Searching For The Well Done
Dr. Rus D. Jeffrey – Dec 2009

When all is said and done,
Shouldn’t the world be loads of fun?
But along the way we often stray,
Losing focus as well as our way.

The bumps and potholes we find in life,
Many times fill us with loads of strife.
We look to the left and look to the right,
Wondering why help is not in sight.

The path can be strewn with many friends,
Who just might help us with the twists and bends.
But first we must find the trusted One,
Who really knows how to find the fun.

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Where Does Your Compass Point?

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.”

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A world in search of hope. A nation is search of hope. A people in search of hope.

It’s a truth that’s been around since the beginning of time. No matter who you are, no matter where you are, and no matter how good, or how bad your life situation might be – People are always searching for hope. When the nation of Israel found themselves exiled in Babylon, and for all intents and purposes it looked like God had turned His back on them, they still found a message of hope. Ezekiel, exiled with Israel in Babylon, declared a message of hope to the nation encouraging them to establish themselves in the midst of their enemy, pray for the prosperity and peace for those around them, and they too would discover peace and prosperity. That sounds like a message of hope to me.

Meanwhile, things looked quite different in Israel. There we find a rag-tag remnant of the nation living amidst the ruins of the once great City of Jerusalem. They may not be in Babylon, but the Babylonian rulers are all around them, reminding them each day that the once great nation of Israel, is no longer a force on the earth.

But, did the nation of Israel lose hope when surrounded by foreign leaders…

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When it comes to advertising genius, marketing people are always looking for a great hook line. Probably one of the most popular slogans is…

Where’s the beef!?

The slogan was introduced in the 1980’s when Wendy’s introduced a commercial called “Fluffy Bun” with Clara Peller declaring — Where’s the beef? — Now the ever popular catch phrase has become somewhat of an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance, or lack thereof, of almost anything we can think of.

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Iron Man continues to pull in incredible dollars at the box office. Now the slow selling Playstation game is even doing well. It seems Iron Man mania is sweeping not only the nation, but the world. I’m sure Robert Downey Jr. is pleased that he’s connected with such a blockbuster hit. After all, he’s someone who’s had his share of ups and downs throughout his somewhat rocky career. He’s a good actor, but unfortunately he fell into the trap of drugs and alcohol. But, with that behind him, maybe he’s opened a new chapter not only in his life, but also in his career.

Iron Man is a very strong movie. It gets off to a somewhat disjointed start, but in the end, it comes through with great special effects and a good story line. In a nutshell, without any spoilers here for those who have not seen the movie yet, Iron Man is created after Tony Stark, an arms dealer, has a change of heart and decides to right some of the wrongs his weapons company created. Of course this doesn’t go over very well with some inside the company, but this does not deter him from creating the Iron Man superhero.

Now I know what you’re thinking – How in the world can we find an encouraging message from a comic book hero? But here it is. In the middle of the movie Stark’s assistant asks him why he’s so determined to create Iron Man, even if it means he may die while trying to right his wrongs. In a somewhat off-handed comment, we discover a great truth. Downey Jr.’s character says, “Maybe this is why I didn’t die when I was kidnapped.” Wow! What an amazing statement. Tucked away in the middle of this sci-fi comic book hero come to life movie, we discover a statement about purpose and destiny.

Could it be Downey’s statement, via the character Tony Stark, speaks of purpose and destiny not only for Iron Man, but for himself as well? Who knows. But I do know this, the nugget of truth concerning purpose and destiny in the Iron Man movie is a strong message for anyone who hears it. It is true, we do all have a purpose and destiny. While we may not be a superhero, we can do our best to positively influence those around us.

A Fellow Sojourner,

Dr. Rus

I was speaking with a Pastor friend of mine this weekend and we started talking about the journey. Reflecting on the past, looking toward the future, we pondered the journey and talked about sticking with it. The sad thing is, many don’t stick with the journey. People come and go for the oddest reasons. My wife and I always keep reminding ourselves that we simply drive the bus. People get on, people get off. But, so often, people get off before arriving at their destination.

The church seems to be filled with wanderers instead of sojourners. A wanderer is someone who moves from place to place, without a fixed course, aim or goal. A sojouner, is one who stays in a certain location, but as a temporary resident. It’s true, we are only visiting this planet, but we should not be aimless wanderers. Instead, we should remain in one place, growing in that place, and learning all we’re supposed to learn in that one place. But, many in the church today wander from one place to another. The reasons for the wandering are many, but in the end, I do believe the wandering not only hurts the individual, but also hurts the overall body.

As I spoke with my Pastor friend we reflected on the life of Moses. He was the man who led the people of God out of Egypt. He was supposed to lead them into the Promised Land, but, that didn’t work out so well. One day Moses struck a rock twice because he was frustrated with the people and God told him because of his frustration, he would not enter the Promised Land. As a matter of fact, none of the generation Moses was leading would enter the Promised Land. Instead, it was up to him to lead the wandering people around the desert for 40 years, until that generation died off, so the new generation of sojourners would in turn enter into the Promised Land.

Wow! Think about that for a minute or two. Moses knew he would not enter the Promised Land. But, as a leader, he stuck with his assignment, became a sojourner in the desert, so he could point the next generation in the way they should go.

I believe this is a lesson not only every leader should learn, but many of the wanderers of today should also learn. Too often we toss in the towel and complain, and we don’t even ultimately know how the journey will go. Moses knew the outcome of his journey, but he remained faithful and sojourned in the desert, pointing the way to the Promised Land.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

This writing thing is really very interesting. As I mentioned in an earlier blog entry I’m currently reading a devotional book entitled A Year with Thomas Merton. The entry I just read seems so relevant, and yet also so irrelevant to my life. While Merton writes he is starting to read the book of Job, I am not even thinking of reading that book. It’s not that the book of Job is a waste of time, for it’s really far from that. I’ve spent time reading Job before and find it all very fascinating. However, at this point in my journey, it’s not really a book I feel like reading. So, in that respect, the reading was rather irrelevant.

However, in the same entry Merton talks about his writing. Should he continue to write, or should he stop writing. For in the end, he really is a writer, so what else is there for him to do. He even makes mention of possibly having paper and pen buried with him so he can in turn continue writing, even after he dies.

This whole line of thinking once again stirred in me the desire to write. For there are times when I do little writing, but even when I’m doing little writing, there’s still writing coming out in the form of those pesky little post it notes all over the top of my desk. Sometimes it’s not even post it notes. I find myself jotting down little thoughts here and there and randomly sticking them under a coaster I have sitting on the corner of my desk. The notes build and build and while I sometimes do little with them, they’re still there. At times they seem to call out to me as young children do when they want to be encouraged to grow. I guess one day the little notes may just grow up into full blown articles, or dare I say it, even a full blown book or two, or even more. But for now, the notes sit stuffed here and there.

Jotting down some thoughts.

Even if they don’t become more, I do believe it’s important for us to jot down those random thoughts we find along the way. I do believe they help us sort through this journey we call life. For many, those thoughts may never see the light of day. But, in the end, I believe they’re an important guide along the way helping us sort through life, emotions, and even problems or situations along the way.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

It seems this afternoon was filled with tech support conversations. It all started with a problem of not connecting to the Internet at all. That was followed by the discovery that my godlaughs.net domain does not seem to be working.

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

Another weekend has almost finished once again. While some live for the weekend, many live for the week. Living for the week means looking for opportunities to encourage those around us with words of hope we may have received over the weekend.

Today we visited another church in the area. The speaker was very uplifting and he reminded us of the importance of looking at the areas in our lives where we’ve tasted of the refreshing waters of a great well. For whatever reason, many old wells become filled in with the distractions of life. When this takes place, we become not only frustrated, but we also lose touch with our foundation. The foundation is always what one builds on in order to move forward in our purpose and destiny in life.

As I wind down yet another weekend, and another night, I’m meditating on what wells in my life need to be re-opened, cleaned out, and re-claimed. My prayer is, that you will do the same.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

I just finished watching qualifying for the Nextel NASCAR race at Bristol. The race is set for tomorrow night, but now the starting grid is set for the race. They’re on a short track this week and that means a lot of bumping, grinding, rubbing, and racing. It also means short tempers with, at times, helmets and yes, even fists flying. For the drivers, it’s all in a days work as they go fast and turn left.

Sometimes in this journey we call life we get a little wound up and it seems all we’re doing is going fast and turning left. Tempers can flair as we bump into one another and sometimes even get out of control. Many times we simply add to our stress level as a result of not willing to slow down to either let the other guy go past, or reflect on what God might be trying to teach us in the moment.

As I wrap up another day, I’m trying to slow down for a few minutes to ponder the events of the day, and yes even the week. Maybe this should be a weekend set aside for contemplation, instead of simply going fast and turning left.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus