The Story Told by True North

So many things tell us stuff about so many other things. All we have to do is look around and listen.

One of my new favorite "images of God" in the physical world is the simple compass. Here's a fun page written by a guy named Marshall Brain that shows how a compass works. We've all heard about the magnetic field that runs north and south around the earth. Strangely enough, according to Mr. Brain, no one actually knows why the earth has this magnetic field. Here's what he says:

No one knows for sure, but there is a working theory currently making the rounds. As seen on the above, the Earth's core is thought to consist largely of molten iron (red). But at the very core, the pressure is so great that this superhot iron crystallizes into a solid. Convection caused by heat radiating from the core, along with the rotation of the Earth, causes the liquid iron to move in a rotational pattern. It is believed that these rotational forces in the liquid iron layer lead to weak magnetic forces around the axis of spin.

Fascinating.

I love the simple stuff that remains a mystery to science.

This appeals to my mythic self because it's a beautiful way of thinking of the Spirit of God in us. That there is this "true north" instinct inside us that, given a few still moments, reorients us in the direction of true-north, which we might shorten to say "tru-th."

The simple notion of magnetism in general, and of true north in particular, speaks to us of the gentle, patient guidance of the Spirit within us. No compass ever told its operator which way to go. It simply points. No compass ever lied to its operator, but circumstances can certainly cause it to vary.

God was so creative when He hid Himself within his creation like this.

O Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds
Thy hands have made...

Another Week, Another Culture

If you have a chance, take a look at this Mexico City photo album. The pictures are taken from a helicopter. Incredible city, Mexico City. I just spent a week there on business during one of the busiest traffic weeks of the year.

Mexico City (like Manila, Philippines) is like a time capsule for American culture from the 70's and 80's. I can't tell you how many times I heard the song "Every Breath You Take." But it was cool seeing all the old American cars. Early 70's Novas, Pintos, Dusters, Mavericks, Volares, Dodge Vans, Javelins, you-name-it, they still drive 'em.

Must be the climate is really favorable for car frames. In New York, we could barely get 15 years out of a car.

When I was in high school, my first car was a '70 Nova, like this one:


Mine was a 2 door, 250 ci, 6 cyl., 3-on-the-tree, gold with gold vinyl top (it was not a SS). Ended up dragging the gas tank on the road all the way to school, the day the frame rusted out a couple years after I got it. Bought it for $500 cash.

After that, I had a ridiculous car (remember Pontiac Astres?) which wouldn't pass inspection, then a pretty nice 1977 Vega just like this one, which I drove out to college:


I don't remember what happened to that one.

After that, a '77 Vega Wagon, silver, red vinyl seats, 4 speed, with a brand new engine in it. That's the car that my girlfriend (now my wife) fell in love with.

When I bought it, the guy left a cassette tape between the seats. It was Mozart's 40th Symphony. I listened to that tape probably 250 times. I had never really heard classical music, and Mozart was like a drug to me. Made me decide to go to school for music (after I dropped out of bible college, got married, and had a couple kids).

So Wednesday afternoon I'm riding with Hector and Rodolfo, a couple guys at the distributor I was with, heading out to a sales call. Rodolfo turns on the stereo (they ALL play the radio in the car ALL the time) and what was he playing? No, it wasn't Mozart. (Sorry, I couldn't resist).

It was Vivaldi! With my best Spanish accent, I said, "You like Vivaldi, Rodolfo!?" And in his best English, he says, "You know Vivaldi, Jon?" And for the next 45 minutes we talked about classical music. Me, Rodolfo, and Hector. A gringo and two amigos in Mexico City talking about Italian, German, and Austrian composers. Very fun.

Around 1990 I got a cool looking '70 Chevy C10 Pickup. It was a rust bucket, but I liked it. My first pickup. It looked like this, except orange and white:


The point to this journey down memory lane is--I saw all of these in Mexico City, driven by middle aged Mexicans who didn't think anything of it.

If I ever take a notion to collect some of the old cars I used to own, I'll fly to Mexico City again and snatch them up. I bet I could get one of each for about 10,000 pesos.

Living Without "In or Out"

Now the Star-bellied Sneetches had bellies with stars.
The Plain-bellied Sneetches had none upon thars.
--Dr Seuss, The Sneeches

We've been taught that all people can be categorized into two groups: Christians and non-Christians. Believers and unbelievers. The "saved" and "unsaved."

