SCOTT hamilton

Deep Thoughts of Saturday AM

I’m sitting outside on a chilly, overcast Saturday morning.  As I look at the tree we’ve had since we’ve moved in I remember back when it was a 5ft sapling.  It’s bark was baby-butt smooth and soft.   Now its bark from branches down is gnarled, slit, scarred, and jagged. 

It reminds me of life.  As the years passed the soft bark split in order to make way for grow.  From the places I whacked it with the weed-eater when it was young it has grown extra thick, tough bark.  But the whole tree is not old and hardened. 

The branches nearest the leaves still have that baby smooth bark.  This is the place where the leaves stretch out for the warmth of the sun; for the food of light.  It speaks of faith. 

Mark 10:15

“Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."

(from THE MESSAGE.)

 And where the bark is most disfigured it is closest to the roots.  And even if you look at the roots themselves they are somewhat grotesque.   They are not a pretty tangle as spaghetti is, but much more an ugly mess of matted hair.  And yet this is what gives it stability, reaches into the depth of nutrients to sustain life especially in the death of winter. 

Rom 5:3-5

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment.

(from New Living Translation) 

There’s the deep thought of Saturday morning.  It sounds like the fan in my computer is dying.  I better take it in soon.

 

Harmonized Heart-to-Heart

A few years ago I had quite the humorous experience.  It was mid-afternoon at the office and I was making a trip to the restroom.  As I walked down the hall I noticed one of my colleagues following me.  He’s a good guy, great sense of humor –especially in creating awkward moments.  We’re comfortable with each other which played into what transpired next.

 

So I made my way into the last stall and proceeded to go through the oft practiced ritual.  I heard him come in and take position at one of the urinals.  Then he proceeded to strike up a conversation – a slight breach in bathroom etiquette to say the least, but par for the course with this guy.

 

 

Him: “Hey what’s up?”

 

Me: “Not much.  How’s it going?”

 

Him: “Good.  Been busy lately. Know what I mean.”

 

Me: “Yep.”

 

The conversation continued for a few more volleys of small talk, perfect in its call-and-response rhythm, where upon I concluded my business and exited the stall only to realize . . .

 

. . . he’d been on the phone with another person the whole time who was reciting the same lines as me.  With one of those Bluetooth devices attached to his ear he was in this love triangle of conversations – the perfect storm of synchronized dialogue. It was a two-sided chat between three people.  The quirkiness of the whole situation descended on me like a cloud of laughing gas.  I just couldn’t stop.  The more I replayed our perfectly timed exchange the harder I laughed.

 

I wonder how many times I’ve thought I was in sync with God when I was just having a shallow conversation with myself . . .

In Perspective

I filled up the gas tank again yesterday.  It always hurts.  But just to keep things in perspective:

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Things I'd Rather Do . . .

Things I’d rather do than watch the “Left Behind” trilogy:

 

10. Wet-willie Chuck Norris

9. Spend a day with any of the political candidates

8. Try running of the bulls wearing high heels

7. Run the Bolder Boulder again

6. Poke a Great White in the eye while wearing a seal fur coat

5. Have a pedicure from Boy George

4. Give a pedicure to Boy George

3. Sit front row at a John Tesh concert

2. Chew on tin foil

1. Get a “physical” every week with Dr. Briggs (OK maybe not)

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God I Don't Get it . . .

I don’t get it. Why did God create us with hair?

 

OK. I get some of the hair. Like Eye brows and lashes. They keep dust and stuff out of my eyes. The hair on my head keeps me warm. But hair on my toes…? I don’t get it. There is hair in the weirdest places (not to worry I won’t be expounding on this).  And why does it keep getting longer the older I get. I recognize why I have ‘peach fuzz’ around my ears – to keep stuff out. But why did a few rogue hairs have to morph into deluxe length repelling ropes.

 

Psalm 139:14

14and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt. CEV

 

OOKAYY . . . God why couldn't we stay that way then?

 

God is it because the older I get the slower I get and the more vulnerable I am to treacherous specks of dust. Is that why I need the extra protection. But God I still don’t understand the length thing. A higher density medium length solution seems logical. That one extra long hair reminds me of the long stemmed flower catching that pollen dot in “Horton Hears a Who” (hey that may explain the voices).

 

God I’ll just add this to my list of questions . . . right behind your sovereignty and my free will.

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What is Love

Love is not a feeling. You cannot “fall out of love” with someone.
 

Love is a choice. You either choose to love someone or not. The feelings follow the choice. When you choose to love someone you are propelled into action. Love is expressed through action. It is a conscience choice to sacrifice your own desires and put someone else first. When the choice and action to love someone else is present then your attention turns to that person and you develop feelings of affection, fondness, and even infatuation for that person. The feelings are the result of your choice and actions.
 

Love is not a feeling it is a choice. You cannot fallout of love with someone – you simply choose to stop loving them.

Happy Valentine's Day sweetie - you make the choice easy!  I love you.

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Gettin' Chicky with Christmas

With all the distancing of retailers from the term "Christmas", I found it interesting that a fast food joint is leveraging it. Check out what I received with my take-out from Chick-fil-A.

 

Looks like they’ll be having some fun.

