The Wisdom of Paying Attention

The day started out cool and cloudy.  Then a few spritzes of shower came through.  Now the sun is shining and things are warming up some.  There was just enough rain to clean off the leaves of the trees that are blossoming out in reds, yellows, and some browns.  The tomato vines are dead; but there are some green tomatoes on them that we can bring in and try to ripen.  Things have slowed considerably outdoors in the past couple of weeks, and the sun is setting ever more quickly and is delaying rising more each day.

Fall.  Autumn.  Whichever you call it, this season is full of conundrum and contrast.  The first part of the season is a flurry of ripening and production.  Tomatoes ripen at a fast pace.  Flowers start to go to seed (if they produce seeds).  Roses begin to bloom again.  Mums and other fall flowers begin to bloom.  Grass, it seems, takes off and grows…a lot.

Yet it is also the beginning of shut-down.  Leaves on trees begin to ever so slightly droop and change color at the edges.  Vines don’t spread much.  Plants that have already produced their fruit begin to look ragged and haggard.  It’s noticeably cooler now than it was just a couple of weeks ago.

It doesn’t take long to make the change.  A few cooler nights and a couple of frosts enhance any changes already in the making.  Even people who appreciate the colors and cooler temperatures are beginning to think about hunkering down for the long winter ahead.  Many of us begin, perhaps unconsciously, to bring on extra provisions.  We fill the freezer and canning jars.  We break out the sweaters and jackets.  We start wearing extra layers.  We check on things like hats and gloves, boots and shovels, de-icer and winter tires.

And so it goes (to borrow a phrase).  We can’t change anything about the onrush of fall and winter.  Oh, we may move to Florida for the winter, but we can’t change anything either here or there having to do with the weather or the environment.

I don’t know how many more times I’ll prepare for winter.  I do know that I’ve already prepared for winter many more times than I have yet to go.  But I also know that the One who created autumn, winter, the change of seasons, and all that go with it is the true Unchanging One…that however many more I have to prepare for, He will be there with me encouraging, strengthening, leading.  I’d be wise to pay attention to Him.

Whatever Happens

It’s a cold, wet, dreary day in Wichita today.  The temperature is 44 degrees.  The rain has started.  The clouds have thickened.  It’s one of those days when you’re glad you’re inside, the furnace works, and you have some hot chocolate mix in the pantry left over from last year.

These kinds of days are needed from time to time if for no other reason than to remind us of the glory of the sun and its warming rays.  This truly is one of those things where we have to experience what it’s like to NOT have something in order to appreciate it more when we DO have it.

These kinds of days also tend to change the attitudes of people.  I know that I tend to become more contemplative and yet more restless.  I sometimes wonder if the gloom of the outdoors somehow comes upon me in a personal way as I sort of wander, sometimes rather aimlessly, through the day.

I really think that there is something to the winter blues and the effect that daylight has on people.  I like to turn on the lights in the house and open the windows to let in as much light as possible.  I don’t like dark areas or shadowy parts of the house.  And I like to have plenty of light where I work.

It’s days like today that force me to smile when I’d rather not; that compel me to be cheerful when I’d rather complain; to talk with someone when I’d rather sit in the corner.  God’s blessings continue to come whether it’s raining or sunny; whether there’s a foot of snow on the ground or the roses are blooming.  It seems the least I can do is be grateful for His provision and care.

They say it will be in the mid 60’s tomorrow.  And that it will continue to warm up for a day or two before coming back into the 50’s later next week.  That’s the normal course of things for October.  Spring in reverse.  So we enjoy the days of sun and pleasant breeze.  And we work to do more than just tolerate the days of rain and wind.

The saving grace in all of this, for those of us who like long days and lots of light is that the shortest day of the year is a mere two months or so away; then the days again become ever so gradually longer and longer.  I’m counting down the days.  I’m already looking forward to spring.  And I know that whatever happens, God is there.

By Today's Standards...

We bought our first real PC in about 1990.  It was a pretty much up to date machine with an 80286 processor, 40mb hard drive, 5 ¼ floppy drive, 3 ½ floppy drive, and 24 pin printer.  It had 1mb RAM and we early on bought a math co-processor for the motherboard.

The machine was loaded with a program that had a word processor, data base, and spreadsheet (Not Microsoft Office).  It also had a few other bells and whistles, and generally was a good machine on which to learn how a computer worked and get used to MS-DOS instructions.

We paid handsomely for the machine.  It seems to me like we paid about $2,000 for the machine all together.  At the time, it was the best thing since sliced bread, and we’ve never been without some kind of computing machine since then.

By today’s standards, however, a 286 computer with a 5 ¼ floppy is very quaint.  It’s old, slow, cumbersome, has no Internet capability, has a monochrome monitor, and no CD/DVD drive.  It will not know what to do with Windows software, and couldn’t handle Office or any of the other software of today (with the possible exception of  Solitaire).

I have to wonder if some of us have become, in many ways, like the 286 computer in the modern age.  We have our traditions, ideas, and dogmas.  We cling to the times when we were growing up as the “best of times.”  We wish we could go back to those times and often rue the day when something happened in our lives that changed everything.

No, things aren’t perfect today by any stretch of the imagination.  But we have, by the grace of God, made some substantial improvements.  We have integrated bathrooms and eateries.  We have effective treatments for strokes and heart attacks.  We’ve conquered smallpox and have substantially reduced the chances of contracting other illnesses.  The world no longer has an Iron Curtain.  Africa is no longer the “dark continent.”

And we’ve progressed in other, less tangible ways.  Our understanding of how the universe works has gotten more precise, even though there is much yet to learn.  Christians have effectively used mass media to spread the message of Jesus Christ.  And we’ve grown in how we understand and relate to others (if we’d only use what we now know).

I have no desire to go back to 1956, 1990, or any other year past.  I like it where I am, right now, in this place at this time.  The 286 computer has no place on my desk, or in my mind other than a memory.  Those who continually desire to live in the past do themselves and those they interact with a great disservice, and are usually not very pleasant to be around.  It’s one thing to reminisce; it’s quite another to live in that era.

P:rayer for Today

A prayer for you today.  (Taken from the book “Lord, Change My Attitude—Before It’s Too Late” by James MacDonald.

Lord, thank you for the priceless privilege to worship and live alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ.  Thank you that each one is known and loved by you and has his and her own story of your grace and goodness in their lives.  Lord, I am like them in that you found me in my sin also.  And you have shined the light of Christ into my life.  Now I am in the process of growing and becoming more like you.  Help me along the way to discern the difference between loving, constructive criticism and the kind of criticism that destroys.  Help me to think highly and graciously about others.  Help me to pray for others.

Thank you that your word has shined into my heart.  Thank you for using it to reveal the price that I pay for my critical opinions.  Forgive me for thinking so highly of myself.  Forgive me fo thinking that my perspective is always the right perspective.  God, I recognize the arrogance in that.  Give me graciousness, love, and forbearance with others.  Thank you, God, that you have made us all different.  Help me to celebrate our differences and not demand that all the world see things exactly as I do.  Give me victory over a critical spirit.  Make me quick to turn from that pattern of thinking so that I might know your fullness in my life.  I pray this in Jesus’ precious name; Amen.

It's All Good

We went to the state fair last Saturday.  Now, that’s nothing spectacular, as a whole lot of folks go to the fair every year.  You may have gone.  We’ve gone to the fair most of the years of our married life, and I attended the fair as a teen with the high school band.  So it’s something we are very familiar with, and enjoy each year.

Of course, there are the old stand-by things at the fair that haven’t changed much over the years.  The Old Mill, Pronto Pups, chicken & noodle dinners, Lake Talbot, Porky’s sandwiches, the vendors under the grandstand; the farm equipment, antique tractors and engines, Kettle Korn and sales pitches; cattle, horses, rabbits, llamas, chickens & ducks…it’s all there.  But there are some newer attractions as well.  The sky lift ride, the talking robot, the zip line across Lake Talbot; all are newer things that have worked well and will probably be part of the fair landscape for years to come.

We, of course, have our traditions.  The train ride, giant slide, Old Mill, ice cream under the grandstand, and other things consume much of our time as we roam the fairgrounds.  The wife likes to look at the quilt exhibits as well as wander through the commercial buildings.  I like to see the antique tractors and engines and look at some of the farm equipment.

This year there was an auction of wood art going on at the arena, so I stopped and watched for about 30 minutes, listening to the cadence of the auctioneers, watching the ring men working the crowd.  I had no intention of buying anything…much too pricey for me.  But I enjoy going to an auction just to see and hear.  It reminds me of the days Dad and I would stop by the livestock auction in Harper where auctioneer extraordinaire Bill Starks would be auctioning pens of cattle and Gerald Smalley was one of the ring men barking out bids along with DeRoy Fields and others from time to time.  Sometimes Dad would buy…sometimes he would sell.  Sometimes he would just observe.  Often he’d talk with one of the other cattlemen there or maybe with Gerald or even Tom Minton, the owner of the sale.

Dad had his own way of buying and selling.  He never wanted to have others know too much about what he did, so he often asked Gerald to put in bids for him up to a certain price.  Sometimes he trusted Gerald and Tom to the point that he’d just tell them he needed so many head of whatever weight and ask them to buy for him what they thought would work for him at a price that was fair.

When it came time to sell, often Tom would call Dad and tell him he needed a few head to fill out a truck load or an order for so many at a certain weight.  And he needed them right then.  So the selling often was a last-minute thing, but the price was always right because of the need Tom had to fill out an order and his knowing that Dad’s livestock were in good shape.

Although that was long ago and far away, those memories are just as fresh as they were 40 or 50 years ago.  Just as the fair itself has within its borders memories of walking the midway, stopping by the Channel 12 booth, and browsing through the commercial buildings listening to hawkers sell pots and pans, knives, cleaning stuff, and goodness knows whatever else.

And hopefully, we are instilling in the grandkids memories of their own that they can call upon and relish in as they grow and mature…memories of cotton candy, the interactive fountains, helicopter rides, the Ferris wheel with Grandma, and the giant log plume water ride with Grandpa.

It’s all good.

State Fair Time

It’s State Fair time again.  Of course, we are attending the fair, as we do just about every year.  And even though there are some things that change from year to year, a lot of what we find at the fair stays the same year after year.

That’s one of the things I like about the fair.  Yes, I don’t mind the newer things, and even wander through some of the buildings in order to cruise past some of the commercial booths.  Mostly, I’m looking for booths that are new that I may not otherwise know about.  I also like to go through the agricultural equipment outdoors and see the gigantic leaps that have been made in agri-technology over the past fifty or so years since I farmed with Dad.  And I do want you to know that I rode the zip line last year.  Don’t know if I’ll do that again or not.

But I also like those things that never change.  The train ride has been at the fair for how long now?  And although some track was rerouted a few years ago, the train is still the train.  I can barely twist myself into the seat and keep my feet and arms inside, but who cares?  The Old Mill ride changes very little from year to year.  The giant slide, the carnival rides, the Pronto Pups, the robot that roams the fair, the clown with the extra-long legs…all are as they’ve been for many years.

And the animals.  I like to take a quick look at the cattle, the hogs, and the rabbits, chickens, and other beasts that have been entered.  Now, that might not float your boat, but as a farmer’s son, I enjoy seeing barnyard animals up close and personal once again.

There weren’t any grandstand shows that we wanted to see this year, so we’re saving some money there.  Otherwise, we’re all in.  We’ll do the slide, the train, the Old Mill.  We will possibly ride on some of the carnival rides, buy cotton candy and funnel cakes, and maybe even a Pronto Pup or fried Twinkie.  We’ll probably have lunch there somewhere, and slurp something to drink.  The grandkids will be with us, so it will be a double treat!

I don’t know what it is about things like the Fair that makes people come back year after year after year.  Shoot, I don’t even know why I go back year after year.  But we do, and we enjoy the respite from the rest of life and living, even if it’s for only a few hours.

So enjoy those things that have become traditional with you and your family.  Embrace them even as you are called to embrace (or at least tolerate) the inevitable changes that come to all of us in our daily lives.  After all, some things NEVER change.