YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN EYE FOR THIS ANTIQUE...

I wonder how many of my friends can identify this tiny glass item? It is two and a half inches in height, belonged to my grandmother and dates back to roughly 1870. It is "British made" and similar vintage items currently sell on ebay for about $25. I used it not long ago and it worked just fine...No, it is not a shot glass. Too small for that!

SAUGEEN SHORES STUDENTS STRIKE FOR CLIMATE ACTION

                     
Saugeen Shores high school students have added their voices to the millions around the world who are calling for Climate Action that began in earnest and was inspired by 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Student  Laura Gilbert

Spearheaded by Cydney Morris and Angelina Baron, Saugeen District Senior School (SDSS) students began Thursday with a special ‘climate action’ assembly. The organized and student-led assembly was part of an international coalition of young people who are concerned about the future of the planet.

During the assembly, student Lauren Gilbert, who is a Bahamian, showed a video received from her aunt as Hurricane Dorian struck. “Many lost their lives and the islands are being impacted by increasingly worse hurricanes. Our actions have consequences and we are all accountable. We need to take action and say ‘no’ to climate change.”

“The climate crisis is real. It is not a political crisis but a human crisis,” said Cydney Morris. "We can each make a difference." Angelina Baron urged her peers to talk to their parents and grandparents and make it clear that climate change is not separate from well-being.

Student Logan Lemcke also urged fellow students to help make a difference when it comes to waste. “Use reusable materials, containers and bottles. We have started here in school with reusable cutlery – make sure you return it. We have to sort waste properly or eliminate it altogether.”

In the afternoon, students went "on strike" and left their classrooms to march to Coulter Parkette in downtown Port Elgin chanting and carrying placards. At the Parkette, many from the community joined them in their Climate Action Strike and signed a petition that will be circulated to all levels of government.

The Climate Action campaign is a beautiful display of global solidarity uniting everyday people all around the world to strengthen each other’s call for government action on climate. Students today are among the most well-connected in history and they have become united in this cause. They are demanding change not platitudes. God bless them!

Saugeen Times Photo

AN EXERCISE FOR KIDS IN CHURCH, OR ANY PLACE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER

A message and colouring exercise for children at St. Andrew's, Chatsworth, Sept.29, 2019.

Has anyone ever told you a secret? 

The Bible talks about a special secret called “the sacred secret.” It is sacred because it is from God. And it is called a secret because people did not know about it. Even angels wanted to know more about this. Would you like to know what the secret is?—

What do you think the angels were trying to find out?

Well, a long, long time ago, God created the first man and woman. Their names were Adam and Eve. God gave them a beautiful home called the Garden of Eden.

All Adam and Eve had to do was to obey God and they and their children could have made the whole earth a paradise, or a wonderful place to live in for ever. But do you know what Adam and Eve did?

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by breaking the only rule He gave them, and that is why we still do not live in paradise today. But God did say that he would make the whole earth beautiful, and everyone would live forever and be happy.

How would he do this? For a long time, people did not know. It was a secret.

When Jesus came to earth, he taught people more about this secret. He said that it was about God’s Kingdom and he told people to pray for this Kingdom to come because it will make the earth a beautiful paradise.

So we have to remember that only those who obey God will live in the wonderful place known as Paradise in a Kingdom that is beyond our wildest dreams.

The Bible tells us many stories of men and women who obeyed God and it helps us to learn how to live by their example. That is why we keep saying our prayers and why we come to church every Sunday because we want to find out everything we can about how we might live in God's Kingdom for ever and ever.

It is a lot for you to understand right now, but as you get older it will start to unfold for you. For now, just do a lot of watching, listening and asking questions about the Bible stories you hear. Somehow, I know you will.


~~ Written by your church friend, Dick Wright

Here's a thought exercise for you from the minds of others much smarter than me.

“The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything.” Warren Buffet

According to Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do.” More directly, we are what we say yes to.

Every second of every day, you’re saying yes to something. Every time you do something, you say yes to that thing.

Every time you hop on Facebook and begin scrolling, you’re saying yes.

Every piece of food you put in your body, you’re saying yes.

Right now, as you read this post, you are saying yes.

