Have you noticed how a lot of business calendars these days have the first day of the week as Monday? Actually, calendars have been sliding that way for a while, but I’m beginning to notice it more and more these days. It’s like the entire world is shifting to the idea that the most important thing in life is getting up Monday morning and heading off to work.

But, this simply is not the case.

Job burnout and overall distaste for where one works at is at an all time high. Many people simply are not happy with their lives. Could it be a result of the fact that many are geared to think Monday is the first day of the week? If your mindset is one of work, work, work, then you may quickly discover the old cliche – “All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy.”

The week starts on Sunday for a good reason.

Many still believe Sunday is a day of rest. It doesn’t matter if you’re a church-goer, or a non-church-goer. When the calendar starts on Sunday, signifying a day to sit back and relax, the work week goes smoother. We all need a day to rejuvinate and re-energize. Sunday, the first day of the week, sets the tone for the rest of the week.

But, as we find ourselves on another Sunday, we can also reflect on ways we will positively impact those around us in the coming week. There’s no way of knowing what exactly will take place, but as we ponder how we can positively impact our little portion of the world, maybe things will go a little smoother. During the past few weeks I’ve written much about hope on this blog. Many people are searching for hope. For some, we might be the only glimmer of hope and encouragement they might see. 

As you ponder the start of a new work week, why not ponder someone you can encourage along the way too.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Through the years the way we record our family history has changed. In the Old Testament the patriarch of the family always carried a staff. Of course the staff itself had many uses. It was a shepherd staff to keep the sheep in line. It was also a walking stick helping the young shepherd make his way through the rocky hillside. As the years moved along, the staff even took on more of a cane use instead of just a simple walking stick. Whatever the case may be, one thing was sure, the staff stayed with the patriarch throughout his life. 

But, the staff was far more than just a simple walking stick or cane. The staff also contained the geneology and history of that particular family. Etched along the patriarch’s staff were important events that took place in his life. Births, deaths, movements through time. All tracking and keeping a chronological order of the patriarch’s life.

The staff was how the Sojourner kept track of his journey as he made his way through life here on earth.

By Faith, Jacob Leaned On His Staff

“By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.”
Hebrews 11:21

We find Jacob’s life, his journey here on earth, drawing to a close in this passage. As he blesses his grandchildren, he’s also leaning on the top of his staff. He’s pondering his mark on this world. He’s pondering his family, and he’s remembering those most important to him in this journey we call life. He’s leaning on his staff, which contains the history of his family. I’m sure his staff was also passed along to his own son. Why? So the memory of the family will continue from generation to generation.

I started thinking about keeping track of our life earlier this morning as I spent some time on Twitter. It all started with s0mething I read on the social network site that said this was 80sphotoday weekend on Twitter. As I read more, I discovered the idea was to post a profile/avatar picture of yourself from the 1980′s. Wow! Now there’s a scary thought! But, I also figured it sounded like fun so I decided to dig around and find an old picture. 

Let #80sphotowknd #80sphotoday On Twitter Begin!

I dug around some old pictures and came across that one from the early 1980′s. Pretty scary hair! But, I do remember that time of my life well. It was the early 1980′s. I was looking forward to graduating, and also starting a career in radio. Little did I know what the future held, but I knew I was having fun and having a good time. I even looked like that when I met my wife! I’m thinking it was the hair that really impressed her. We were married in 1984, and by then, I was working at my third radio station. Time marched on, we had our first child, and then, it was time for another move. The journey this time took me back to college.

Of course things changed, and so did styles.

By the late 1980′s I was trying to look more like a grown up. Okay, the glasses are still really big, but the hair has changed. This time around instead of looking forward to being a radio star, this is a picture taken while I was leading a group of college students on a mission trip into Haiti. Another great time on my journey through life.

How Are You Tracking Your Journey?

We’re presented with many ways to track our journey these days. Some use journals, some use blogs, others use pictures. Whatever the case may be, one thing has not changed. Just like Jacob of old, we’re all looking for a way to keep track of our journey. My New Year’s resolution this year is to become much better at sending out birthday and anniversary cards. The passage of time has a way of rising an awareness that yes indeed, we are all mortal. We are all on a journey, and it’s important to acknowledge, and keep track of events, as we journey through this thing we call life.

It’s been great fun today going through some old pictures. I’ve also enjoyed getting a glimpse into the lives of some of my Twitter friends looking at their old pictures. It’s true, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Thanks to @erickbrockway You Can Enjoy The Fun Too!
80′sPictureDay Photo Bucket Display
80′sPictureDay You Tube Video

Then and Now

A few recent events have caused me to pay a little more attention to the passing of time. As I get older, I’m also coming to the realization that others around me are getting older too.  This year my wife and I will celebrate 25 years of marriage. My two brothers are 50 and over, my parents have been married more than 50 years, and I’m gaining speed on that number 50 as well!

