I will up sail for the far haven.
To seek the land of peace and tarry no longer here in the dark.
My heart is set and bent on gaining that country.
It is not given me to know the length of my journey or even the way of it.
But setting aside what is behind I go forward to seek what is ahead.
And when the turn of time brushes the darkness from my eyes.
A hand will grasp mine drawing me through the vale and into everlasting sunlight.
Joy and the haven will be mine.
Face to face with my Lord, to pay homage to the Everlasting King.

Green

The knee-jerk reaction to recycling or the environmental movement among many Christians (myself included) is to discount it as yet another Liberal banditry to gain control of money and minds. The money of adults and the minds of children in general. However it is a good idea to look at both sides of an issue and make a decision based not on the political ideology you personally espouse but on facts.  And it is wise to construct in your mind how you'd go about discussing it with someone who has an opposite view from yourself.  Perhaps you will never be called to talk about it (and that might be all to the good) but you will be ahead in the game if your ready. 

Here is my breakdown of the two thoughts, I recognize they are oversimplifications so feel free to weigh in with your view. 

The Environmentalist see a world where garbage is piling up and we are a nation of wasters. They see the wanton destruction of land and animals as deeply disturbing and horrifying, and they have taken measures to prevent it. 

The Opposition (do they have a name?) sees a world where people live and that creates garbage and it is not criminal to do so. They see the pushing of boundaries of nature as a normal expanse of human existence and animals must give way to people. They (at least I) see the earth as being held together by God, and it isn't really in the power of humans to destroy it irrevocably. However He did leave this earth to us and we are it's stewards. 

Each side has valid points and they need to hear each other out, even if in the end you still don't agree, being courteous never hurt anyone. And also it would help if both sides would admit their religious view point drives what they do and how they do it. We Christians need to see that for the Greeny this is their god (wither they admit it or no), this they need to protect and keep safe from all harm. Compassion must govern our actions, because if you are compassionate to someone they will respond to that and perhaps hear you out.  I can not argue the opposite thought but I can tell you how I see the issue and what I'd like to do about it. 

The world belongs to God, He sustains it and holds it together, but He gave it to us and we are it's stewards. Which means we use it wisely and in a loving manner, a loving manner for humans as well as animals. You do NOT just take away someone's livelihood just because it offends your sense of how nature should be used, this is ugly and unjust. But neither do you hunt and kill a species into extinction or strip log a mountain into a barren wasteland. On the flip side it isn't good for nature to be left unattended and unused, a well tended forest produces a bountiful harvest of trees, however in one left alone disease grows, bugs destroy and a fire can decimate thousands of acres. An animal species reintroduced without a natural predator quickly starts to overrun other species and in the case of the wolf in the Inland Northwest, decimate the deer and elk population. There are checks and balances in nature and whether they like it or not, one of them is people. And it isn't wrong that we are checking and balancing. 

Yesterday my brother's Swiss girlfriend (the Swiss are known for their extreme recycling) what I thought of the issue. Our family does not, in the traditional sense of the word, recycle; however in the older sense of the idea behind recycling, we are pretty good at it. We buy in bulk (less packaging), shop at thrift stores, wash out and reuse our plastic bags, yogurt containers and other items with lids. Can our own food in glass jars that never get thrown away, compost (off and on), buy used cars and heat using a sustainable resource (trees) which we get off our own property from the standing dead wood. My Mother and Grandpa are the Queen and King at fixing broken things so we don't have to throw them away or finding a new use for items that are no longer able to function. We garden (with spotty success) and have owned free range chickens. But much of what we do is driven by thriftiness and hugely by our belief  in God. My Dad was teaching us the "Pack it in, pack it out" rule from a very young age, and it had even more to do with respect for other people then with respect for the earth. Because how could the next hiker enjoy the walk if at the end there was a pile of trash greeting them? 

So my love for God will drive me to continue to be thrifty, keep a clean, tidy house and yard. Be careful with my things, reuse, recycle and be respectful of others. If an attitude of respectfulness and thriftiness was taught to children I think that would go a long way to changing what is happening on the nature front. But using the resources isn't evil, I appreciate gas for my car and at the moment the electricity to power my computer and warm my house. I'm thankful that God thought to put such wonderful things on earth and in His wisdom made it so the earth can sustain an ever growing population. As well as creating us with thinking minds that are striving to find better ways of doing things, whether it is the new water boiler in my parents house that heats more efficiently or solar power which might replace other more traditional types of power. Humans have been given the ability to invent and we can change. But don't throw the baby out with the bath water, don't make it impossible for some people to survive just because you want to protect nature. Have compassion on them, nature is never more important then humans.  

Death.

Something profound is happening in all of us. We are either dead and dying. Or alive and dying. Dead in the soul and dying in the body, or alive in the soul and dying in the body. Every person you see falls into one of these two categories, this is profound because in the end, when the body dies and the soul is released, it goes to right or to the left; into the light or into the darkness. We'll all stand before the throne of the King and a reckoning will happen...