When you say yes to anything, you say no to almost everything else. Every choice has embedded opportunity. Every choice is very costly. Saying yes isn’t free.

Self-Signaling: The Science of Identity

According to research by Dr. Ronit Bodner and Dr. Drazen Prelec, “Actions provide a signal to ourselves, that is, actions are self-signaling.” In other words, your actions provide a signal to you of the type of person you are.

If you wake up early and go running, you’ll think to yourself, I’m the kind of person that wakes up early and goes running. Whatever decisions you’ve made, you’ll conclude that I’m the type of person that does X, Y, OR Z. (Luckily, as will be shown in a moment, your past is actually highly fluid, and can be changed by future actions.)

In the recent book, Skin in the Game, Dr. Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains that what you do is the purest definition of your value system. In Start with Why, Simon Sinek said the same thing. Your actions demonstrate what you really believe.

Gandhi said, “Action expresses priorities.” He also said, “To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest,” which is what psychologists call cognitive dissonance— the state of internal conflict. You can’t be confident if you don’t trust yourself. Confidence is a by-product of congruent and successful behavior.

Confidence is the emotional state of someone whose prior action was intentional and accurate of the person they planned on being.

Past, Present, and Future Identities

“It’s a conscious decision to choose your priorities every day.” — Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Interview with Woman’s Day, 2010

Your present identity is based on what you said yes to yesterday. Who you are today is a product of your previous decisions.

Your future identity is what you say yes to today. Who you’ll be tomorrow is a product of your current decisions.

Your past identity is what you’ll say yes to tomorrow. Who you were in the past is a product of future decisions, because memories are highly fluid and change based on current and future experiences. No matter how dark or conflicted your past, it can absolutely be transformed. As you change, the meaning of your past changes — as does the memory of it.

Your past can be redeemed by positive future decisions. Your present can make sense when you say yes to only that which you aspire to be like. And your future is as bright as your faith. As Napoleon Hill said, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”

But only if you act in accordance with that future vision.

Hence, Zig Ziglar was famous for saying, “You’ve got to be before you can do and do before you can have.” You decide who you want to be and act accordingly. If you don’t act accordingly, you’ll signal to yourself that you’re someone else, because you are what you do. More directly, you are what you say yes to.

You decide who you want to be. But that decision is only a real decision if you do what that decision entails. Otherwise, it wasn’t really a decision. The decision is only a decision if action aligns with it.

Conclusion

“If you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any.” — Jim Collins, Good to Great

In the book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeown states, “You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.”

Most things should swiftly be said no to.

To repeat the quote from billionaire Warren Buffett: “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything.”

Similarly, Jim Rohn said, “A lot of people don’t do well simply because they major in minor things.”

Most people say yes to minor things. Hence, most people live minor, not major lives.

Who will you be tomorrow? That depends on what you do today.

ON GETTING RID OF WASTE-OF-TIME REGRETS

I discussed needless regrets with a friend not long ago. That got me thinking...

Regrets: Ah yes, I've had a few...I think we all have.

Drop the name "Sinatra" in almost any conversation and people my age will know you mean Ol' Blue Eyes, the Chairman of the Board, leader of the Rat Pack...The late Frank Sinatra.

Some of the lyrics to his signature song "My Way" can move you to tears. "Regrets, I've had a few, but then again too few to mention…" for example.

It is not common knowledge, but "My Way", which became a classic anthem of sorts, was originally the creation of two French composers -- Jacques Revaux and Gilles Thibault -- along with Egyptian-born French singer Claude François. Canadian singer Paul Anka added the English words to the song, turning it into one of the all-time favorites we all now know and love.

The original French composers, along with Anka and Sinatra, may have had "too few to mention," (or admit to) -- regrets, that is -- as a way of justifying having lived life their way...and the jury remains out on that one.

But I am the first to confess to a long string of regrets and it includes not doing, as well as doing, a lot of things...Some of which I could attribute to "doing it my way."

Come to think of it, missed opportunities––the roads not traveled––may even outnumber mistakes. And we make matters worse for ourselves with the woulda, shoulda, coulda lament that is as old as the Bible itself.

