Mark Beeson

Misty Michigan Morning

 

My son Aaron snapped this picture of Sheila this morning as she made her way through the early morning mist. Standing astride a paddleboard and pulling a ridiculously long paddle as you fight to maintain your balance and poise is a tenuous proposition for many folks, but apparently not for my wife. 

If you've ridden a bicycle, you'll understand her paddleboarding observation; "When your forward momentum increases, your stability increases as well."

That doesn't only apply to paddleboards and bicycles. Much of life is like that. When you're dead in the water it's easy to lose your balance, so get moving in a good direction. Your progress may be the very answer you need when you face the challenges of staying "right-side-up" in a difficult world. 

 

Isaiah 33:15-16  

The answer’s simple:
    Live right,
    speak the truth,
    despise exploitation,
    refuse bribes,
    reject violence,
    avoid evil amusements.
This is how you raise your standard of living!
    A safe and stable way to live.
    A nourishing, satisfying way to live. 

 

 

One More of Amber's Kids

 

 

He's already outgrown his "newborn" clothes, so before Charlie stands up and starts walking around I'm posting one more picture of Amber's kids. 

 

Acts 17:25a  -  God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to all people.

 

So Far, So Good.

 

 

Charlie is home. 

He has two sisters.

He's got it made.

 

Romans 12:10a  -  Love [Be devoted to] each other like brothers and sisters [with family/brotherly affection].

 

Help With Life's Difficult Questions

 

It's time for "Summer School with Dr. Bob" at GCC. We're facing our most troubling questions, uncertainties and problems.

Bob believes the problem of suffering must be addressed and this weekend he opens the scriptures to help us see see a difficult truth: "Pain is inevitable, but because of Jesus, discouragement is optional."

Check it out.

 

Romans 5:3-5a  -  We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts.

 

One Quick Final Check...

 

I've seen this look a thousand times: just before a child jumps off the edge of the pool, immediately prior to saying, "Catch me" and launching themselves into the air or the instant preceding a long scary slide. It's a hopeful look. It's the last glance, cast to see if the one about to catch them is actually going to do it. It's a quick glimpse through questioning eyes, "Are you ready for me to do this? Will you catch me? Can I rely on you to be there for me?"

I'm pretty sure we never outgrow the need to be reassured, to be reminded we matter enough for someone to be there for us. In fact, the older we get (the more we've been rejected, disappointed, abandoned and deserted), the more we long for someone, anyone, to do what they said they'd do, keep faith with us and honestly care about our well-being. 

People remember when you catch them and when you don't.

The look always begs the question: "Can I trust you? Do you notice I'm about to take a big risk here? Are you with me? If I reach out for your hand...will you be there for me?"

 

Psalm 89:8  

Lord God All-Powerful, who is like you?
    Lord, you are powerful and completely trustworthy.

 

A Fun Reminder of "Summer School with Dr. Bob"

 

 

 

 

James 1:25  -   The truly happy people are those who carefully study God’s perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God’s teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy.

 

Happy 4th of July!

 

 

Amber and Ryan brought Charlie home from the hospital today.

I'm not sure Sheila gets happier than this.

Proverbs 15:13  -  A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face.

My Grandkids Have Me Thinking About America's Future

 

 

I had "Papa" duties today, watching over Ruby and Clara. We played outside for hours: picking flowers for Charlie, flowers for Grammy and flowers for Amber. It was a beautiful morning.

As the kids played, I struck up a conversation with a Vietnam Vet about my age. His grandson was nearly as busy as my grand-kids so as they played we had time to talk. I was so impressed that I made notes on our conversation.

We talked a lot. "Religion" and "politics" dominated the list of topics we discussed, even though you're not supposed to discuss either one. He had done well in business and retired with a pile of money in the bank and a bunch of grand-kids to leave it to when he dies. He said he "got saved" a few years ago. 

He was concerned about some of the new legislation coming out of our nation's capitol, worried about shifting policies, regulations and mandates. 

"It's the 4th of July," he said. "My grandparents were immigrants. They came to America with nothing, learned a new language and scratched out a life for us. They knew the way to a better life for their family so they worked hard, confident their children could have what they didn't."

He hung his head a bit and lowered his voice as he looked at nothing in particular: "I'm not sure I know the way to a better life for my family. The rules are changing. Legislators are passing bills they haven't read and creating laws with implications no one understands. I don't think it's good for business and I don't think it's going to help my grand-kids. How can they win in life if they don't know the rules of the game?"

I assured him of two things; first, that I was grateful for his service to God and country and second, that the future of America is resting on the faithfulness of people like him, people who do what's right because it's the right thing to do.

I told him, "It's no different for you than it was for your grandparents. Your family's future is in your hands. Keep doing the next right thing."

He looked at me and said, "No pressure then, eh?"

I told him, "There will be hell to pay if you fail, so no, no pressure at all."

I thanked him again for his service to our country, wished him a "Happy 4th of July," and we went our separate ways. 

When I got back to Amber's house it only took me five minutes to search The Federalist Papers and find James Madison's warning against making laws that cannot be understood and are passed before they're read. 

 

The internal effects of a mutable policy are still more calamitous. It poisons the blessing of liberty itself. It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed?   ( #62 1788 )

 

Laws made by men can be so "voluminous" and "incoherent" that it's hard to comprehend what they mean today and difficult to guess what they'll be tomorrow. 

But I have good news.

Though we're constrained by the mutable laws of men, those changing laws don't limit our vision or rule our hearts. Our freedoms can be limited when laws are made by men but certain unalienable rights are given by God, not men. Our Declaration of Independence says it this way:

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

 

I pray God will bless you on this Independence Day. In a world of shifting expectations I pray you and yours will experience the life-giving freedom of God's unchanging love. May God bless America.

Happy 4th of July.

 

 

Malachi 3:6-8  -  “I am God—yes, I Am. I haven’t changed. And because I haven’t changed, you, the descendants of Jacob, haven’t been destroyed. You have a long history of ignoring my commands. You haven’t done a thing I’ve told you. Return to me so I can return to you,” says God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
“You ask, ‘But how do we return?’"
“Begin by being honest."

 

Our Grandson: Charlie Fisher Cox

 

Amber and Ryan welcomed Charlie into their family today. He's healthy and strong, 21 inches and 7lbs 15oz.

Thank you for your prayers for my family.

Sheila and I are grateful.

Psalm 103:17-18

But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.