I have a friend who has cancer and her body is dying; slowly, slowly the disease and medications have pared away all excess from her and in doing so one gets a glimpse of her living soul. Its as if she is translucent, and the liquid gold of God's love and peace that is flowing through her, can be seen with the naked eye. It would seem an oxymoron to say that as she walks closer to death, she is more alive then ever. But contrast is a beautiful and terrible thing as Ansel Adams shows this so incredibly in his photographs, or in charitable, sacrificial act, when set against a concentration camp background is, overwhelmingly powerful. So her faith, trust and love in the Lord, having been placed in stark juxtaposition to the bleakness of her illness, cause us to see more clearly her living redeemed soul in a dying body.

That isn't to say we don't grieve, I've been grieving for her pain and the pain her family is experiencing from the time she found out she was ill. But this grief is not the grief that the world has, I know her soul is alive and while her earthly body is coming to an end, her soul is preparing to go to her heavenly Father. This cracked and tired husk will fall away and she will rise up renewed, to run (as she loved to run when strong and healthy) and to not grown weary. We'll most likely not meet again on earth, however we WILL meet again. Heaven is where she'll be and as I'm going there too, our meeting is assured. Right now, I'm on the slow path, but in the end we will both be sitting at the same table, at the feast of the Lamb, rejoicing together. Death where is your sting? It has been swallowed up in victory!

The heart which was strong, ceased to beat.

Eyes fluttered and closed.

Loosely the hands gentled to lay still.

Pain flowed out and drifted into nothing to be felt no more.

The end came and with it the beginning.

Stars leaned close and flickers of wings tipped the sky.

Singing came forth and rejoicing poured in.

A child coming home.

A child dancing home.

A child welcomed home.

Rest for the weary.

Joy unrestrained.

Tears no more felt and grief washed away.

A Shepherd gathering in His lamb and going home.

The Dawn Treader

Right up front let it be stated that I'm a stickler for the following of books rather strictly when they are being produced in movie form.

Now, I know they can't catch every nuance, or portray the characters exactly as the author described them, especially not an author of Lewis' caliber. However it would be polite of them to at least try. It would be nice to have it explained how screenwriters manage to make such a mess out the thing. Here is a book that has charmed thousands of people, children and adults alike, ever since it was first published. It is witty, charming, zesty, fairly dripping in adventure and chock full of memorable characters. With deft strokes Lewis spun a tale that should (and does) keep one on the edge of ones seat, he gave the film makers everything to create a spectacular tale.

But. They. Crashed. Burned. And. Ruined. It.

Not only that, if you took the film solely on it's artistic merit you'd be sadly disappointed. It is badly filmed, badly acted, poor (bordering on moronic) lines and rushed. Getting a new director did the film company no favors, he failed to draw out of his actors even a tenth of what the previous director had managed.

Perhaps at the one of the first meetings to discus the film someone (a bigwig) said "Look, children are stupid, they'll be satisfied with drivel and Christians are gonna love the film no matter what we do. Because it will be family friendly and about Narnia, so lets not spend to much time on it." And then the next person pipes up "Yeah, and lets put in some green mist, there isn't enough green mist in films these days. I'm picturing Simple Green here."

Thus was born the key plot line, a gangling, all elbows and knees, embarrassed at being shoved into and above the real story, apologetic and not knowing where to look. The search for Aslan's country, noble deeds, fights, friendships, the conquering of self and the defending of innocent lives isn't enough material to make an exciting movie. We need a green mist that makes no sense, with an emphasis on self betterment, awkward friendships (Lucy's with the small girl) along with a general debasing of all characters. With the (boring) culmination, not a leaning on Aslan, but a "We can do it" slogan infused with a pathetic attempt at an exciting magical twist (the seven swords).

Sadly the pathos that is attempted to be interjected by the adding of a Father and small girl who have lost their wife and Mother to the green mist, adds no pathos at all. The best part happens at the end when they jump off the ship to swim out to the Mother after she's been found, but the reunion isn't what brings joy. It is the fact that, praise God, their no longer cluttering up the deck and acting as flies in the ointment. The only thing better would have been if they'd gotten washed away sooner.

Lewis did not consider children (or Christians) to be stupid or unable to grasp "higher and deeper" ideals and thoughts. His tales are always refreshing, biting, with a crisp edge as well as a homely and gentle touch that was genus. I respected that as a child and still do as an adult. It is my opinion that this film would have made him chuckle but on the other hand be rather annoyed because it deliberately drags us down to the level of oatmeal. Feeding neither the imagination nor the soul. Giving us nothing to aspire to, trampling on the wild joy and creativity that should have been a directors dream to portray.

I never thought I'd say this but....I hope they don't make another one, it obviously can only get worse from here on out.

Seeing is believing.

