tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164210892024-03-14T09:16:14.198-04:00A Pot of StewKeeping life in perspective. Staying focused on the big picture while living in the small one.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.comBlogger180125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-55218432545760158022012-04-21T19:48:00.000-04:002012-04-21T19:50:45.504-04:00A Prayer from the Children of GodDear God,
We come to you today, your children, to praise you for who you are and what you have done for us. We thank you for calling us your own and leading us from darkness into light. We thank you for creating us, sustaining us, and redeeming us to eternal life through the sacrifice of Jesus. We thank you that even though we see dimly the truth of your glory, you continue to make yourself known to us and we look forward to the day that we may know you fully.<br />
<br />
We come to you today God, your children, to ask forgiveness for falling short of your will and desire for us. Forgive us for our sinful actions, those we recognize and those we’re still too blind to see. Give us humility to recognize our own shortcomings and the grace to forgive them in others. Forgive us God for our sinful omissions. Lead us to always act in the way that you would guide us. Forgive us for failing to encourage and lift up. Forgive us for sitting by in the midst of injustice. Forgive us for thinking we’re better than we really are. Take away our arrogant spirits, quick to point out the mistakes we perceive in others. Replace it instead with an humble heart, recognizing that the battle is over, the victory is won.<br />
<br />
We come to you today God, your children, to lift our needs to you. You are a good God, and provide for us well. We pray that you would hear the need of our hearts and show us your peace. We pray for our children. Help us to raise them that they might grow to reflect your glory, knowing that they too are yours. Give us the compassion to hold them tight when they are vulnerable and give us the wisdom to let them go when they are strong.<br />
<br />
God, we come to you today, thankful that we are your children, but knowing that we fall short of the honor of that title. For this we are indebted to you for providing the sacrifice that would clean our dirty souls that we might present ourselves to you, the living God through prayers such as this, that you might hear our voice and speak to us in return the good word needed in our ear.<br />
<br />
(1 John 3:1-7)Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-66926786175884958272012-03-04T21:28:00.000-05:002012-03-04T21:28:33.900-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzp8lTBSmw8NXQeFwwSCnq2vXXu7JhOc96sYSVudaOgxxiL7OAGkrp2InZ2TTAKNY7ypm06zWmjCIS4CbmQGJ_0DHViFTRxidyW-PRvWFmV4N-j62JykCuOZ1MkhrTZXEKor3yw/s1600/enhanced-buzz-22838-1330889171-40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzp8lTBSmw8NXQeFwwSCnq2vXXu7JhOc96sYSVudaOgxxiL7OAGkrp2InZ2TTAKNY7ypm06zWmjCIS4CbmQGJ_0DHViFTRxidyW-PRvWFmV4N-j62JykCuOZ1MkhrTZXEKor3yw/s1600/enhanced-buzz-22838-1330889171-40.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">What's more important, the thing on the inside they're trying to protect or the "danger" on the outside they're protecting it from?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Is this really Virginia? </span></div>Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-22670118132616640512012-01-28T22:35:00.001-05:002012-01-28T22:35:20.617-05:00A Prayer for GraceDear God,<br />
<br />
We thank you for your abundant grace so freely given to our broken selves and world. While we wait for eternity to fully realize the depth of your forgiveness and grace, we pray that we might learn to draw strength from it today. We work so hard to be right, but let us not forget the priority of compassion and forgiveness. Fill us with your grace so that we might truly put others before ourselves. Your grace allows us to find contentment. Free us from unrestrained consumption, the belief that because it is available that it is good. Remind us that though all things may be permissible, that all things are not profitable. Give us grace to resist our temptations. We rely on our own strength and will too often seeking our own definition of good. Without your grace, no amount of good is good enough, for only through you can we find redemption.<br />
<br />
We lift to you this morning our burdens and needs God. We know that you hear the cry of our heart. Give us ears to hear and a heart to listen in return. Your way is the way of peace and fulfillment God, we pray that you set our feet on that path as we look to our Savior Jesus as our guide. We pray for our world, and troubles faced by our brothers and sisters of which we’re not even aware. We pray for our nation and thank you for a system in which we our voices may be heard. May our voices reflect the voice of hope, joy, peace, and love. We pray for our community that we might forge relationships and connections that allow us to share life together, celebrating the good and mourning our losses, and continually striving to realize thy kingdom come. We pray for ourselves, that you would reach into our very souls and shape us into the people you would have us to be for we realize that community, nation, and world will never be any better than the individuals who populate them.<br />
<br />
We pray for your blessing God. Give us knowledge for our minds, strength for our bodies, and courage and compassion for our hearts. We ask for this not for our glory, but yours, that we might be your people in this world. You are our God and for this we are thankful. <br />
<br />
Amen.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-37124125543663246512011-12-10T22:03:00.000-05:002011-12-10T22:03:27.785-05:00An Advent Prayer of Joy<div class="display-passages"> <div class="content-wrapper"> <div class="content-col"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Psalm 126</span><div class="passage-wrap"><div class="passage-left passage-class-0"><div class="result-text-style-normal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>A song of ascents.</b> </span></div><div class="result-text-style-normal"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-16117">1</sup> When the LORD restored the fortunes of<sup> </sup>Zion, </span></div><div class="result-text-style-normal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">we were like those who dreamed.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-16118">2</sup> Our mouths were filled with laughter, <br />
our tongues with songs of joy. <br />
Then it was said among the nations, <br />
“The LORD has done great things for them.” <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-16119">3</sup> The LORD has done great things for us, <br />
and we are filled with joy. </span> <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-16120">4</sup> Restore our fortunes, LORD, <br />
like streams in the Negev. <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-16121">5</sup> Those who sow with tears <br />
will reap with songs of joy. <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-16122">6</sup> Those who go out weeping, <br />
carrying seed to sow, <br />
will return with songs of joy, <br />
carrying sheaves with them. </span></div></div></div></div></div></div><br />
<br />
Dear God, <br />
<br />
May this morning bring us assurance of the eternal joy we have in you. In the midst of this advent season, among all of the displays of our world we’re given a message of joy. Bright colors and catchy songs pervade our lives and tell us we should be happy. Yet even the coming of Christmas doesn’t end our worries in this world. We lift our troubles before you this morning God because as much as we try to hide our suffering behind polite smiles we need you in our lives and in our world. We pray for the day when polite smiles aren’t needed and we beam with a joy that comes from restoration. <br />
<br />
Be with us God as we mourn the losses in our lives. In this season we cherish our time with loved ones, but the absence of some grows even larger in our hearts. As we deal with physical struggles we ask for comfort. When our bodies break down, we pray even more that you rest in our soul and give us peace. Politics and economics bring spirit crushing anxiety when governed by the rules of the world. We pray that you help us to practice God’s politics and live in a heavenly economy that brings life and light into our lives and the world.<br />
<br />
Fill our mouths with laughter, fill our tongues with song, for the Lord has done great things for us. We need look no further than our hands can reach from left to right to find proof of your faithfulness to us. We thank you for the life-giving relationships in our lives. Through good and bad we thank you for our friends and family. We curse the traffic and hate the crowds this time of year, but help us to notice the friendly smiles, the people who hold a door for us or offer their spot in line. Right after you made us you said it was good, let us remember that and hope for the day when humanity will be restored in all of the goodness in which you created us.<br />
<br />
Until that day God may we seek your will and strive to live out all of the goodness that is in us through the grace and goodwill of your Son, Jesus. In all of our troubles remind us that God is with us. As we prepare ourselves for Christmas and remember the birth of Christ, help us to draw strength from the knowledge that just as you entered the world through a baby to draw us close to you, that we may continue to allow Christ into this world through us. You have done great things for us Lord, and we are filled with joy. Amen.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-20394041704703224202011-09-25T20:51:00.000-04:002011-09-29T21:01:31.437-04:00A Prayer of Rest and ForgivenessDear God,<br />
<br />
We come to you in thanksgiving. May our hearts and minds rest in you. We thank you for stillness. As we sit in your space give our bodies rest from a week of work, school, and play. Clear our minds of all the clutter we've filled them with this week. Help us to give away all of our thoughts that we may think only of you. We pride ourselves on our independence and how well we take care of ourselves, this might not be all bad, but relieve us of that pressure so that we may rely wholly on you.<br />
<br />
Thank you for taking care of us even when we don't recognize it. Help us to see you for all that you are to us. More than a good idea, more than a set of values, you are the God who created us and longs to draw us close.<br />
<br />
Forgive us for the space we create between you and ourselves. Forgive us for ignoring you because we're so content with the way things are. Forgive us for the hurt we cause each other because we're so wrapped up in ourselves. Forgive us for misrepresenting you and causing others to doubt you. Forgive us for our overconsumption. Forgive us for turning negative when things don't go our way.<br />
<br />
We know that you are with us, may we remember this and let it drive our words, thoughts, and deeds, daily. We preay for our world, that we could truly find peace and understand how living together should work. We pray for our country, that we could make wise decisions with civility. And we pray for our church, that we would bring your light into this world, reflecting the glory of the God whom we serve.<br />
<br />
Break our hearts for the things that break yours God and give us a submissive spirit that we might be shaped into the men and women that you have intended for us to be. We ask all of this in name of our Savior who taught us to pray, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And, forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Forever, Amen.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-68412645857021617562011-09-16T15:10:00.000-04:002011-09-16T15:10:22.618-04:00Really Pat?You may have heard the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AlzheimersCommunity/pat-robertson-alzheimers-makes-divorce/story?id=14526660">news about Pat Robertson's latest offensive comments</a>. This time it didn't target gays or foreigners, but the diseased. In a recent television appearance, Robertson replied to a caller asking about how he should adivise a friend who had decided to see another woman because of his wife's advanced Alzheimer's. <br />
<br />
I grew up fundamentalist, so I think I know the answer here. Tell the friend to stop, ask forgiveness, and love on his wife until death. From birth to seventeen years old, I attended a good old King James, Bible Believing, Independent Baptist Church, three times a week, every week. That makes over 2500 sermons before I even became an adult, and most of them had something to say about sex, drugs, and/or rock and roll. Don't take me the wrong way, the people of that church showed love and care with their actions, but the message out of their mouths came clear. Adultery and Divorce are wrong.<br />
<br />
I've never been a big fan of Robertson, but I thought he would at least get this one right. But no, he said "<em>I know it sounds cruel, but if he's going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her</em>." He admits that marriage is until "death" but then says that Alzheimer's is like a living death. So that makes it ok I guess.<br />
<br />
This is so wrong, and the reason why I believe Christians (yes, I am one) need to understand the source behind their convictions. For starters, our nation is great, and I love family, but let's be clear. I believe in a man, who I also believe was a God (the God even). That this God-man lived on this earth and suffered death at the hands of his creation. Miraculously, he didn't stay dead. He returned to this earth until ascending into heaven. If you're not a Christian, that sounds foolish. If you are, it probably doesn't sound foolish enough. If you really believe that (and I do) its a pretty big deal. Bigger than a pledge or blood relationships, or all of the legalistic morass we let ourselves get bound up in.<br />
<br />
Let's look to some reason. If said wife has "lost her mind", we might conclude that she is no longer "like the living", therefore a covenant relationship like marriage may be voided on those grounds. She is less than human, not deserving the same right to expect faithfulness from her husband as one who possesses full mental health. If that's the case, then how can you argue that a fetus in the womb possesses full life that can't be violated. Is the potential of life more valuable that the fulfillment of life embodied in its final journey to death? Does the fetus deserve any more the right to birth than a person deserves the right to maintain full dignity and humanity even unto death?<br />
<br />
Too much self-serving logic going on here. Of what value is life? Can we argue over it's beginning at conception or birth while we sit idly by watching execution take place? How did a discussion of Alzheimer's take us to capital punishment? Shane Claiborne <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2011/09/16/jesus-we-interrupt-this-execution-to-bring-you-a-message-of-grace/">wrote just today</a> a defense of Grace in the face of death. Should we dismiss the Psalms and get self-righteous over the fact that King David, guilty of murder, should have never been allowed to live long enough to write them? Should the bulk of the New Testament be rejected because the writer, Paul, would have willingly accepted the penalty for his crimes if his conversion had been true?<br />
<br />
We need to think! Humanity, infused with the very breath of God is exceedingly deep, but we flippantly decide who is deserving and who doesn't have the privilege to the rights of that humanity. We are too ready to set our minds firm on issues of abortion, death, the right to life, and dying with dignity when these issues deserve deep and mindful consideration and soul-searching. <br />
<br />
But unfortunately for many, it's just a whole lot easier to find out what Pat thinks about it.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-85465395323170675872011-09-10T22:02:00.002-04:002011-09-10T22:02:09.515-04:00A Prayer for Sunday, September 11, 2011Dear God,<br />
<br />
When words fail to meet our need to express our desires for you we are grateful that you know us even better than we know ourselves. When we can’t even know what we should be asking from you we are thankful that you have known what we need even before we were born. We come to this place today to connect with you. Bless us with the knowledge that you are in this place, that you are with us. May our worship be pleasing to you.<br />
<br />
We come today with an acute mindfulness of this date, ten years past the day our world changed before our eyes. Even today we try to make sense of what happened and our reactions to that day, both collectively and individually have yet to find an end. Help our children to understand the significance of what they can’t remember, to know that comfort and safety are gifts to show gratitude for and not to be taken for granted. As we pray and hope for comfort and safety for our children, we also recognize the value of struggle; as we struggle in this world may we do so together, walking step by step with you.<br />
<br />
May you lead us to forgiveness God. We may never know how much debt we owe to you. The trials you’ve led us through in this life that we’ve failed to attribute to your hand or the trials to come in eternity that according to your promise you have overcome. As we pray for our children we offer the same prayer for ourselves. Your grace has brought us safe thus far, may we understand the significance of what we can’t remember, to know that your sacrifice in the body of Jesus has brought us from a living death into eternal life. With this measure of forgiveness let us know that nothing is unforgiveable to us, the children of God.<br />
<br />
You are a God of beauty, of restoration, of making good out of ugly things. We reflect today on the ugliness of September 11 and pray that through your spirit we can turn this tragedy into a victory of love over hate, peace over war, sacrifice over selfishness, humanity over evil. You have given no less to us, from us no less is expected.<br />
<br />
We want this God, to walk in the light of forgiveness and mercy, but we know that it can’t be done from our own strength and will. May we follow your will on this path.<br />
<br />
Amen.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-1259438305505573252011-08-28T17:16:00.003-04:002011-08-28T21:17:22.944-04:00More MemoriesAfter the last post about memory and songs, it seems that every time I turn on the radio I hear something that takes me back. Not the songs that you hear everyday, but the ones that seem to happen randomly and take you back to those moments that reside in the back of your brain. The memories that you've filed away and might never recall again until something happens to trigger it.<br />
<br />
Here in Charlottesville, the UVa students moved in just a week or so ago. After reading several facebook posts from residents complaining about the traffic the students brought to town I got in the car for a quick trip to the supermarket. What did I hear but "Here's Where the Story Ends" by the Sundays. That song was an anthem for my last summer at home before leaving for college myself.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdITEZONff1d_tWoW-IJGqOIlYuh2SfHpEp1ha_YOJ_IIYKK-benfGRWsuYH6vJPnz6zAbNVokPFjx2GMNW5cOQ7ErIezSCK1djurhP_1XLkyLW0z6NczAPeWe77_Usrn8d7lKg/s1600/184396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdITEZONff1d_tWoW-IJGqOIlYuh2SfHpEp1ha_YOJ_IIYKK-benfGRWsuYH6vJPnz6zAbNVokPFjx2GMNW5cOQ7ErIezSCK1djurhP_1XLkyLW0z6NczAPeWe77_Usrn8d7lKg/s200/184396.jpg" width="200" /></a>I worked at KFC that summer. The worst job I ever had. My parents had lobbied for me to return to the factory, but I insisted on something different. (Parents 1- Me 0; they were right) There was an assistant manager at the store. She was 35-40 years old, mother of a few, former husband in jail, and on top of it, I didn't find her attractive. I was only seventeen. I'll spare the details, but she started behaving rather inappropriately toward me and I was scared.</div><br />
On my last night at work, I showed up over an hour late. A friend of mine had already quit, and skipped out completely on his last scheduled shift. This manager's shift ended as mine began that day. I couldn't bring myself to just cut out, but I thought after a half hour or so she would think that I had decided to skip out like my friend. She didn't. She waited up to see me. I went back into the kitchen and wouldn't come out, and she wasn't allowed back since she wasn't working. At the end of my shift she was waiting in the parking lot.<br />
<br />
I got into my car and cranked it while she stood in the door trying to talk. I didn't hear a word of what she said, but the tape playing in my car would leave a memory etched into my brain that remains to this day. "It's that little souvenir, of a terrible year." I finally pulled out of the parking lot leaving that job and everything about it behind.<br />
<br />
Several weeks later I remember sitting in my new dorm. I'd brought the tape with me and played it in the room as my roommate arrived. We made small talk, but the interaction was awkward. I'd just bought a fan that I needed to assemble, so that occupied my hands and gave me something to do. When the track played on the tape, I remembered just how awful my last summer at home had been. I sat on the edge of my bed and looked across the room at this new face listening to the words "Here's Where the Story Ends." and I new that every chapter of our lives can be closed with those words, but the story really never ends. It becomes a part of our life and prepares us to create new stories that we will take with us forever.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-87363910313030426812011-08-19T23:17:00.001-04:002011-08-19T23:27:48.918-04:00Memories and MelodiesEver notice how strong of a connection certain songs make to episodes of your life? Last week I heard "Veronica" by Elvis Costello on the radio. I either haven't heard that song in a long time, or just haven't noticed, but this time it evoked a flood of memories.<br />
<br />
The summer after my sixteenth birthday my parents expected me to get my first job. They always agreed that I wouldn't have to work during the school year if I could find full-time employment during the summer that paid a decent wage. Growing up in Bassett, Virginia, the easiest option was the factory.<br />
<br />
At the time, Bassett was home to at least five furniture factories. My mother's three brothers, my father, brother-in-law, and nearly every other male I could think of in my family worked in the furniture business. Factories were wide and tall brick buildings with smokestacks and tiny windows hiding most of what went on inside. The only clues about what happened in a factory came promptly at noon and three-thirty every weekday, shortly after the horn that was heard across the entire town. Worn, tired, and dirty men and women would rush out of the buildings, their demeanor and appearance making it clear that whatever went on in a factory, I didn't want any part of it.<br />
<br />
School started at 8:20, so getting ready to punch the clock at 7:00 on my first day of work was no small task. I worked in the same building as my father, but we didn't ride together. His routine involved getting to work early enough to read for a while in his car, gather briefly with friends in the break room, and punch the clock at 6:55 to make sure he wasn't late. (Punching in earlier meant you'd have to be paid for the time and the company didn't allow that. Punching in later than 7:00 meant your time would be docked and my father wouldn't allow that.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t.track.youmix.co.uk/90642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t.track.youmix.co.uk/90642.jpg" /></a></div>I intended to roll into the parking lot, exit my car, proceed straight to the time clock and punch in when the horn sounded official Bassett time-- 7:00. Riding to work that morning, "Veronica" played on the radio. The lyrics have nothing to do with the memory, but I found it catchy enough to stick in my brain for the summer.<br />
<br />
The tasks required on the assembly line were mind-numbingly monotonous. I couldn't help but sing "Veronica" over and over. My brain was empty and idle within minutes of my first day of work. Gluing the same wooden block into piece after piece of furniture. Screwing identical blocks into identical dressers for hours at a time. Standing in the same spot, rotating at the hip to retrieve drawers from a stack to shove them into the moving dressers until the entire line had run. I knew that I wasn't going to like the job and I didn't.<br />
<br />
So why does this song that reminds me of working in a drab, dark factory in my youth? That experience of several summers taught me so many life lessons. I worked with people whose lives were stuck in a dead end. I learned the value of persistence and hard work to pull out of the holes you find yourself in. I also learned to love the people who were stuck. The people who no one ever saw behind the brick and mortar, working like bees every day to produce. I learned what it was like to work for the sole reason of earning a paycheck and knew that working for money alone could never lead to fulfillment in life.<br />
<br />
Most of all, I learned to appreciate my father. I think he worked for Bassett nearly 50 years. I loved working in the same building as him and watching the respect he'd earned. On paydays, I heard so many people complain about how little they made in one breath while talking about how much they'd spent on alcohol in the next breath. I never knew how he managed to keep his mind and body fresh, but somehow he found a sense of pride in a job well done and created life-giving relationships with co-workers. He retired on the day that I finally finished college. He'd never even made it to high school.<br />
<br />
I worked in a factory for three summers and hated every minute of it. My father endured what I could not for one reason alone: a loving commitment to family. I would have never understood the depth of this commitment if I hadn't experienced it myself. So while I hated every minute, I wouldn't give back a single second. It's why I smile when I hear "Veronica" today.<br />
<br />
<i>I've been absent from A Pot of Stew for over a month now. Mostly because I've spent so much time travelling this summer, but I've also been doing some other writing. I've been working on a few articles, of course I've written a few posts at <a href="http://teachingunderground.blogspot.com/">The Teaching Underground</a>. I've also been working on a novel. No idea where that will go, but I'll let you know if it gets off the ground. </i><br />
<br />
<br />
Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-35735839698515497872011-07-16T12:52:00.001-04:002011-07-17T16:30:42.976-04:00Turn off the Dark<a href="http://www.playbill.com/images/photo/S/p/Spider-Man-Turn-Off-Dark-12-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.playbill.com/images/photo/S/p/Spider-Man-Turn-Off-Dark-12-10.jpg" width="128" /></a>I'd never been to Broadway before last week. I'd never been to New York before last week. Two years ago, October 2009, U2 played a concert in my hometown of Charlottesville. I wanted to take my son to a concert, so I bought tickets for the Philadelphia concert the next summer. Little did I know that Bono would injure himself and the show would be postponed for another year. I held on to the tickets and we made plans to go last week. My wife wanted to make it a family trip, so we decided to spend a day in New York before heading to Philadelphia.<br />
<br />
Ever since she travelled to New York a few years ago to see the Lion King on Broadway, she's been wanting to see another show. Our youngest son is so into Spider Man we figured that would be about the only option that he would manage to sit through. Considering that Bono and the Edge composed the music I figured that it would be only fitting to see the show the day before the U2 concert. I found discounted tickets on-line two days before the show about 3/4 of the way back in the Orchestra section (right side, row U).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/04/16/arts/Spider-1/Spider-1-articleInline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/04/16/arts/Spider-1/Spider-1-articleInline.jpg" width="122" /></a></div>The show was phenomenal. The live action/high flying choreography was part graceful, part daredevil. The characters of Spiderman and the Green Goblin flew both across the stage and overhead, as if the audience was a part of the show. The set managed to evoke a comic book feel without becoming campy. The set created quite a sense of depth and subtley became almost as much a part of the story as the characters. The cast was excellent, but Patrick Page in the role of the Green Goblin was the most memorable. His villianous voice perfectly matched the dialogue and music. The character added just enough comic relief to add a laugh or two without turning the show into a comedy.<br />
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The story was not the strongest. The music added emotion and weight The deeper Spiderman themes of Choice and Responsibility were present, but certainly not developed. However, it was a cohesive story, coming to a satisfying ending.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/114136594.jpg?w=300" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/114136594.jpg?w=300" width="200" /></a></div>Any U2 fan will recognize the fingerprints of Bono and the Edge all over the musical score, from the instrumentation that seems to borrow several riffs from U2 songs to the vocals that seem perfectly created for the voice of Bono. Several scenes include clips from U2 songs as incidental music: New Year's Day from a car stereo, Vertigo in a dance club, Beautiful Day on the telephone while on hold. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spider-Man-Turn-Original-Cast-Recording/dp/B0042X90N4?ie=UTF8&tag=apo07-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The soundtrack</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=apo07-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0042X90N4" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, like the show, finds a great balance of strong emotional pieces balanced with several more light-hearted songs.<br />
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That was the highlight of my first visit to New York. Until I can convince my four-year old son that he can't cling to a wall, the memory of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark will remain. As far as memories go, this is one that I'm not in a hurry to lose. The concert on Thursday was pretty good too. More on that one later.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-80517772626879593682011-06-24T22:10:00.000-04:002011-06-24T22:10:21.165-04:00Relationships- The Glue of HumanitySo what do you do in the summer?<br />
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As a teacher I hate that question because I always assume that it is seeded with contempt that I've got three months of vacation. First of all, June 15 to August 15 is not three months. Second, I don't just lay around the house all summer catching up on the soaps or lounge by the pool all day.<br />
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This week, the first full week of summer vacation I traveled with twenty-two teenagers to Southeast Roanoke. While there, we ran a day camp for children in a rather neglected community. I got to watch a sixteen year old spend her mornings working with a three-year old autistic child. I saw a fourteen year old deal with a child who came to camp every day with a different name. A rising eigth grader bonded with a third-grader who still showed the effects of an unlucky birth to a crack-addicted mother. We painted the porch of a WWII veteran because his elderly neighbor cared enough to seek out help and struggles against the odds to make a neighborhood neglected by the city look presentable again. We entered the house of a woman who had a hard time getting rid of things, and help her pack things away and clean up her house. Calming her anxiety was a bigger struggle that sorting through the accumulated stuff.<br />
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I learned last week that relationships are the glue that holds humanity together and when relationships are neglected or put on the backburner for other things-- humanity breaks apart. I went to the home of one elderly lady. When she started down the front porch steps to meet me I was afraid that she would fall. Her feet were too sore for shoes. Looking down I could see that her greatest need might be as simple as someone to trim her nails. A lawn mower sat in the lawn, but grass was growing over its deck. Her mental health matched her physical health. She didn't understand that we were offering our services for free. She insisted that her grandson would take care of it. He is a landscaper. He just cant work on her lawn as long as he has paying jobs that take the time. Her neighbor knew her two sons. Apparently they were alcoholics that caused her more harm than good. In this poor old woman, I saw a soul without another soul to care for her. Society has neglected her. No one desires to have a relationship with this lady.<br />
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The veteran that I mentioned before, he's no better off. He was so eager to share stories and talk, probably more so than getting his porch painted. It seemed that his only companion was the nurse who came to his house every day to take care of him. <br />
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We spent our week in a pocket of poverty. It wasn't as bad as it could get, but compared to my lifestyle it was bad. These pockets are easy to overlook. They're out of the way. We keep them clustered away from the paths that we cross daily. As long as we have food on our table and clothes on our back, we can lay our heads in our comfortable beds and sleep well at night without a thought for the children who aren't sure what if anything they will eat for breakfast in the morning. When we grab a to go cup of coffee and drive to our next destination it's easy to forget the poor old lady who can't get around because she can't get shoes over her untrimmed toenails. <br />
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We drive by, we walk by, we fly over, but we seldom stop. Stop to just see and hear America, the world. Outside of our immediate five senses we allow ourselves to become ignorant of the reality of life. We build an excellent buffer with our nicely trimmed lawns, personal automobiles, membership only swimming pools, and comfortable if not pretentious churches. A buffer that we mistake for reality to mask and hide the ugly realities that we'd rather not think about.<br />
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It's not that we should all be considering "selling everything and giving it to the poor", at least I'm not so sure that Jesus meant that command for everyone. It's easy to think that our job is to go in and fix the problems. Jesus didn't do it that way. Jesus entered our humanity and lived it with us, and continues to live it with us. He didn't die to end human suffering, he died to enter suffering with us so that we may overcome in time. He performed many miracles, but he didn't end poverty, hunger, or oppression. He endured poverty, hunger, and oppression. By doing so he intertwined the fate of humanity with the fate of the divine. He created relationship with the world.<br />
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That is true relationship. Enduring the hardship and walking alongside those in need. Being willing to suffer with another and not just thinking that because I wear better clothes, have my own car, and extra cash on top of it that I can just use my resources to rescue others from their difficulties. Whether it is poverty of the mind, body, economy, or soul, none of us possess the ability to rescue another but through our willingness to live life together in genuine relationships with others. Relationships that intertwine our fate with the fate of others.<br />
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Relationship is the glue that holds humanity together. I would bet that where we find humanity in ruins, not just places where people are poor but places that seem empty of hope, we also find that the root of that ruin lays in broken and unhealthy relationships.<br />
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That's what I've done and learned so far this summer. I've got a few adventures still ahead. I like seeing the counter numbers and site traffic climb when I post frequently, but lately I've gotten comfortable knowing that when I only get around to posting only every few weeks or once a month I'm only going to get a few readers. But I've got a lot to do if I really believe what I just wrote about relationships. I'll try to post a few more times this summer if you're interested. I've got a few family trips, a week at a youth camp, and a big U2 concert to attend this summer. <br />
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So what do you do in the summer?Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-39173436992424265272011-06-05T13:42:00.000-04:002011-06-05T13:42:47.810-04:00A Sunday Prayer to Reclaim the Reality of GodActs 1 <br />
<blockquote><span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26930">6</sup>Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26931">7</sup> He said to them: </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;">“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26932">8</sup> But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”</span> <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26933">9</sup> After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26934">10</sup> They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26935">11</sup> “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26936">12</sup> Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-26936a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%201:6-14&version=NIV#fen-NIV-26936a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup> from the city. <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26937">13</sup> When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26938">14</sup> They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. </span></blockquote><br />
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Dear God,<br />
<br />
Weekends like this remind us that sometimes when things come to an end it isn’t the end at all, but a new beginning. We thank you for being the God of fresh starts and new beginnings. We thank you for being the God who will even work goodness through death. When we forget that you have that kind of power, remind us God and help us to keep the faith.<br />
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Lord we just read today a story about your son, who walked among us, died because of us, and through your power ascended into heaven from where he came. Don’t let us sit here today and just pretend we believe this, because if we really believe something like that really happened how can we be comfortable with just being comfortable. Help us to ponder the reality of what we have heard and let our hardened hearts break under the weight of the mystery that God almighty cares about us and desires relationship with his creation.<br />
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We don’t get lost when we follow the leader; may you be the leader of our lives. Help us to pursue you with an unfailing faith in your goodness, with a hope that we can become what you intend for us to become, with a love that overflows bringing blessing to all of your creation. Forgive us for our boredom when we stop considering the power of your story and think it is familiar. Forgive us for our apathy when we confuse a comfort that keeps us in our seat with blessing. Forgive us for our selfishness when we strive to make ourselves first not remembering we’re headed for last place in that direction.<br />
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Most of us are here today for something. Whatever the reason we came, I pray that we all would seek first your kingdom and your righteousness, that we would be willing to follow you into death so that we may learn what it means to live. May we draw strength and encouragement from this community of faith as we journey in the path of God together. For this we pray together the prayer that Jesus taught his followers to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-17920131770560493962011-05-27T19:24:00.001-04:002011-06-03T22:31:10.654-04:00To The Class of 2011For the next few weeks, important people across the nation will stand in front of graduates and their families delivering thoughtful and articulate speeches to the class of 2011. I may never make one of these speeches, but after teaching the class of 2011 for the last nine months I decided to draft the speech that I would give them.<br />
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To the class of 2011:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://photos1.fotosearch.com/bthumb/CSP/CSP225/k2259020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="http://photos1.fotosearch.com/bthumb/CSP/CSP225/k2259020.jpg" width="170" /></a>Too many people will tell you today that you are our future. You’re not.<br />
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Thank you very much, but I have my own plans for the future and depending on yours they may intersect, but no, I’m not looking out with excitement about your potential to take care of my world tomorrow. I want you to change your world today.<br />
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You are not the future. That would mean that everything you do today has no other value than what it prepares you for at some future time. After today, some of you who’ve been in my Friend queue on Facebook will make the cut and I will confirm our friendship. But I’ll let you in on an important secret. Most of you have been my peers for months. I learn from you, I grow because of you, I become a better person because you were a part of my life. Now that you turn the tassle from left to right it merely becomes a matter of formality.<br />
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Maybe if you’d known this earlier you would have acted more like it. The classes you skipped, the tests you didn’t prepare for, or the homework you either half-way did or borrowed from a friend aren’t really the behaviors I expect from my peers. That’s ok though, just because I’ve called you a friend doesn’t mean that you don't still have some growing up to do. I have a little of that left myself.<br />
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But remember, you’re not my future, you’re your own present. So act like it.<br />
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All this future talk can lead you down the wrong road. For a long time, us adults were pretty immune from the whim of fad and fashion. It seems that technology has changed this as well. We’re motivated by the next best thing and constantly try to stay ahead of the curve. You’re graduating, it’s time to ignore the curve. Don’t spend your life chasing the tail of the world hoping to hop on it’s back for a ride. Learn who you are, embrace your identity. Whether it’s rooted in family, faith, or passion, embrace your identity and let the world chase your tail, and hop on for a ride.<br />
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Everyone will tell you that you’ve grown up in the information age, but the information age is coming to an end. Instead of chasing what’s next, discover what is enduring. The values that never go out of style—creativity, excellence, and generosity. Simply put, create stuff; do it well; and share it. Maybe you’ll make a few bucks off of it, but if you haven’t noticed, we’ve created a pretty rotten economy for you to inherit. Financial success is no guarantee, so you might as well work toward fulfillment. You’re more likely to find it than wealth, and really, if you find it, you’ve found wealth.<br />
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To everyone who graduates today, stand up if you were accepted into the college of your dreams; if you’re proud today of the accomplishments you’ve achieved in your sport or performing art; if you think of all your classmates and someone comes to mind that you’ve helped become a better person; if you’ve fallen in love or found a best friend; stand up if you’re just glad to be graduating and finally have high school behind you. ( I assume that includes everyone)<br />
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If you felt sick when the rejection letter came, have a seat; if you remember a moment when you forgot a line, hit a wrong note, or just blew a big game; if you’ve hurt someone in your class in a way you wish you could take back; if you’ve been heartbroken, or broken someone’s heart, or ruined a friendship by doing something stupid; if you’ve hated most every moment you’ve endured to make it to graduation today. (Again, I assume this covers everyone)<br />
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Congratulations to everyone who was able to stand tall! And also for taking a seat. You’ve experienced life. A rich series of events both bitter and sweet, sometimes all at once. Don’t fail to enjoy and savor the good, but don’t run from and hide from the bad. These are the moments that have made you the person you are and will continue to make you until death. Grab hold of them and own them. Be comfortable with yourself; and when someone asks about your future show them how you’re living it instead of telling them what you hope it will be.<br />
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Abraham Maslow said “I guarantee that if you strive to become anything less that what you are capable of you will never find happiness.” I believe that every one of you have something to offer this world. And we need it now. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Do something, do it well, and share it with the rest of us—today and for the rest of your life.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-54638281402711056152011-05-23T22:28:00.000-04:002011-05-23T22:28:51.173-04:00When I Try to Sing This SongThe title is the first line of the song "Gloria" by U2. Bono follows it with I try to stand up, but I can't find my feet. I've felt that way lately with A Pot of Stew. Sometimes the urge to write comes, but ultimately writing is nothing more than an expression of ideas. Ideas are important and deserve thoughtful articulation. Too often we clutter the landscape of ideas with mindless chatter and incessant words. I have more than enough ideas floating around in my brain to fill the interwebs with post after post after post, but I don't want to cheat my ideas and add further litter to the information superhighway.<br />
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The fleeting nature of the 21st century disturbs me. We rush so much to be the first or to create something fresh that we no longer take time to ponder and reflect. In my Psychology class I teach that normal human anxiety is essential to anticpating and preparing for what it to come, while normal human depression is a natural response to significance, slowing our lives to understand the significance of what has transpired. Perhaps we are in a state of technology induced anxiety. I've opted out of the race for a time.<br />
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Maybe it would have been polite to explain my absence from APOS before hand, but the idea really hadn't taken shape until I partially realized what I was doing. I grew tired of "disposable" writing, fresh for the day and discarded on the trash heap of digital content. The break has been good.<br />
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In the next few weeks, I'd like to write about several books I've read during this break. I've also been working on a post for graduation. I want to share several conversations I've had with a friend regarding faith. I've heard from nine or ten people in the last month who read APOS, and honestly, it is humbling to know that even one person is interested in what I have to say. So thank you, and I hope to post again soon.<br />
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In the meantime, enjoy an awesome song from and awesome band.<br />
<iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vK34DVYsICY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-11929891133096566802011-05-02T20:15:00.000-04:002011-05-02T20:15:49.972-04:00A Celebration of DeathThe world is abuzz on May 2 with the news of Osama bin Laden's death. Many of us waited eagerly to hear the unknown from the lips of our President on Sunday night while many awoke on Monday morning to the revelation that the embodiment of terrorism and hatred of America was no more. In a fallen and imperfect world, sometimes there are no good decisions to make. The death of bin Laden might have been needed to bring justice to those who suffered loss on September 11, 2001. For others it may not be justice as much as much as justification that for the last decade our military efforts abroad have not been fruitless. Perhaps the death of bin Laden restores our belief that when America sets for itself a goal, that goal we will reach.<br />
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We could argue that killing Osama bin Laden is an ironic way of showing the world that violence will not be tolerated. We could say that after ten years, the murder of bin Laden is vengeance more than justice. We could assert that in ten years of war, the United States is responsible for more innocent lives than bin Laden himself.<br />
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I can understand both sentiments.<br />
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I don't think the response to bin Laden's death in either case is joy. Relief, for sure. Satisfaction, I can understand. I cannot believe that the proper response to any death is one of Joy. Even if given that Osama bin Laden deserved this death, that his demise was demanded in the name of justice-- we have just lived through a failure of humanity to be accepted with gravity, not embraced in jubilance.<br />
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The only beauty in the story of death lies in the new life it has the potential to bring. Only in the promise of restoration, reconciliation, resurrection can we ever find hope in death. May we one day rejoice in celebration of reconciliation.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-82786106000621876302011-04-25T06:08:00.005-04:002011-04-25T06:08:00.165-04:00The Day AfterEaster is over, unless you are among the select few home from work because "Easter Monday" still means something. The kids are coming down from their sugar highs and we gear up for grilling out and sporting the American flags as the Memorial Day/Fourth of July holiday season is upon us. We are winding down from our school years and preparing for family vacations. Beaches and pools beckon us. And likely, church pews will empty. Our charity and consideration for others so present during the winter season of Thanksgiving and Christmas wanes and our minds turn toward escape and relaxation.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW33Q-tf8bfB0-ScEnIBGBY_uh9NHKoc7lzm9OS0RuSLe_YkRDAdF0_nViYj4lLaXP2qhMRmIOXjWCfOPjNrfPBm-_bAYgAX1Pu2fJbwp2RLZBvkJWiLq8QDuef1JITeYMtJQOQ/s1600/The+empty+tomb+and+three+empty+crosses+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW33Q-tf8bfB0-ScEnIBGBY_uh9NHKoc7lzm9OS0RuSLe_YkRDAdF0_nViYj4lLaXP2qhMRmIOXjWCfOPjNrfPBm-_bAYgAX1Pu2fJbwp2RLZBvkJWiLq8QDuef1JITeYMtJQOQ/s1600/The+empty+tomb+and+three+empty+crosses+1.jpg" /></a></div>I'm not sure if this is a fair description of what happens now, but for myself it becomes very easy to slide into this rut. But today I think about what the day after resurrection means. For Jesus' disciples, Maundy Thursday through Saturday must have been so confusing and sorrowful. Easter Sunday would be incredulous and jubilant, perhaps so much so that they were stopped in their tracks. But what about the day after. The realization that the man in whom they had cast their hope, who had apparently died and left them abandoned and alone in their folly, had indeed defeated death and returned from the dead only to ascend before their eyes into heaven.<br />
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Do we really believe that? Because the idea is pretty crazy. Crazy enough that starting with the day after, Jesus followers had to honestly start asking themselves "what now!?" Really, do you just drop your jaw and say "wow, Jesus just died and came back to life and I'm watching him ascend into heaven" and then just go back to whatever you were doing, or just start moving on toward the next "normal" holiday or season in the year. The disciples knew this required action and they followed Jesus instructions to "go and make disciples." They built the church and established the legacy that would sustain the Christian faith for millenia. That's what they did the day after Easter. (ok, I'm using the word day in a metaphorical sense, but the question remains)<br />
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What are we doing the day after Easter?Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-60258159558684778882011-04-23T22:15:00.001-04:002011-04-23T22:15:00.306-04:00RisenPsalm 37:40<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">The LORD helps them and delivers them;<br />
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,<br />
because they take refuge in him.</span><br />
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So on this Easter eve I come to the end of my journey. Forty verses in Psalm 37. I'm not a big fan of analysis; when we break things apart they lose their identity, but for this Psalm I have done just that. I do think that working with individual verses has been tough at times, but now at the end, I feel that I get the message of this Psalm-- the whole Psalm better for having done it. So this verse comes at the end of a Holy Week. Saturday night, almost 36 hours after noon Good Friday. I imagine the disciples, restless and weary, a dead messiah in a tomb, thinking about what the day after Sabbath would bring.<br />
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Then I think of all the messages of Psalm 37. Patience, trust, abiding, righteousness. I know that when I wake tomorrow, the tomb is going to be empty, but in my life, I wake many mornings wondering "how I'm going to move the stone." The women walked toward the tomb with that same thought on the first Easter. How could you maintain faith in those circumstances? But they still did not desert their Lord, they were faithful even in His death and just like Psalm 37 promised, they received the reward of Good News. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-90572368934853649922011-04-22T05:32:00.000-04:002011-04-22T05:32:00.146-04:00ThursdayPsalm 37:39<br />
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But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;<br />
He is their strength in the time of trouble.<br />
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"Waves of regret, waves of joy, I reached out to the one I tried to destroy. You, you said you'd wait till the end of the world." It is Maundy Thursday, and that quote is a line from a U2 song. It refers to Judas, who would dine with Christ on Thursday, and partake in the "Last Supper" with our Lord. Today, we remember our time with Christ as he shares the truth that he is the bread of life; the way and the truth. We have no righteousness in ourselves, but only from the Lord. Tomorrow, we remember the day that the world failed to see the only source of our righteousness as we look to our salvation.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-41888821159131984132011-04-21T05:38:00.000-04:002011-04-21T05:38:00.277-04:00JustifiedPsalm 37:38<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">But all sinners will be destroyed;<br />
the future of the wicked will be cut off.</span><br />
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So many ancient religions seem to focus on not only creation but destruction. We've come to see destruction in a negative way, hardly wanting to associated it with a deity. Creator and destroyer, tear down and build up. Could we be facing our destruction as sinners? Does this mean I will be destroyed? Perhaps it does, and maybe I should look forward to it. Maybe the only way to have a future is to allow the sinner in me to experience death cutting away the future of wicked with only a justified self to walk into the future.<br />
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"Justified until we die, you and I will magnify.... Magnificent!"Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-27012852035786609502011-04-20T05:31:00.000-04:002011-04-20T05:31:00.537-04:00FuturePsalm 37:37<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Consider the blameless, observe the upright;<br />
there is a future for the man of peace.</span><br />
<br />
This verse contrast nicely with the previous verse. The temporary versus the permanent. The valuable versus the truly valuable.<br />
<br />
How do we find a future? A real future that lasts and not just a few extra minutes to do more of the same. We stop looking for the wicked, we stop fretting over others, and we consider, observe. Who is blameless? Who is upright? We have many close examples in our world and from history. Certainly they are good to follow, but God has provided the blameless and upright for us to observe and consider.<br />
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With our eyes set on Christ, not caring for directions or map, but one step at a time following the only righteous and holy one into our future.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-46175908728135371462011-04-19T05:15:00.000-04:002011-04-19T05:15:00.666-04:00ShortPsalm 37:36<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />
but he soon passed away and was no more;<br />
though I looked for him, he could not be found. </span><br />
<br />
On several occasions I've dealt with the grief of losing a student or former student. When a student dies, you remember the petty things that you used to get caught up in, or how the behaviors that once drove you crazy no longer seem so severe. You realize that while education is invaluable and important, there are other things that matter more. That is the balance it takes to be a good teacher. You must realize at the same time how important you are and how unimportant you are to the life of a student.<br />
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Life can be the same. It is valuable and precious, but it isn't everything. This verse indicates that what we might think is everlasting will fade away. The trials of today have been overcome though we must still endure them. This world will pass away, at least the world known to us. May we spend our time on things eternal.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-36492772066555291632011-04-18T05:14:00.000-04:002011-04-18T05:14:00.142-04:00SoilPsalm 37:35<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">I have seen a wicked and ruthless man<br />
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,</span><br />
<br />
I've never had much luck with plants. I think much of my trouble is not understanding the right timing, placement, and soil preparation. Most of the time I just stick a bush or plant in the ground somewhere it is going to look nice, and then forget about it. I suppose that anything can flourish in its right place. That is probably why Paul described the "fruits of the spirit." If you simply drop a seed in its ideal location, it can grow like crazy. But when you're planted out of your element, it takes much more work. Sometimes I feel like this is the work of a Christian. To learn to grow out of our native soil.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-11402250302716942932011-04-17T22:15:00.001-04:002011-04-17T22:16:19.565-04:00A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Cross<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.adw.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/palm-sunday-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://blog.adw.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/palm-sunday-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I had the most unusual experience today at church. Of course, today is Palm Sunday, a celebration of Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem. It marks the beginning of Jesus journey to the cross. Churches across the world wave palm fronds and remember the crowds shouting "hosanna, hosanna" to welcome the King. The rest of the week takes a turn for the worse as Jesus partakes in the Last Supper with his disciples before his arrest. Afterward he is turned over to the authorities and in no time, that same crowd is shouting "crucify him."<br />
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Our pastor chose to mark the alternate designation of this day as "Passion Sunday," rather than jumping from the celebration of Palm Sunday to the celebration of Easter. Without crucifixion there would be no resurrection. For this Sunday, our scripture was a lengthy passage from Matthew. I've read it many times, Jesus before Pilate leading to his crucifixion. I guess that sometimes familiarity is a bad thing. I had to read the scripture for the congregation and right in the middle around verse 26, I came to a realization as if I were reading this for the first time. Reading this passage about Jesus, being led as a lamb to the slaughter-- at least sacrificial animals were treated with some level of dignity and respect-- reading this passage I teared up and had to stop. In that moment I clearly realized that I wasn't reading just a story on the page, but the story of a world gone mad, a world ready to snuff the very Son of God. And even worse, I am a part of that world. Not only do I live in it daily, I contribute to making it what it is. This is the lesson of Holy Week, and the reason that Easter means so much. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24141">11</sup> Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">“You have said so,” Jesus replied. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24142">12</sup> When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24143">13</sup> Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24144">14</sup> But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24145">15</sup> Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24146">16</sup> At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24147">17</sup> So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24148">18</sup> For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24149">19</sup> While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24150">20</sup> But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24151">21</sup> “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> “Barabbas,” they answered. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24152">22</sup> “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> They all answered, “Crucify him!” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24153">23</sup> “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24154">24</sup> When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24155">25</sup> All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24156">26</sup> <i>Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24157">27</sup> Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24158">28</sup> They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24159">29</sup> and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24160">30</sup> They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24161">31</sup> After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24162">32</sup> As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24163">33</sup> They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24164">34</sup> There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24165">35</sup> When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.</i> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24166">36</sup> And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24167">37</sup> Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24168">38</sup> Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24169">39</sup> Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads <sup class="versenum" id="bg_passage-24170">40</sup> and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+27%3A11-54&version=NIV&src=embed">Matthew 27:11-54</a>, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/?src=embed">New International Version, ©2011</a>)</span>Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-62956853914973557712011-04-16T06:20:00.000-04:002011-04-16T06:20:00.554-04:00AnxietyPsalm 37:34<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Wait for the LORD<br />
and keep his way.<br />
He will exalt you to inherit the land;<br />
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.</span> <br />
<br />
Patience comes up again. Waiting requires submission and trust. Impatience can be a sign that we aren't confident that things will work out so we start making our own plans. Usually in our anxiety we make poor decisions and act on impulse rather than reason. Sometimes I live my spiritual life this way. I start moving because I'm ready to see things happen so I forget to wait on God and His way. The result is usually bad. When I wait, and keep His way, I begin to get a glimpse of the land that I will inherit.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16421089.post-14337520795667205542011-04-15T06:53:00.000-04:002011-04-15T06:53:00.184-04:00TrialsPsalm 37:33<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">but the LORD will not leave them in their power<br />
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.</span><br />
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We spend so much time worrying about others. What they think of us, how they judge us. Sometimes the world beats us down so bad we accept its judgment of who we are. This verse lets us know that with God, we are not under their power, that their judgments mean nothing. The condemnation of the world is not the condemnation of God. It reminds me of Jesus words in John- In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.Steven Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01877542687619173741noreply@blogger.com0