Recently my wife and I made a little outing to a duo of area orchards. We were looking for a small adventure and an activity to build our couple-time around. So we drove out to the countryside some miles north of here. It was a pleasant time and pleasant activity on a pleasant day.
Orchards in northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas typically featured a gift shop and a fascinating array of goods for sale. It was certainly the case at both stops we made. You can’t make a living selling just apples, or so it appears. Or at least you cannot make the kind of living you can if you offer food novelty items, cook books and candies, aprons and soaps, wall art and children’s toys.
As you might guess, there was a lot to charm and entice. We did purchase a bag of apples. And, as strange as this sounds, we bought a pumpkin lover’s recipe book at the apple orchard. The cider donuts we skipped, and we did not venture out into the corn field maze though it did look intriguing.
What I found absolutely spellbinding were the multiple varieties of gourds and squashes being sold alongside the season’s dominating pumpkins and apples. All sizes, shapes, and shades. Fascinating names, brilliant colors, nonstop beauty; it was a visual smorgasbord.
As wonderfully varied as this fall’s squash and gourds are, they are not nearly as captivating as the various people I come across in God’s Kingdom. Such an endless assortment! The range of personalities, temperaments, skills, interests, and histories is mind-boggling!
In unnumbered ways God has fashioned His people. His creativity speaks volumes about His inventive mind and our distinctive roles in His plan. God is up to something big here.
There are moments when any of us are tempted to see ourselves as unuseful. We run up against life’s experiences to discover there that we are not all we wish we were. It discourages us. Our value drops in our own estimation. And yet God gets the final word on this subject, too.
What God has put in place in making and molding each of us uniquely challenges us to find and fill our place in His plan. This is not easily done. There is too much mystery, too much dependence on another‘s insight to make this a simple task. Diversity is problematic.
But if God is anything He is capable, capable in putting us together and capable in putting us where we can know His place of personal blessing, of significance, and of service. God always has a way to say it and be heard.
If “Lord, take me where you want me” is your prayer, His reply will be, “Gladly!”
Tim Gramly
South Haven Baptist Church
Belton, Missouri
Oct. 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Screw Loose
I literally stepped on this one. In the floor of my mother-in-law's shower was a drain. Hold on; that's not the news. The drain was loosely capped by a tin cover punched full of enough holes to make even Swiss cheese jealous. That is no news either.
The drain cover was held in place by one lone and rough screw. You could say someone in my family had a screw loose, and I didn't even know about it! But you wouldn't say that because you wouldn't want to offend.
Here's the news: It was like this and for how long I have no idea and this under my own roof and risking the health of someone I definitely want to stay healthy since she irons my shirts and lets me win at Yahtzee occasionally.
Do we not talk about our needs and think others are so busy that they can't assist us? Or do we assume the little things can wait for a convenient time? There are times we really can't get to even legitimate issues, but I want to imagine we can get there more often when we know what the actual current status is.
Speak up and don't let the loose screw go untightened. The drain repair took less than ten minutes. Two tight, smooth, well functioning screws took the place of one nasty old one. Done! Not every need requires much for a healthy resolution.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
South Haven Baptist Church
Oct. 19, 2009
The drain cover was held in place by one lone and rough screw. You could say someone in my family had a screw loose, and I didn't even know about it! But you wouldn't say that because you wouldn't want to offend.
Here's the news: It was like this and for how long I have no idea and this under my own roof and risking the health of someone I definitely want to stay healthy since she irons my shirts and lets me win at Yahtzee occasionally.
Do we not talk about our needs and think others are so busy that they can't assist us? Or do we assume the little things can wait for a convenient time? There are times we really can't get to even legitimate issues, but I want to imagine we can get there more often when we know what the actual current status is.
Speak up and don't let the loose screw go untightened. The drain repair took less than ten minutes. Two tight, smooth, well functioning screws took the place of one nasty old one. Done! Not every need requires much for a healthy resolution.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
South Haven Baptist Church
Oct. 19, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Public Visibility
What if you just brushed your front teeth? You know, left unattended anything not visible when you smiled? How would that work out?
Do we pull that same sort of stunt when we only pursue the public side of spiritual living? I think we do. It is relatively easy to attend church weekly and be kind to your neighbor and restrict your vocabulary and choose Christian friends as your social circle.
But that is not the same as giving up a half-hour of sports or comedy viewing to read your Bible or reviewing the church prayer list on some day besides Wednesday or setting cash aside systematically from within the household budget for mission giving.
If all those pearly whites which compliment your front facade rot away, how long will it be before you begin to notice? The process of losing your side and back teeth might require years. Still, I think you will determine somewhere in that process that you would have been wiser to protect your molars and incisors than to simply let them go. I hope we are as quick to note spiritual rot and react in such a way as to prevent spiritual decay.
It is not just what people see that counts.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
South Haven Baptist Church
Oct. 13, 2009
Do we pull that same sort of stunt when we only pursue the public side of spiritual living? I think we do. It is relatively easy to attend church weekly and be kind to your neighbor and restrict your vocabulary and choose Christian friends as your social circle.
But that is not the same as giving up a half-hour of sports or comedy viewing to read your Bible or reviewing the church prayer list on some day besides Wednesday or setting cash aside systematically from within the household budget for mission giving.
If all those pearly whites which compliment your front facade rot away, how long will it be before you begin to notice? The process of losing your side and back teeth might require years. Still, I think you will determine somewhere in that process that you would have been wiser to protect your molars and incisors than to simply let them go. I hope we are as quick to note spiritual rot and react in such a way as to prevent spiritual decay.
It is not just what people see that counts.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
South Haven Baptist Church
Oct. 13, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
In the Zone
It is a natural reaction: I note a law enforcement vehicle and I glance at my speedometer. I hear that snicker, but I know why you do the same thing.
If I have to slow down, I don’t feel so good. Occasionally I can be seen nervously studying my rear-view mirror. If I’m caught doing 64 in a 65 zone, I feel really good. And my attention stays fixed on the road ahead.
When the Eternal Lawgiver turns His head my direction, does He see me in line or out of line with His laws? Whenever my actions and the motives behind them reflect well His ways, I feel really good, and my attention stays fixed on the road ahead. A growing love for God will translate into my being caught more often doing 64, not 74, in a 65 mph zone.
Happy travels!
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
South Haven Baptist Church
Oct. 8, 2009
If I have to slow down, I don’t feel so good. Occasionally I can be seen nervously studying my rear-view mirror. If I’m caught doing 64 in a 65 zone, I feel really good. And my attention stays fixed on the road ahead.
When the Eternal Lawgiver turns His head my direction, does He see me in line or out of line with His laws? Whenever my actions and the motives behind them reflect well His ways, I feel really good, and my attention stays fixed on the road ahead. A growing love for God will translate into my being caught more often doing 64, not 74, in a 65 mph zone.
Happy travels!
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
South Haven Baptist Church
Oct. 8, 2009
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