Then, toss in on top of that the passing of good friends.

The Warren’s have been a fixture in the life of the Jeffrey’s for a long time. As a matter of fact, Duane and my Dad were school buddies. When my parents were married, Duane was Dad’s bestman. When Duane and Shirley were married, Dad was their bestman. Through the years we spent a lot of time together. Duane and Shirley have three kids, and Mom and Dad have three kids. We were also all about the same age. When Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th Anniversary a few years ago we were all together. It had been a long time since we were all in one place, so we took a picture of just the kids. (Well, with the exception of Scott. But I’ll have more on that a little later in this post.)

A few months ago, Shirley passed away, and that’s when Mom and Dad pulled out some old pictures. One picture caught my eye, and combined with the one from a few years ago, I ended up with a great Then and Now shot.

Now – From Left To Right
Me, Lance, (Scott), Chris
Girls – Debbie, Jill

Then – From Left to Right
Back – Lance, Debbie
Middle – Chris, Jill, Me
Front – Scott

I’m sure you may have noticed the picture of Scott in the Now picture is actually a picture of Dudley Do-Right. Scott couldn’t make it for my parents anniversary. But, since he’s an RCMP in Canada, I thought it appropriate to have my design guy put in a picture of Dudley Do-Right.

It’s pictures like the one above that help us to remember the passage of time. We are all on a journey. Many people come, and many people go. But the important people can be remembered through pictures.

How are you keeping track of your journey?

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

I’m not a big Pirates of the Caribbean movie fan. I liked the first one, hated the second one, and tolerated the third. Now with rumors of Johnny Depp signing up for a reprisal of his Captain Jack Sparrow character, I’m dreading the fourth installment of a Pirates movie. However, even though I don’t really like the movies, I’ve always been fascinated with Captain Jack’s compass.

Throughout the first movie Captain Jack is chastised because his compass doesn’t work. It never points North. Instead it spins around and goes in different directions. But never North. However, even though the compass never points North, Captain Jack always ends up where he wants to go. By the second movie we discover the secret of the malfunctioning compass. The compass may never point North, but it does point to something more important.

Captain Jack’s compass points “toward what the heart wants.”

Searching For Direction

Many today are searching for direction in life. A quick scan of the landscape can result in worried hearts and troubled spirits. The economy is sliding, the job market is declining, and the government appears to be in shambles. Bankruptcies are at an all time high, and now many business are lining up for government bailouts. Everyone wants a handout.

Then on top of the economic mess, everyone seems to have an opinion on just about everything. Spin doctors are a dime a dozen and they all declare they have the answers to all our problems. The left say they have the answers. The right say they have the answers. Those in the church even declare they have the answers. In this sea of voices and endless noise, it’s sometimes very hard to decipher which is the correct answer. How do we truly discern what is true and what is false?

My good friend Ken Davis recently wrote a post on his Lite Post – A Seriously Funny Guy blog entitled Just Do It. While Ken talked about committing to doing something and then following through, I was reminded of the importance of focus. As life seems to swirl out of control it’s important to check our bearings. Take a look at our compass and make sure we’re still heading in the direction we should be heading. We need to make sure we’re still heading toward what not only our heart wants, but where our heart should be yearning.

Hearing Through The Noise

People are searching for hope these days. I addressed this search in an earlier post entitled Write It Down & Make It Clear. In that post I encouraged us all to remember the words of Jeremiah who said “God’s plans are not to harm us, but to prosper us, giving us hope for the future.” Those are wonderful words. But, what do we need to do in order to make sure our compass is leading us in the right direction, toward that hope? It’s easy to turn to various commentaries on the Bible, and even the words of man, to discover how we should navigate through this world. However, many times the books and voices do little more than add to the noise of the culture.

With this in mind, where do we turn?

How about the few verses ahead of the wonderful promise of hope found in Jeremiah 29. It’s here we discover some very practical suggestions of how to make sure we’re heading in the right direction. The people of Jerusalem found themselves in the midst of turmoil exiled in Babylon. Far from home, when it looked like the odds were totally stacked against them, they were encouraged to do some very practical things.

• Build houses and settle down
• Plant gardens and eat what they produce
• Marry and have sons and daughters
• Find wives for the sons and give daughters in marriage
• Increase in number, do not decrease

They also received some spiritual suggestions, to ensure their compass was pointing at their hearts desire.

• Seek the peace and prosperity of the city you live in
• Pray for peace and prosperity because if the city, and nation, in which you live prospers, so will you
• Do not listen to the spin-doctors who spin lies for they do not know what they are talking about

Many of the spin doctors of the day are proclaiming doom and gloom. The so-called people in the know declaring doom and gloom are found both inside and outside the church. As we attempt to stay the course in the days ahead, we need to make sure we’re not listening to the doom and gloom spin-doctors. If we truly want to walk in hope, we need to stay clear of those who spin their lies saying all is doom and gloom.

As we stay the course moving forward with “Hope for the Future” we will do well to seek peace and prosperity for the city, and nation in which we live. As the city and nation prospers, so too will we.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

When it comes to elections, people can get really crazy. It seems this election cycle is no different. If anything, in this never-ending-presidential-election cycle we find ourselves in, the lines have been drawn even deeper in the sand. Never before have I seen two candidates further divide a nation, or result in a nation of undecideds, as we have before us today. Tomorrow thousands of people will head to the polls to cast their vote not only for State leaders, but also for Congressional leaders, Senate leaders, and yes, the next President of the United States.

I’ve been fascinated with the rhetoric on both sides of the aisle. Not only in the political realm, but also in the church realm. It’s really hard to find balance anywhere, and I must admit, that’s sad, especially when thinking of the church side.

I’m amazed at the number of emails I’ve received from church groups telling me ‘how’ to pray.

Avoid The Controlling Prayer

“Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation.“

Those were words of instruction from Paul, to his student Timothy, (1 Timothy 2:1-2, The Message). Take note, Paul was not telling Timothy what to pray, he simply instructed him to pray for the leaders and governments to rule well. There’s nothing in there saying to pray for one particular party or person. It’s actually quite the opposite. We are simply instructed to pray for whoever the leader might be, regardless of their political stripe. Why are we encouraged to pray for our leaders? So we can quietly live our lives.

With that in mind, what should we do with the various emails we receive telling us why we should pray for one candidate or the other? With tongue in check I usually say – That’s why God invented the delete button on the keyboard. – While I saw that partially as a joke, there’s also great truth in the statement. Some of the emails I’ve received have been downright rude and outlandish when trying to push one political agenda over another. In all honesty, I do hit the delete button. I’ve even hit the delete button on some emails arriving in my in-box from well established and well recognized ministries which should simply know better.

What should our response be as we journey through this thing we call life?

We need to simply pray for those in leadership. We need to at all costs avoid what are known as controlling prayers. What is a controlling prayer you ask? Simply put, a controlling prayer is any prayer declaring that God wants one person or another person to win the election. Again, as already noted above, we are simply instructed to pray for those in leadership. We are not instructed to pray one person in or out of office.

With that in mind, someone did send me an incredible prayer which falls into the category of simply praying for those in leadership. As we approach yet another election day, this prayer might do well to be on all of our minds, and lips.

A Prayer For the Election
By John Piper

Father in heaven, as we approach this election on Tuesday, I pray

1) That your people will vote,

2) and that they will vote with a sense of thankfulness for a democratic system that at least partially holds in check the folly and evil in all our hearts so that power which corrupts so readily is not given to one group or person too easily.

3) That we would know and live the meaning of
* Being in the world, but not of it.
* Doing politics as though not doing them.
* Being on the earth, yet having our lives hidden with Christ in God.
* Rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are God’s.

4) That we would discern what truths and values should advance by being made law and which should advance only by the leavening of honest influence.

5) That your people would see what love and justice and far-seeing wisdom demand in regard to the issues of education, business and industry, health care, marriage and family, abortion, welfare, energy, government and taxes, military, terrorism, international relations, and every challenge that we will face in the years to come.

6) And above all, that we will treasure Jesus Christ, and tell everyone of his sovereignty and supremacy over all nations, and that long after America is a footnote to the future world, he will reign with his people from every tribe and tongue and nation.

Keep us faithful to Christ’s all important Word, and may we turn to it every day for light in these dark times.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

When I went into full time ministry, finding time was of course somewhat easier. After all, now I was a paid professional to spend time with God. Suddenly it was much easier to linger a while longer at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, my Bible and a devotional book. From time to time I even found myself proclaiming what were always well-intentioned words of encouragement about “fitting time for God into the Daytimer.” But, once again, that’s always easier said than done.

A few years ago I found God re-adjusting my journey some as He put me back into the wonderful world of broadcasting. Once again, I was suddenly faced with the issue of finding time for God. Just how in the world could I fit Him into my Daytimer with everything else that was now pulling on my time. Of course these days I find myself not quite as rigid in the process of finding time for God. Brother Lawrence practiced the presence of God at all times. But even while saying that, sometimes it seems like a cop-out and an excuse for not finding some time to read a devotional book.

Through the years as I’ve found myself back in the workforce and trying to find God at work, I’ve tried a number of things. But you know what I’ve discovered, it doesn’t have to be brain surgery. There are a number of devotional books with short daily readings available these days. Some of those books I’ve actually collected along the way. For many years some have even sat and simply collected dust on my bookshelves. At least they look good I would often say to myself. But now it’s time to take them off the shelf, dust them off, and actually use them.