Last night in my mind was the thought "How can you explain a relationship with Jesus Christ, to someone who doesn't know him?".

Really, relationships are rather intangible things to begin with, I mean try explain in clear, simple terms why you love a good friend. Express to a person who has never met them, just WHO that friends IS.

It isn't to hard to skim the surface "We both love rock climbing, we have great conversations, we adore putting the smack-down on the same people." But still that doesn't explain why that person brings joy to you, or even an accurate description of their personality. So the only solution is for them to meet, for the one to see the other and come to know them. How much harder is it to express a spiritual connection and adoption?

So in a sense when I try and express through words, who Jesus Christ and Father are it will be rather useless and awkward. I don't mean totally useless since we are to "confess with our mouths" as well as "give a reason for the hope we have." But I think if there isn't more focus on living and less on talking you will never truly show Jesus to someone.

This is brought solidly home to me by one of my friends, Puschel. She is 26 years old, athletic, smart, loving and kind. She took her degree in nursing and then spent the last years working at a Bible school and then at a orphanage in South America. In 2007 she was diagnosed with cancer in her hip, after three years of torturous operations and treatments she is able to walk but is missing half of her pelvis and a bone in her lower leg. And since they had to cut the sciatic nerve she has no feeling in her lower leg and foot. When I saw her in 2008 she weighed maybe a hundred pounds (she is probably about 5'9) and couldn't walk, her younger brother or Dad would carry her to the bed, bathroom or where ever she need to go. It would take a lot of time to explain all of which has happened, the chemo, morphine, blood infection, bones breaking, general sickness, more chemo and finally a reduction in cancer activity. And then, it came back. As a huge tumor on her spine and also showing up in her lungs. So now she is dealing with that.

But the light of Jesus is shining through her. To see her is to see the glow of God's love burning, burning and burning in her. In what should only be a depressed and bitter person, there is peace, laughter, cheerfulness and abundant joy. It just flows out of her and all who see her know that God is walking along side. Through her actions and demeanor this is proclaimed, although she isn't afraid to speak about Him and confess His name to the world. But her actions speak louder then any words ever could, she is focused on living Him and it shows in line of her frame. Rather like Dorian Gray, just in reverse. More and more the old Adam is burned away and more and more Jesus Christ is put in His place.

So I guess I'm taking that home with me,I too need to walk so closely with Jesus that all who see me see Him first without my mouth ever being opened. So my old Adam must die and the new Adam be put in his place.

Also Germans...

When you exit the train station and find a skuzz of homeless punks sprawled on the sidewalk, your best option is to move away quietly. Don't make eye contact, keep your hands at your sides, and don't make sudden movements, or they just might charge. Of course charging would consist of them de-entangling their legs from sleeping bags, putting down the beer bottles and standing up. So really the risk is very low if their to lazy do anything but sit in the rain at the train station then their probably to lazy to do any charging. However when in doubt move away is my motto.

So we did. Then because we weren't sure if we were moving in the right direction we moved back again. Missing our ride because of punks wasn't really a step in the right direction. However, after much careful detective work it was ascertained that, no indeed, this was not the place where we should be. No MacDonalds for instance. Also at this point it became clear that speaking no German (for once) had an upside. Whatever they were hollering out wasn't hitting their target and that gave me a rather warm and happy feeling. I almost wanted to go and pat them on the head and say "You poor little, foul mouthed dude, nothing you are saying means anything to me. Just stop talking and drink more beer." Actually not really, but it was nice we didn't understand.

Also it might be best NOT to buy train tickets for travel on Friday afternoon in Germany. Everyone is going home from work, or away for the weekend. And every child from ages 12 to 17 is in a hiking club that is going hiking. Our second train had roughly 634 of these alpiners on it, they were slouched over under packs as big as they, squashing into the cars with vim and vigor appropriate to their age and healthy pursuit. The club flags and some very odd stick things with small chains attached to them were endangering the train and other passengers. Perhaps they played a game in which you gained points for every unsuspecting person you impale.

And to wrap up our last train ride we met The Guy. He was wearing a sparkly, blue, sequin covered cowboy hat. Carrying a big flower arrangement. And a beer bottle. Sadly the train was really full and that meant he was going to sit...right....across.....from....us. Beer stink was also wafting from him.

Our plan of action was to turn up the music, lift up the books and be really deep in reading. However that didn't stop him from asking for my help to fix something on his hat. I am happy to report I understood his German and knew exactly what he wanted and I'm even happier to report that the German came springing to my lips to say "I speak no German." He was disappointed, but I not. After trying for a long time to fix his hat he went off in a doze or beer sleep for a time, only snapping out of it to attempt to talk with Tivoli. After that I as the intrepid leader decided it was time for us to go, we went so fast we almost took out the flower arrangement. Thank goodness we were only ten minutes from our stop so jumping up and rushing to the door to stand with our packs on wasn't hardship. And so ended our second to last train trip...