Right off the top, I can assure you that in truth a) we all try to make the best decisions possible in life using the information available at the time, and b) we all mess up from time to time. But it doesn’t help the pain to point that out, does it.

Regret is sorrow or remorse over something that has happened or that we have done. Regret can also be a sense of disappointment over what has not happened, such as regretting wasted years.

Either way, regrets can be nasty things that we impose on ourselves.

How many decisions do you think you make during the average day? Dozens? Hundreds, perhaps? Psychologists believe that the number is actually in the thousands. Some of these decisions have resounding effects over the course of our lives (like whether or not to go to college, get married, or have kids), while others are relatively trivial (like whether to have a ham or turkey sandwich for lunch).

Some of these choices turn out to be really good while others end up being not so great.

So as you look back at your life and think about some of the poor choices you have made, you might find yourself wondering why you made those decisions that seem so poor now in retrospect.

Why did you make a certain decision? Why did you say something hurtful to someone without really thinking? Why wasn't I more attentive? Why didn't I show more compassion? Why did I over-react? Why didn't I try harder...?

If only I could take back certain things...If only this and if only that...

I am reminded of a story told by a man named Will Ream who recalled trying to figure out what was best for his children, and having some regrets about how things worked out with his family and marriage. He knew he could have done some things differently...and he was feeling very abandoned, even by God.

His children were the one thing that had kept him going up to a point when desperation finally got the best of him. He was on the brink of committing suicide. With a knife on his lap and his feet dangling over a cliff, out of nowhere he suddenly heard the voices of his children pleading: "Pray dad, pray!"

..."and I did!" concluded a mercifully unburdened and very much alive Will Ream as he recalled the lowest point of his life and how God pulled him out of it...In the nick of time.

To be human is to have regrets because making mistakes is a universal experience. The Bible gives much instruction that, if followed, can help us get over our tendency to second-guess ourselves -- to be weighed down with regret.

God’s commands and boundaries are written down for us in His Word, and the more we adhere to them, the less we have to regret.

Having regrets is a waste of precious time. It impedes the joy of life. So stop beating yourself up for things in the past that you cannot change. If you haven't already, get it/them off you mind once and for all with a simple, heart-felt, repentant prayer to the Holy Creator.

Forgiveness is there for all of us...All you have to do is ask for it...You'll be glad you did!

NOTE: I'll be elaborating on the subject of "regrets" later this month during Sunday worship services at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Chatsworth and Geneva in Chesley.

MY FISHER-PRICE PLUTO POP-UP KRITTER TOY IS 83 YEARS OLD

Among the very first 16 toys made by Fisher-Price in 1931 were the ever popular Pop-Up Kritters (Patented October 5, 1926-No. 1,601,983) that were made of bead and string construction allowing the Kritter to spring to life when the strings are pulled tightly, squirm and sway around as the strings are loosened, and laying flat when the strings are loosened all the way. Pop-Up Kritters are mounted on a paddle and the control strings have metal loops on the end to allow easy maneuvering. 

Five years (1936) after the first Pop-Up Kritters were released, a new Kritter was added to the line in the form of Disney's Pluto. To the best of my knowledge, Santa Claus brought me the "Pluto" shown in the above photo for Christmas in 1940 and I still have it in virtual mint condition. 

Now an antique collector's item, it remains one of my favorite toys and I still get it out and put it through its paces -- just for fun -- often as a stress reliever. Some kids never grow up, I guess.

Pluto is made of yellow wooden beads, he has a black beaded tail, black oil cloth ears, and a red collar around his neck. He has a 50-pound test fish line through the middle, he pops up when the string is pulled, goes limp when released. Pluto is mounted on a BLUE wooden guitar-shaped paddle. Marked "W.D. Ent.". Measures 7-1/2" tall, 5-1/2" high, 10-1/2" long paddle.

Other Information:
Was the best selling Pop-Up Kritter of all time.
Copyright Walt Disney Productions.
Patent No. 1,601,983.
The suggested retail price in 1936 was .25¢.
The suggested retail price in 1948 was .50¢.
Today it is priced at $25.99 on eBay.

