One upmanship

I was reading my email this morning, most of it is from a dog list of which I am a member. Every now and then, there is a discussion about other breeders and their practices. Statements condemning the practices of some breeders usually force people who own dogs from those breeders to feel as if their dogs are substandard. It is kind of sad when an owner is excited about the quality and tempremant of their pup and someone rains on their show with such accusations against the breeder.

I can understand where some of those who are quick to condemn are coming from. They deeply love the breed that their dogs represent and wish to keep the temperament and beauty that is standard in that breed for years and years to come. The problem is, many "good" breeders have used the same lines to breed their dogs for so long that the animals actually become inbred. Long dormant recessive genesare waiting to be stirred up suddenly become dominant. This inbreeding causes the to animals suffer from the very genetic and temperametal disorders that the breeders have been trying to avoid. Unkknowingly, while trying to make the perfect perfect breed, these well meaning people have cut the gene pool down to a small one with the very same problems they were once trying to avoid.

There is a dilemma here of course. A poodle is definitely a distinctive animal. Their curly hair, square body, long legs, deep chest, pointed snout and long ears make them distinctly poodles. Breeding too far from the breed standard will definitely begin to make dogs that are no longer poodles. So while there may be reasons to allow more open breeding within poodle lines, going too far away from the standard will produce an animal that in essence becomes something other than a poodle.

The same kind of thing happens with people of faith. While discussing faith, people with certain theologies will condemn others with different beliefs making them feel substandard in their own faith. Even as these people have good intentions about keeping faith pure, they end up insisting on certain practices concerning their faith that become a stumbling block for those who are trying to be faithful. In doing so, the very faith they are trying to protect becomes corrupt rather than life giving.

Here too there is a dilemma. Christian faith is defined by some very common beliefs...things like an understanding of the mystery of the Trinity, the incarnation of Jesus, the obedience of Christ even to death, the resurrection of Christ and his ascension into heaven, the proclamation of this God given gift given with the hope that all of creation might one day be made right with God. When we wander too far off the beaten track with our theology, we end up with something that becomes less than Christian.

I sometimes wonder what the implication of "going too far" is for either of these scenarios. Allowing the breeding of a diverse number of poodles will end up with a breed that is very diverse but in the end will end up with a breed whose only commonality is that they are dogs. Accepting and welcoming views other than traditional faith will end up with people of faith whose theology is so diverse that the only thing left in common at all is that they are people.

Good thing? Bad thing? I suppose some would disagree on the answer to this quesiton. For me, I enjoy the individuality of the poodle and do not want to see it stray so far from the poodle line that it will no longer be recognized as a poodle.

As for faith, the basic tenets of Christian faith seem to make the most sense to me as the story of God and God's people has unfolded throughout time. In a world that is empowered by the sin of self and selfishnessm reliance on our own capabilities seems to be what feeds this selfish tenedency. Instead, we need a people set apart who trust in the hope of God's salvation. They are not here to condemn others, but to do God's work, proclaiming the gift of God's son so that all might be reconciled to God. It is these people who are called to selflessly serve God's creation in love. I don't want to see our faith stray so far from the Christian beliefs that it will no longer be recognized as Christian but neither do I want it to be so narrow that millions of people will never be able to relate to the gift of God's perfect love.

Surprises!

I never could fool my mother! When I was five, I was visiting a friend's house. Their mom offered me some cookies and milk, and not wanting to be rude, I accepted. When I got home, my mom asked me if I had eaten some cookies. You see, we had a rule in our house....no snacks between meals and my mom was pretty strict about making sure that there was always room for a healthy meal. So, I did what any five year old would do. I lied. And to my surprise, I ended up in the corner. No, it wasn't the two eyes behind my mother's head that gave me away...instead, it was the cookie crumbs that were stuck to the corner of my mouth.

I still can't keep anything from my mom. I have spent the last ten months planning a surprise 50th anniversary party for her and my dad. SOMEONE spilled the beans! But even if they had not, I am pretty sure that she would have already figured it out anyway. There are any number of things that have happened in the course of the last ten months that could have given it away. In the end, it certainly wouldn't be those proverbial eyes behind her head. Instead, the case of the missing key would have most likely tipped her off.

You see, a friend and I wanted to get a nice picture to put into a frame that she had purchased for this special event. So one day about a month or so ago, we snuck into the house while they were gone and snapped a few digital pictures of what we wanted. We very carefully put everything back in its place and left. As luck would have it, the picture that we really liked was oriented incorrectly. Once again, we secertly entered the house to take more photos.

It was a very cold and rainy evening when I got the frantic call from my father. Dressed in only a tee shirt, he had taken the dog outside and somehow had gotten locked out of the house. When he went to get the key....it was missing. I started to think about both times that I went into the house and distinctly remember putting the key away the first time, but don't really remember what I did with it the second time...my guess is that I didn't put it back. I hope that my Dad can find a way to forgive me when he finds out....poor Dad, I always seem to get a chuckle at his expense!

Somethings never change....I am my own worst enemy when it comes to trying to keep something from my Mom..... maybe one day I will learn my lesson....and then again...maybe NOT.

Gifts

Mention the word gift and I bet most people's thoughts turn to Birthday or Christmas memories. But, when I think of gifts, I think of God.

In I Corinthians, Paul offers a list of spiritual gifts that God has gifted to the body of Christ, that is, the church. Every member of Christ's church has already received a spiritual gift to be used for serving others in the glory of God. Discovering that gift can be a real challenge though. Just ask anyone how God has gifted them to serve and you may find someone with a puzzled look on their face. I have begun to see that we do a very poor job helping people to discover those gifts.

Too often, the church has "jobs" that need to be done and any warm body who is able to work is chosen to fill the position. Unfortunately, there are many times that we often fill round holes with square pegs. Unfortunately, both the outcome of the job and the person trying to do that job are stifled by the poor fit.

Last night, I had the opportunity to witness the result of a task done by a person whose gifts have been embraced by the commuity and where she has been empowered to use them for God's glory! When Michelle started to share her vision for our church's 50th anniversary party, there were a few skeptics about what she had in mind. But she had a vision and she came up with a plan! Lack of funding didn't hold this woman back! Using her gift of hospitality, she hosted one of the best nights our congregation has ever experienced. She found a way to make it happen and we even raised a little more than a hundred extra dollars to add to our growing "Fuel for the elderly fund."

How wonderful it is when God's gifts are recognized and used for God's glory!

Time

My alarm went off at 6AM. Actually, no, if truth were to be told, I forgot to set it. But there I was, wide awake at my usual time... 6AM. One would think that would be plenty of time for someone to ready themselves for work that begins at 8:30.

I think part of the problem is that I really don't want to go to work. I enjoy waking up and spending a few minutes while my dogs greet me with a good morning kiss. They love to lay on the backs while I rub their tummies...a good morning massage.

Then it is off to the kitchen door. Their time outside is usually pretty brief because they know that when they come in, food will be the next item on the agenda. I usually have enough time to make a pot of coffee and pour a bowl of cereal or throw a bagel in the toaster while they are out.

Most times, I am able to fold a load of laundry or put the dishes in the dishwasher away. When my breakfast is done and the girls are finished eating, they know exactly where we are going next. Ginny usually races ahead of me, up the stairs, jumping on my computer chair. She figures it is a good place to be since I always eat my breakfast here while I read my email. The best part for her is when I get interupted and have to leave the room for a moment. When I return, her little face is right in my breakfast dish....oh well, I really didn't want to eat it all anyway.

I don't know what it is about my morning ritual, but the time just seems to slip through my fingers. Like right now...I am already five minutes passed the time that I should be jumping in the shower.

Oh how illusive time is! It seems the more I have, the faster it flows through my hands...not like sand in an hourglass, but more like the rushing water of a Tsunami. As I get older, and my minutes here on earth become fewer and fewer.....why does it seem that time slips away faster and faster?