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I’m reading a collection of Thomas Merton devotionals at home. Well, sitting on my desk at work I have another collection of devotionals, this one is by W.E. Sangster. He was an old Methodist preacher from England, filled with incredible insight. The daily readings are short, and suddenly it’s a little easier to pause, at least for a couple minutes, at some point during the busy day, to think on God, at least for a few moments.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

We live in a noise filled world. Whether it’s the hum of appliances, the sound of a TV, music from a sound system, or just random traffic noise, it’s hard to get totally quiet before God. Toss on top of the noise just listed, there’s the noise of competing opinions, the noise of politics, the noise of sports, and even the noise of life. But, to truly discover who we are, we must dare to get quiet so we can hear who we’re not.

We find ourselves at the beginning of another Lenten season. This is a season to reflect on the sacrifice of the Cross. In less than 40 days now it will be Easter time. Easter comes early this year, and I do believe many will forget about it, simply because the noise of the world will take our minds off the fact that Easter is in March.

How are you spending your time in preparation for reflection on the ultimate sacrifice known to humans. The sacrifice of another, giving up His life, so that we might have life.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

I’ve been pondering silence lately as we find ourselves in a place where our kids are growing up. Many evenings I find myself sitting in my easy chair reading a book or watching some TV with my puppy dog Samson by my side. The silence at times can be deafening, but it’s also reminding me of the importance of silence. It’s like the old song says, “Silence is Golden.”

I believe it’s in the silence we find ourselves most vulnerable, and dare I say it, most moldable as well. Left alone with our thoughts, we find ourselves wondering about the events of the past, and pondering the events of the future. But then, somewhere in that silence, we suddenly find a sense of peace as well.

Some people are afraid of the silence. But I’m wondering if it’s in the times of silence, when we truly begin to hear that still small voice of God, and then we find ourselves in a better position to learn at the Master’s feet. Stepping aside from the chaos of the day, to sit at the Master’s feet.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Wow! What an amazing thought. Think about that for a moment and let it really sink in. Is it true we can get close enough to God that set times of prayer interrupt our time with Him? I remember pondering that thought often throughout seminary and even during times of ministry. How can one arrive at the place where set times of prayer interrupt regular time with God. That means we’re truly conscious of the presence of God at all times in our lives.

Many times we find ourselves tossed to a fro by the demands of the world. It doesn’t matter if one is in ministry, or if one is working in the marketplace, the demands of the world, and those around us, can seem overwhelming at times. How are we to survive and maintain a relationship with God in the midst of all the demands on our life? I believe that’s what Brother Lawrence was getting at when he addressed the idea of practicing the presence of God, at all times.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

I had a professor who told me once that when you get a Bachelor’s degree, you keep all of your brain in tact. When you go on for a Masters, you check half of your brain. Then if you get a Doctorate in something, you check the rest of your brain. Sad, but sometimes true. Many do become closed minded instead of open minded with more education.

This afternoon and into tonight a recurring phrase keeps coming to mind and it’s what I used for the subject of tonights entry — Sitting With The Master — I remember the story of a busy-body who spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing food when the Master arrived at her house one day. Her sister, on the other hand, decided to sit at the feet of the Master. Did He teach the whole time there? We don’t know. But we do know that when the busy-body sister complained the Master told her to calm down and realize her sister had chosen the better portion for the day. Sitting at the feet of the Master.

My dog Samson likes to hang out with me. When I come home from work, he greats me at the door. When I take my afternoon nap, he curls up by my feet. When I sit in my chair, he’s right there beside me. When I’m working in my home office, he’s curled up in his little Samson sized bed napping. He’s content to be with his master.

I believe there’s a lesson here for all us. Many times we approach the Master who’s also the Author and Perfector of our lives and we think we need to be busy the whole time. But, reality is, we find true contentment when we simply sit and rest in the presence of the Master.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

The good news is, my Internet connection problems were solved. The somewhat bad news is, my godlaughs.net site still seems to be down. First I spoke with one tech support person, then I sent an email to another tech support person. They keep telling my someone is pointing to the wrong IP address. I have a hard enough time remembering how to spell some domain names, let alone figuring out what to do with all those really strange IP numbers. But alas, hopefully it will all be sorted out soon.

All this IP talk of pointing the domain to the right place reminded me of how many people think they need to connect with God. It can all seem very confusing to someone not up on all the Christian hype, lingo and clichés. Why is it humankind likes to complicate so many simple things. The “keep it simple” rule really does work.

When wanting to connect with God, all we need to do is talk. While it’s true sometimes we wonder if Anyone is listening, we can rest assured He is. In the end, as we journey through this life, we do indeed discover He is easier to connect with than we think, and we don’t need an IP address to figure it all out.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus