08.14.08
Posted in Random Musings
at 9:29 pm
Dawna and I just arrived in Houston, having been on the road
in our coach for 6 days. It was, for the most part, a nice ride,
although we had an unnecessary breakdown in Hammond, LA
that cost us a day and too much money. It’s wonderful to be
back here again with her youngest son, the doggies, and to
be in the southern homestead again.
We traveled through a number of states this trip, and it always
hits me that no matter where you go, people are mostly the
same. We all laugh, smile, worry, wonder, and love. Most of
us have the same aspirations, many of us share the same code
of morals, and so on. Our accents may differ, but when you
travel a lot, you really come to realize that we’re all a lot more
alike than we are different. Regardless of differences, those of
us in America are Americans, folks who live in Canada are Can-
adians, etc.
One of the things that I enjoy doing is studying Google Anal-
ytics regarding my little website. I’ll check them at night, at
times daily, sometimes after a couple of days. This evening,
for whatever reason, I just decided to check the last month,
to try and get an overview of those who access my website.
In the last 30 days, people from 32 of these United States
came by for a look. North Carolina led the list with 73 visits
in the month. Five Canadian provinces showed up, and the
thing that led me to write this was the following:
Venezuela, Brazil, Benin, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany,
India, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, N. Ireland, Scotland,
Republic of Ireland, England, Wales, Bahamas, Malaysia, and
Israel were the other countries represented in the list. In one
month, this was amazing to me. The English folks led the in-
ternational list with well over 100 hits. So far this year, the
total of countries represented is nearing 100. This totally
humbles and amazes me. Yet, completely apart from any-
thing to do with this website, it’s a thrilling thing to see
just how small our world has become.
And it hit me - since I have to assume that the majority of
people who visited this site are Christians, this shows what
a global community the church has become as well. One man
from Australia e-mailed me a while back to tell me that he’d
listened to a series of messages that I’d given on I Peter. I
wrote him back immediately to ask where on earth he had
gotten the series, and he pointed me to several websites
where messages of many of us can be found, and can be
downloaded free of charge. I went to the first one that he
had mentioned, and there were more than 200 messages
that I’ve given through the years. I was stunned. The in-
ternet that has brought the human race together in ways
we couldn’t dream of ten years ago, has also brought the
church together in unprecedented ways. Especially since
there’s so much junk on the internet, the fact that we in
the church are a community here is pretty neat, don’t
you think?
It got me to thinking of a coming day when, from every
tribe, tongue, people, and nation, we’ll be gathered in a
brand new home; knowing as even now we’re known -
perfect in every way, an eternal community occupied
with one glorious purpose. There will be no language
barriers then, no separation, no differences in any way.
One church, no spots, no wrinkles, millions of souls who
make up the bride of Christ. This is just a tiny foresight
of that grand day.
It has me thinking “Maranatha!” I cannot wait!
Summer blessings….
Alan
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08.04.08
Posted in Random Musings
at 3:04 pm
Right up front, allow me to say that I’m not much of a movie buff.
My family knows this well. If I’m going to watch anything, it will
either be news or the occasional sports program. But lately, we
have a new system going in our growing household, and they’re
calling it Friday night movie night. We’ll order pizza or someone
will cook, and we’ll watch a movie that one of them has chosen.
Everyone knows that while I love having everyone here, I’ll prob-
ably endure whatever it is we’ll watch. Having said that, some
of the movies have been pretty remarkable. Just don’t tell the
kids that, okay?!
Last Friday night we watched a movie that I wouldn’t neces-
sarily recommend, but it was touching. Two men - who were
total opposites - were told that they had 6 months to live, and
in the most unlikely of circumstances, they formed a list of the
things they wanted to do before they died. Like too much out
of Hollywood, there were words that I wish hadn’t been said,
and scenes I wish hadn’t been included. But, while the two
men were sitting gazing on the ancient pyramids in Egypt,
one of them remarked that the ancient Egyptians had this
belief; that when a soul stood outside of Heaven, they were
asked two questions. Their entrance into Heaven was based
on their answers. Admittedly this was from a pagan system,
and in no way whatsoever is this the basis for my little essay
today. But the questions reformed themselves in my mind, to
the point where from a Christian perspective, I’ve given them
some thought.
First, “Have you found real joy in your life?” Secondly, “Has
your life brought joy to others?” Interesting, isn’t it, that a
positive answer to but two questions gained a soul their
entrance into Heaven? I dare say that many in the world
today are basing their eternity, sadly, on even less than
that. And yet, those are cogent questions nonetheless…
So I ask you, as I asked myself, “Have you found real joy
in your life?” Anyone who has accepted Christ as personal
Savior can instantly smile and say yes. But it’s deeper
than that, isn’t it? I remember reading a book once, and
a chapter of it focused on how many days of our lives
we’ve really lived…not just existed, or gone through the
motions of another day, but really been alive. Some call
these “defining moments”; when every cell of your being
felt gloriously alive. The times that you’ll never forget, or
forget when it was or where you were when you lived it.
I imagine that most of us are alike, in that most of the
days of our lives just blend into each other, only broken
up by those too-rare experiences of living. I think that
we would all do well to make each moment try and count
more. Even little things that don’t cost a cent - going to
the beach, dropping whatever we’re doing to just have
fun with our loved ones, late-night conversations where
we forget the clock and just talk. These are what we
remember, and the memories bring joy.
Question #2 - “Have our lives brought joy to others?”
Ah…this one may make us leave our comfort zones. We
do live in a very selfish and self-centered society, don’t
we? Inevitably, it’s bound to filter down to the family of
God, and, I think it has. Remember the One Who said
“I didn’t come to be served, I came to serve”. Obviously
we hope that our lives bring joy to the ones who we love
the most, but that usually comes easily. A life well-lived
is one that’s missed when it’s over. I’ve been asking my-
self how much I’ll be missed, if my life ends sooner than
I’d prefer. Have I sown the seeds necessary to really be
missed? Not just by Dawna and my kids, and my very best
of friends, but everyone that crosses my path? Have I
invested the time, talents, spiritual gifts, humor, and
the caring in others that will be necessary for my life
to have brought joy to others? Introspection need not
be overly self-centered, and these thoughts can be a
healthy exercise.
And who would have thought…it was a movie that
got me thinking of these things! Maybe I just need
a better attitude about these Friday night gather-
ings. 
Be well, and happy….
Alan
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