

Lord I am thankful


For Your love that meant the Cross.
For the Plan you had for me before my birth.
For the Parents who taught my infant feet The Holy Way.
Lord I am thankful.

For the love, the forgiveness, the peace
You gave on my return to Thee
For I had rebelled and gone My Way
Lord I am thankful.

For the Husband You had planned for me
For his love, humor and patience
And especially for his zeal for Thee
Lord I am thankful.

For the beauty that is there for eyes that see.
For natures promise of eternity
Seen in the rose that dies only to bud
and bloom another day
Lord I am thankful

Janet Chapman

Christmas Story

I have always had a place in my heart for the Christmas memories my parents created for us. One of my favorite stories I like to share with people is the time my father pretended to be Santa Claus.

When I was about 3 and my brother 5, my dad decided to play Santa. We really believed Santa existed and we always put cookies and beer on the mantle near the tree, and we hoped he would come this year... my brother was always under the threat of getting coal in his his stocking.

Anyway, my dad put up an extension ladder against the house near our window and jingled a string of real "jingle bells" bellowing out "ho, ho, ho". My brother and I heard that and we whispered to each other to get under the covers before Santa finds out we were were really awake! We then heard this very loud scraping and imagined Santa's sleigh landing on the roof! Then we heard fairly loud crash, which we "knew" was the heavy sleigh landing (not to mention all those reindeer!). Then we heard Santa calling our mother's name "Dorothy.... Dorothy....."

- His ladder had slid across the side of the house and crashed onto the veranda (enclosed porch) and since the ladder was on the ground "Santa" had no way of getting off the roof of the porch!

The cookies and beer were always gone in the morning!

Poetry: "She Is Silent Now"

Here is another one of my poems that I have been writing to memorialize some of the remarkable people I have the privilege of meeting through my work as a Hospice Chaplain. In that work, we often meet people who at one time in their lives were vivacious and very engaged with everyone around them. Sometimes, as time and disease overtake these precious ones, they are no longer the person they used to be. This is sad, but by recounting their lives, it can become a point of celebration of their lives as we once knew them.


She Is Silent Now…


She was a talker…
Almost non-stop
When she spoke
She laughed

A social gadfly
Everyone’s friend
Kind words
Given freely

She talked about life
She talked about dreams
She talked about the future
She talked about weddings

Looking at pictures
Of social events
Where she talked a lot
She is silent now

But her echo
Is heard in the
Things she touched
She is silent now

A smile
Catches a lone tear
She talked once
She is silent now





Richard D Harris
10/24/2009

We run into people who we knew years ago, remembered by a single defining character trait. Now things are different, and we choose to remember the best in this soul now changed forever by time and human frailty. We celebrate them in the sadness of remembrance.

Norway, from the train!

THE BEACH...

The Beach

The sun was hot... the sand was hotter than the sun,
We went from sun-soaked sand to cool refreshing water.
You were our own personal life-guard,
Seriously studying the surging water...counting heads.

Ocean breezes caress our brows,
Memories flash and form in this love filled room,
Thinking back to that magical moment,
Every time I smell the Ocean.

You held my hand tight as we raced down the beach
So we would be the first to cross the imaginary finish line.
We slept on the way home...
Too tired to traumatize our siblings.

Those moments on the beach... frozen in my memory...
Like a picture-postcard! Precious...Inviting.
You made those moments possible,
And I am grateful.

The beach... not just a place...
But an encounter with time and tender thoughts....
An accumulation of memories of good times with you.
You wanted us to be happy... and we were...

And I am happy at this moment
as I see you smiling on the beach.

By Richard D Harris

This piece is a tribute to my mother... and to all mothers who did all they could to make summer memories for their children. Those memories live on... and fill our lives with joy.

Friends

Mary Jayne, Ingrid, Rick

We have a wonderful friend from Sweden who came to visit this weekend. Ingrid and her parents were a part of our church for many years before moving to Sweden. Ingrid is a talented lady who teaches in a local school in Sweden and has 4 handsome and intelligent boys, and a husband who is the typical quiet Swede with that dry humor. We don't see each other much, but keep in touch now and then. Two years ago my wife and I went on vacation with Ingrid and her mother, Irene, to Norway (where Irene's family is from), and saw the Fjords and all the other wonderful sights and sounds (and foods!) of Scandinavia. We had an absolutely wonderful vacation with our friends, and hope to repeat it someday.

I remember hearing that 'true friends can be counted on one hand'... and over the years, I believe that is very true. I believe it was C.S. Lewis who said that these type of friends are the kind that when you don't see them for a long time, and you begin to talk, it is as if you pick up the conversation where you left off. And that is what true friends are... they are people that you always have in your heart. You may not converse every day, you may not see each other for years at a time, but when you do meet up again, it's like you just saw them 'yesterday'!

Be glad you have a handful of friends!


(p.s., I think the C.S. Lewis quote is from "The Four Loves"... a literary scholars 'exposition' of the various Greek words for 'love.')