The following poem can be found in one of Fisher-Price's mini-catalogues regarding the #440 Pluto Pop-Up and the #610 Tailspin Tabby:

It's Pluto the pup, chasing Tailspin Tabby
To the top of the fence and over, maybe
The lovable Kritters mean lots of fun
For the lucky youngster having one.

THE GENEVA BIBLE STORY...

Well-worn antique Bibles, thanks to Wright and Ruddick ancestors.

The first human author to write down the biblical record was Moses. He was commanded by God to take on this task and he naturally wrote in his native language -- Hebrew.

During the thousand years of its composition, almost the entire Old Testament was written in Hebrew. But a few chapters in the prophecies of Ezra and Daniel and one verse in Jeremiah were written in a language called Aramaic. This language became very popular in the ancient world and actually displaced many other languages. Aramaic even became the common language spoken in Israel in Jesus’ time, and it was likely the language He spoke day by day. Some Aramaic words were even used by the Gospel writers in the New Testament.

The New Testament, however, was written in Greek. This seems strange, since you might think it would be either Hebrew or Aramaic. However, Greek was the language of scholarship during the years of the composition of the New Testament from 50 to 100 AD. The fact is that many Jews could not even read Hebrew anymore, and this disturbed the Jewish leaders a lot! So, around 300 BC a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek was undertaken, and it was completed around 200 BC. Gradually this Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, was widely accepted and was even used in many synagogues. It also became a wonderful missionary tool for the early Christians, for now the Greeks could read God’s Word in their own tongue.

By way of translation, we now have The Holy Bible (His revelation) in our own English language and in 2,300 other languages as well. Today we have the very Bible that comes to us from the original three languages. Truly we can say, “God speaks my language!”

In the post that follows, I take a look at the long  journey of the Christian Bible that forms the basis of our faith today. Some of it is not common everyday knowledge, including the fact that at least one English version actually preceded the King James Version found in our churches and homes in the 21 st. Century.

When Pilgrims arrived in the New World in 1620, they not only brought along supplies and tools that would enable them to forge a new existence for their families, but also a consuming passion for advancing the Kingdom of Christ, and the Word of God. Clearly, their most precious cargo was the Bible – specifically, the Geneva Bible.

All but forgotten in our day, this version of the Bible was the most widely read and influential English Bible of the 16th and 17th centuries. A superb translation, it was the product of the best Protestant scholars of the day and became the Bible of choice for many of the greatest writers and thinkers of that time. William Bradford also cited the Geneva Bible in his famous book "Of Plymouth Plantation", regarded as the most authoritative account of the Pilgrims and the early years of the colony which they founded.

“The Geneva Bible was translated by members of John Knox’s English Puritan church in Geneva, Switzerland, during the last years of John Calvin’s ministry there. This was the Bible of the English Reformation. William Shakespeare, John Bunyan, John Milton, the Pilgrims, and the Jamestown settlers, along with most other English and Scottish Protestants, used the Geneva Bible almost exclusively….The Geneva Bible was not only a popular and readable text because it was translated into the language of the common man, but it also had commentary on each page that was reflective of the theology of John Calvin, John Knox, and the Protestant Reformation with significant political and social applications.”

The Geneva Bible is unique among all other Bibles. It was the first Bible to use chapters and numbered verses and became the most popular version of its time because of the extensive marginal notes. These notes, written by Reformation leaders such as Calvin, Knox, Miles Coverdale, William Whittingham, Anthony Gilby, and others, were included to explain and interpret the scriptures for the common people.

Geneva Bible with characteristic 
commentary notes in the margins.

When the Pilgrims landed it was The Geneva Bible, published in 1560, that they had been using for years and was the most popular Bible in the English language at that time. Dr. Marshall Foster writes concerning the Geneva Bible, “Nearly forgotten by the modern world, this version of the Holy Scriptures was researched, compiled, and translated into English by a team of exiled Reformers in Geneva, Switzerland, between 1557 and 1560, and was destined to be the major component of the English-speaking people’s rise from the backwaters of history to the center of civilization…The Geneva Bible surely was carried aboard their (the Jamestown settlers) three ships that sailed from England in December of 1606. The New England Pilgrims likewise relied on the Geneva Bible for comfort and strength on their 66-day voyage aboard the Mayflower in 1620, and were even more dependent upon it as they wrote the Mayflower Compact, a document unique in world history and the first constitutional government in the western hemisphere….It is no exaggeration to say that the Geneva Bible was the most significant catalyst of the transformation of England, Scotland, and America from slavish feudalism to the heights of Christian civilization.” 

Prior to the Reformation, ordinary believers did not have access to the Bible. It was not until the printing of Luther’s German Bible in 1534 and the printing of the Geneva Bible in English in 1560, that the Christian public could own and hold the Bible in their own hands for personal and family reading and study. (At one time it was a capital crime even to read the Bible in England in the English language.)

William Tyndale, risking his own life, translated the New Testament into English and published it for the first time in 1526. Tyndale had said to a clergyman, “…if God spare my life, ere many years pass I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of Scripture than thou (a theologian) dost.” (p. xxiv, 1599 Geneva Bible) This New Testament was smuggled into England from Belgium. For this great work of Tyndale, he was hunted down in Belgium and captured and on March 6, 1536 was burned at the stake. His Bible, however, did not die and made it to some English preachers and even to King Henry VIII himself who became a supporter of Protestant reformers. The English Bible, however, was still reserved for pulpits and was not yet available to the people.

In 1553, Mary Tudor became queen of England and had resolved to force England back to Roman Catholicism and ordered the burning of all English Bibles. Marshall Foster writes, “She caused more than 300 reformers, pastors and Bible translators to be burned at the stake, well earning her for all of history the sobriquet Bloody Mary.”

Because of her persecution of protestants, approximately 800 English scholars had to flee from their country. Many of these went to Geneva and studied under John Calvin. They were “some of the finest theologians and Biblical scholars in history” relates Foster. It was these Bible Scholars who translated the Geneva Bible between 1557 and 1560.

They not only translated the whole Bible into English but also included their notes with it. Foster writes, “The completed Geneva Bible was published in 1560 and dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, who had succeeded her half-sister Bloody Mary to the throne and, at least for political reasons, supported a definitive break with the Church of Rome. The Geneva Bible captured the hearts of the people with its powerful, uncompromising prose and more than 300,000 words of annotations in the margins to aid in personal study and understanding.” It went through many editions and was an instant hit with the people who could finally have their own personal Bibles to read and study. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In 1604, the year after he claimed the throne of England in 1603, King James I hosted and presided over a conference pertaining to matters religious, the Hampton Court Conference. While the Geneva Bible was the preferred Bible of Anglican and Puritan Protestants during the Elizabethan Age, King James disliked the Geneva Bible and made his views clearly known at the conference: "I think that of all [English Bibles], that of Geneva is the worst." Apparently, his distaste for the Geneva Bible was not necessarily caused just by the translation of the text into English, but mostly the annotations in the margins. He felt strongly many of the annotations were "very partial, untrue, seditious, and savoring too much of dangerous and traitorous conceits..." In all likelihood, he saw the Geneva's interpretations of biblical passages as anti-clerical "republicanism", which could imply church hierarchy was unnecessary. Other passages appeared particularly seditious: notably references to monarchs as "tyrants". 

It followed that the need for a king as head of church and state could be questioned also. James had been dealing with similar issues with the Presbyterian-Calvinist religious leaders back in Scotland, and he wanted none of the same controversies in England. Also, if annotations were in print, readers might believe these interpretations correct and fixed, making it more difficult to change his subjects' minds about the meanings of particular passages.

Toward the end of the conference two Puritans suggested that a new translation of the Bible be produced to unify better the Anglican Church in England and Scotland, James embraced the idea. He could not only be rid of those inconvenient annotations, but he could have greater influence on the translation of the Bible as a whole. He commissioned and chartered a new translation of the Bible which would eventually become the most famous version of the Bible in the history of the English language. Originally known as the Authorized Version to be read in churches, the new Bible would come to bear his name as the so-called King James Bible or King James Version (KJV). The first and early editions of the King James Bible from 1611 and the first few decades thereafter lack annotations, unlike nearly all editions of the Geneva Bible up until that time. Initially, the King James Version did not sell well and competed with the Geneva Bible. 