(PS. Of all the fast food joints Chick-fil-A out classes them all in the customer service department too)

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Caution: Christmas Rant Ahead

I don’t get it.

For followers of Jesus Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. It is his birthday party.

So why do we encourage others to make lists of what they want? It’s not their birthday. I understand soliciting lists from people for their own birthday but not someone else’s.  "Hey Bob did you know Stan's birthday is coming up so I made a list of the things I want." Sounds ludicrous doesn't it?  But that is what we teach our kids.

I understand that I am in the minority with this approach to Jesus’ birthday. For most followers of Jesus it is the usual “must spend” attitude. They ask, “ why not celebrate Christmas by giving? Wouldn’t Jesus want us to be generous like him?”

Great question.

And I would say that indeed we should be generous like Jesus. I think the question should be:  Is our generosity pointed in the right direction? I cringe every time one my girls offer a list of what they want for Christmas. And I yearn for the year when they come to me with a list of what they want to get Jesus for his birthday. Of course they are just acting out of the training they’ve received – training to be self-centered.

But as a parent don’t you want to give your children gifts? Another great question.

The answer is simply - yes. But more important to me is their heart and their relationship with Jesus. Instead of teaching/modeling for them a self-centered, lust-fest of materialism approach to Jesus’ birthday, I’d rather teach them a sacrificial, others first, Jesus focused approach.

So let’s ask the question: Jesus, what do you want for your birthday? I think this might be a list that he would offer to us.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Mt 25:35-36 NIV

You might ask, “Well how do we do that?” and I would say that question just shows how unpracticed we are at getting Jesus what he actually wants for his birthday.

“But isn’t giving to my kids right along the lines of ‘whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me' that Jesus taught?” (v 40 same chapter)

Great question but one that I believe is an attempt at veiling our self-centered/family-centered focus. Really, do our kids/family need more stuff? Are they going without food/shelter/clothing/hope/friendship? Is it really giving to Jesus when we give our kid another electronic gadget rather than giving that cash to the Denver Rescue Mission?  The reason we ask for lists is because our kids/families have so much junk we've run out of ideas.  Not only do they not have needs, we have no idea of what they want.  And neither do they.  All they know is they want more.  AHHHHGG!!

I’m not a scrooge. I love celebrating Jesus’ birthday. I wish we would actually do it. I love showering my family with gifts, but I care more about their hearts.

You know our concupiscence-for-stuff approach to Christmas is basically getting what’s on the want list of the corporations and marketers . . . and that’s a big fat profit.

. . .

And Jesus sits patiently by with his list in hand yearning for us to ask, “Jesus what do you want for your birthday?”

(But Scott my family did send $50 to the Denver Rescue Mission.  Well way to throw Jesus a bone . . . now let's get back to shopping . . .)

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Unlocking Opportunities

So we arrive home at dark:30 and start unloading bags from the grocery hauler. My wife comes in with the last load and informs me that the neighbor across the street has locked himself out of his house. So I do what any good neighbor/pastor would do – I go over and offer the services of my lock picking kit.

A pastor isn’t worth his salt if he doesn’t have a good lock picking kit . . . right?

15 fumbling minutes later we were in.

I once picked a lock with a paper clip and another doohickey.  And I'm no James Bond. It struck me how much perceived security we get from things like locks. We feel safe; we think our stuff is safe, we feel comfortable and cozy surrounded by tangible stuff. What a façade.

I think it’s one reason people don’t consider eternity – they feel safe now and believe the feeling will last forever.

Mt 6:19-21:

19"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or — worse! — stolen by burglars. 20 Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. 21 It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.  (MSG)

(PS. Joel I wasn't laughing AT you.  I was laughing WITH you)
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Penelope Intelligence

My wife has been freaking out the past day and a half. “The Rodent is loose!” is what I woke up to the other morning. Technically it is a rodent, but to my girls it is their beloved Penelope, a Panda hamster.

So, after looking high and low (mostly real low) we set a trap. Although my wife has threatened to set a mouse trap before, we agreed to go with something a little less traumatic on the girls. The trap consists of our mop bucket set on a lower step, and old towel in the bottom, some irresistible lettuce and carrots, and a ramp leading to the rim.

The idea behind it is that Penelope will smell her favorite cuisine, climb the ramp, jump down on the soft towel, eat the food, and not be able to scale the high, slippery sides of the bucket. It worked flawlessly. It worked flawlessly because Penelope did not plan ahead and was greedy. She did not think about what she would do after she plunged for the produce. The only thing on her mind was immediate satisfaction. She did not weigh the risks. She was limited by “Penelope intelligence”.

Although most Americans are not limited by “Penelope intelligence” they sure act like it. Take for example the recent troubles with home loans. People have made decisions with self-imposed limited foresight and are now paying the price. They plunged after the produce without thinking about their next step.

My father-in-law, whom I love and respect very much, would put the brunt of the blame on the government –specifically a certain political party. But I have to ask why aren’t the individual people who put their signatures on the loan papers responsible? They knew the risks just like everyone else, and yet chose only to focus on the carrots.

Speaking of focusing on the carrots . . . what’s the next step for you after this life?

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