Shortly after the first edition of the KJV, King James banned the printing of new editions of the Geneva Bible to further entrench his version. However, Robert Barker continued to print Geneva Bibles even after the ban, placing the erroneous date 1599 (see photo above) on new copies of Genevas which were actually printed circa 1616 to 1625. Despite popular misconception, the Puritan Separatists or Pilgrim Fathers aboard the Mayflower in 1620 brought to North America copies of the Geneva Bible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title page in 1840 King James Bible.

I frequently refer to my collection of 1800 vintage Bibles and Spiritual Books (a number of which my pioneer ancestors brought to Upper Canada from their native England and Ireland) and it is interesting to note the wording of the title pages of the early King James versions i.e. "The Holy Bible containing Old and New Testaments: Translated out of the original tongues; and with the former translations compared and revised. By His Majesty's Special Command. Appointed to be read in Churches." That wording has only slightly been altered in subsequent centuries.

During its long history the King James translation has been revised in accordance with changes in English speech and our growing knowledge of the original text of the Scriptures. The work has made its way to a position of primary acceptance among clergy and laity and continues to hold that position after more than three centuries.

Meanwhile, The Geneva Bible was fairly recently republished in 2006 by Tolle Lege Press. In his closing remarks in the introduction of this new edition, Dr. Marshall Foster says, “Many people have forgotten, abandoned, or rejected the great lessons of the Reformation and the Biblical theology that inspired the greatest accomplishments of Western Civilization. We fervently pray that the re-introduction of this powerful tool of Godly dominion, the Geneva Bible, will, with God’s favor light the fires of another powerful reformation.”

Time will tell.

NOTE: My interest in the history of the Geneva Bible, has been sparked by a number of older Presbyterian Churches still carrying the name "Geneva", including one in the neighbouring community of Chesley, ON founded by Scottish settlers in the mid 1800s.

THE NECESSARY AGONY OF YOUNGSTERS IN CHURCH SERVICES

As parents of two daughters, Anne and I were blessed...Debbie and Cindy were shy by nature and rarely said a peep in public. They were especially quiet when attending public gatherings like concerts or church services and in all honesty, I don't recall ever having lectured them on the subject of behaviour outside of the home.

Lucky us, I guess! Unfortunately, not all parents are that lucky

In my capacity as a lay preacher, I am particularly sensitive to kids' behaviour in church these days and die a thousand deaths with now all-too-few committed and commendable young parents who have to contend with squirming, vocal, two and three-year-olds who have no other outlet for their emotions or discomfort with present circumstances other than to let it hang out for all to hear, regardless of the time or place.

Just this past Sunday I had competition from two crying tiny-tot brothers (about a year apart) who had grown weary of the church thing during prayer time and I paused long enough for mom to remove them from the source of their agony.

Lord knows, in order for church to survive in this day and age, we need a generation of children in the pews. The future depends on it!

At the same time we know too well that it is easy for young families to find excuses to stay home on Sundays, but even on the most stressful mornings it is important that Christian parents bring their families to church, even if they feel like they are going through the motions. Children see what parents do and the regular struggle to attend worship reinforces to our children that church is a priority.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6.

Whether you interpret Proverbs 22:6 as a promise for raising your kids “in the Lord” or a warning about not doing so, there’s one thing we know: what you do as a parent matters and it will lead to results. Our children are going to become adults, whether we want them to grow up or not!

I recently learned of an excellent study of the book of Ephesians by J.D. Greear. In the study, he talks about how God uses common relationships – marriage, family, work – as “laboratories” to make us more like Himself. A study participant described one of these laboratories as the family, where children learn to obey God by obeying their parents. “When we are young, our parents represent the authority of God to us. In a way, they stand in for God for a time. We first learn to obey and submit to God by obeying and submitting to our parents,” he explained.

Greear describes this relationship like training wheels. “When you’re learning to ride a bike, training wheels are critical. But the training wheels were never the point. Riding the bike was. In our relationship to our parents, the goal isn’t mere obedience. It’s a healthy and honoring family relationship—and, more importantly, a trajectory toward God.”

The years our children are in our homes are critical. These are the formative years when they are developing their entire worldview. The majority of adult Christians became Christians before turning 18. Actually, many follow Christ between the ages of 4-14. On the other hand, we’ve all seen the troubling numbers of young people (the “nones”) who are much more likely to lack any religion at all. Belief systems tend to form early, and while they can – and do sometimes change – it’s critical for parents to have an active role in a child’s spiritual development early on.

It’s not likely that Proverbs 22:6 is a guarantee of success for committed, Christ-following parents. But, it is important to recognize the truth the verse contains. God has given us an incredible responsibility by placing children in our care. The family is a primary mechanism God uses to grow His kingdom and grow His people. As a result, it’s our duty to teach our children about God. We are in an influential position, and what we do today will matter in our kids’ lives tomorrow.

"If we wait until we have perfectly well-behaved children to bring them to church, it is likely Jesus will have already returned," commented one mother consulted for this post. "Looking back, things only got more difficult for my parents as my sister and I got older. I have distinct memories of my dad sitting in the station wagon idling in the driveway while my mom herded us out the door."

"Once I could drive we would often take three cars to get four people to church because nobody could get out the door on time to suit my father. But we followed his lead," she added. "Going to church wasn’t debatable, and nobody had to tell us that. It was this habit that pulled me through as I doubted my faith in my adolescence."

It should be recognized that salvation is not dependent on behavior, so we should not make church attendance behavior-dependent, either. Our children need grace, and so do we. Regardless of how the children are acting during worship, if worship involves entering the presence of God, then what better time than with screaming children to experience such a grace.

So dear parent, rest easy. While Sunday morning might feel more like a wrestling match, a battle of wills, or a circus, your time, efforts, and distracted worship are worth it. Even the messiest and most frustrating days are not wasted. Thank God for his grace—and keep on bringing your kids to church...We need them!

In a way, they need us too.

It takes a village...and always a church or two!

A funny thing happened to me on the way to church this morning (Sunday).

As I was passing through the Village of Chatsworth, just southeast of Owen Sound, I spotted a church sign which read "Worship with us...Coffeehouse Service with Dick Wright".

"I've got a good 30 minutes to spare," I rationalized.  "Maybe I'll drop in and have a coffee with this guy. Maybe even listen a bit to what he has to say."

As I entered the front door to the church and was warmly greeted by several parishioners, I finally clued in...Low and behold, that guy "Dick Wright" was me. Good thing that I prepared for the service!

Traditionally, in this lively and vibrant rural community Presbyterian Church, the first Sunday in September marks the end of summer vacations and a return to the regular routines of life. The coffee house service was a casual one, held in the basement of the church. The congregation sat at tables where everyone could relax and enjoy a cup of coffee and cookies before the service, and a re-fill during a break halfway through it.

It was the first time that I had conducted a worship service at St. Andrew's in Chathsworth and it was an excellent opportunity to get to know people under less formal conditions than normally is the case when leading worship in the sanctuary proper of a church.

My message on this particular Sunday was simple: "It is faith that bridges the gap between promise and reality."

Here is an abbreviated version of some of the thoughts I conveyed to the congregation.

Like Abraham who faced many challenges in his old age, we too face obstacles that stand between us and the fulfillment of God's promises. We may think our sin is too great for us to be saved. We may also think nothing ever seems to change and this old, sinful world will just keep on getting worse. We may think the promise of a new and better life in a new and better body on a new and better earth will never happen.

Like Abraham, our response is (or should be) to be faithful. Not for faith in ourselves. Not for faith in our deeds. Not faith in humanity. Not faith in some inner force or power. But faith in God and Christ.

Faith bridges the gap between promise and reality because faith looks entirely to God and Christ. And in Him we find a righteousness that is not our own but is credited to us.

One reality of life is waiting; waiting for someone to show up, for something to happen, for things to change. Another reality of life is that most of us do not like waiting. We look for the shortest line at the grocery store. We become impatient, even angry, waiting for the doctor or the restaurant waiter who is slow or inattentive. We hate being held up in traffic. The list is endless.

Sometimes it seems like life is nothing more than a waiting game. As children we wait for Christmas, summer vacation, and to grow up. As adults we wait for just the right job, that special someone who will make our life complete, a promotion, retirement.

Some people wait for the diagnosis, others for a cure. Some wait for the day the pain will stop and the grief will end. Others wait for the answer to their prayers. Many of us wait for that day when we have enough time, enough money, enough freedom, and the day we will live happy ever after.

At some level, waiting takes place every day. Each of us could name the things or people for which we wait. Sometimes we live with the overwhelming feeling of waiting but with no clear idea of what we are waiting for.

And more often than not, we do not wait in the present. We move into the future. The great tragedy is that in doing so we lose the present moment. That’s part of what makes waiting so painful and difficult.

Waiting in the future most often brings fear and anxiety about what will happen. We are haunted by the unknown and lack of control.

On the other hand, waiting in the past brings sadness, anger, or guilt about things that have happened, or the things done and left undone. As difficult as our present circumstances may be, that’s the only place where we can ever be fully alive. It is the only place we can truly experience God.

When we move out of the present and into the past or the future – we not only postpone life; we deny life. We deny our resurrection. We desecrate the sacrament of the present moment. We have refused the gift of God’s kingdom.

Everyone, everywhere, in every age waits...and Jesus did not eliminate waiting either. If anything, it sounds like just the opposite. He tells the crowd, “Be like those waiting for their master to return.”

Today’s gospel is not, however, simply about passing time in a waiting mode. It is about presence and being present. Jesus sees waiting as an act of faithfulness; the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen...

Having faith is what it is all about...we call it Christian faith.

So we are mistaken if we think we are talking about an absent God, a God who left some time ago, for whom we wait. We are equally mistaken if we think we are waiting for a God who lives out in the future.

Jesus is teaching us how and where to wait. He’s inviting us to be present to the One who is always already present. He’s inviting us to listen for the knock, to watch, and to be alert. He’s inviting us to be present to the reality of God in each other, in the world, and in ourselves. This is the God who is present in the ordinary circumstances of our lives, even in our waiting.

We might then be tempted to ask, “So where is God in all our waiting?” But maybe the better question is, “Where are we?”

I once heard of a chaplain who served at a summer camp for a whole bunch of 11 and 12-year-old campers. He said that one night before the kids went to sleep, they had some devotional time in their cabins. One of the counselors asked her campers, “Where did you see Jesus today?” A very surprised and excited young lad cried out, “You mean He was here today?!”

Jesus responds to questions like that by saying, “Yes, yes, yes. I was here. I am here. And I will be here.”

And he adds, “Be dressed for action. Something is going on right now. Right here. And I want you to be a part of it. Come participate. For it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. This is for you.”

“Have your lamps lit,” he says. “There is something to see. Move out of the darkness. Come into the light. See what is right in front of you, what is all around you, and what is in within you. For the Father wants you to have the kingdom.”

“Be alert,” he commands. But this isn’t a threat of punishment. It’s an invitation to be blessed. “Blessed are those whom he finds alert.”

Jesus is not just inviting us to be awake, to be ready, and to be watchful. He is calling us to be fully alive and to remain alive. Blessing and life are synonymous in God’s kingdom. It is as if Jesus is saying to us, “Be alert, be blessed, and I will come and serve you. I will feed you the bread of life. I will serve you the cup of salvation.”

All of this, Jesus says, happens at an unexpected hour. Like a thief in the night, the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

So when is the unexpected hour? When will all this happen? Well, my guess is that for most of us, maybe all of us, the most unexpected hour is today, right here, right now.

The most unexpected hour can also be the one spent in the hospital waiting room; the hour sitting next to the phone waiting for news of a loved one; the hour praying for a miracle; the hour in which we wait for clarity and a way forward; the hour waiting for the grief to end and life to return to normal; the hour in which it seems as if nothing is happening, when we are lost or lonely -- and it seems that there is nowhere to go.

As we draw to the conclusion of our worship this morning, you might still ask: “You mean He was actually here this morning during this coffee house time of worship?!” 

Yeah........right here in the most unexpected hour of your life. 

No more waiting!

Feel his presence...Embrace him...Take him home with you as you go forth today...Never let him go!