Those who are IN and those who are OUT.

Sneeches with stars on their bellies, and sneeches with none upon thars.

And we've been told that being IN is the only way to be able to please God. In fact, only one of the categories can please God at all, in any way.

I've been wondering for a few years if this distinction is the best way to view things. And it's become unbearable.

If I live my life by the model of In or Out, then I must accept that every single person is in one of those two categories. Logically, (assuming that I am IN) the first thing I ought to do when meeting a new person is find out which category they are in. If they're Out, then I should try to get them In.

The trouble is, the In or Out model has become the central notion in defining the way we relate to one another. This is true for all denominations, all religions, all people of nearly every faith tradition. This has proven to be a divisive, disastrous mindset and teaching, for this reason:

In or Out has absolutely and completely taken the place of Love.

In or Out makes "believing together" more important than "living together." After all, the criteria for determining In or Out is what a person believes. The net result is that there's an awful lot of convincing going on--a lot of compelling, explaining, telling. Certainly not a lot of inviting.

Also, because we recognize a distinction between the Ins and the Outs, we end up treating the "Ins" differently than the "Outs." It ends up that I only like (love) those who are like me. Ugh.

How did it come to this?

With In or Out, the most important thing we can do for someone who is Out is to try to get them In. We unconsciously elevate some kinds of human activities above other kinds of activities. Soul-winning, evangelism, preaching, etc. (activities directed specifically at moving people from Out to In) are the ultimate.

Comforting the suffering, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, helping the poor--these are second rate activities, because they don't really (directly) move people from one category to the other.

Think on that for a minute.

Regarding In and Out, the best we get from Jesus is "Go all over the place and make disciples." Being a rabbi, His words made perfect sense to those listening, but have been reinterpreted in light of today's In or Out mentality.

I don't believe He was implying that we should roam the earth seeking to convert people, to get them In. He was actually saying something more tangible than that, something more like:

Go and teach as I have taught, live as I have lived, walk as I have walked, love as I have loved.

And He didn't exactly tell us what this was all about. Jesus didn't say that we should teach, or live, or love with any particular objective in mind relative to In or Out. We don't love in order to obtain a result. We don't love in order to get something we want. We don't love to see something accomplished. We don't love people in order to "win" them.

We love because we can't help it. Jesus in us makes us loving. We love because we are "in Him." It's almost like the action of loving is the end in itself. That a good deed is good simply because it's good.

So what am I suggesting? I'm not saying we should change our methodology for getting people In. And I'm not saying that all people are In by default. I'm hoping there's something that trumps In or Out as the central mindset of our walk with Jesus.

Here's what I mean:

What if all people are forgiven; only some continue to walk in darkness. They are sheep, only they are LOST sheep. He came to seek and rescue those who were lost.

(Come to think of it, wouldn't it be best for us to help people who think they are found to actually "get lost"? Once they get there, to that lost wilderness, they'll be found and rescued by Jesus. Hmmm. May have to follow up on this one.)

What if Jesus got done what He came to do, and He did it fully, and that His desire is for all to know Him, the way He knows the Father (John 17)? And now He makes Himself known in a variety of ways--some of which result in hardly any noticeable outward differences, especially admission to a set of beliefs regarding "conversion".

What if Life isn't defined by a belief system? Or even better, what if Life doesn't happen right after the conscious decision to hold to a set of propositions (no matter how factual or accurate)?

What if a person can be IN Jesus without even "knowing" it--what if it isn't about choice or knowledge or certainty at all? What if Jesus continues to pick whom He will to follow Him?

After all, at what point did Jesus' closest followers actually "believe"? After His resurrection. And even then, one asked "Please help my unbelief!"

I'll push this further. What if by coming to know US, by being loved by US, those in darkness can see His Light? What if by coming to know us, those in darkness are coming to know Jesus? What if the Light that shines from us somehow helps them walk in the Light, even when it isn't coming from inside them yet? What if our Light somehow makes its way inside them?

What if we are Jesus to them? Would we continue to evaluate one another, and look for Stars upon Thars before loving them?

Here's a fun read, if you want to read the whole Dr. Seuss story and see how it all turned out: Bellies with Stars

The Glory of the King is His People

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God! Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us, all of us. And as we let our Light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others."

Nelson Mandela (quoting Marianne Williamson), 1994

But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

David, The Psalms, #3

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.

Jesus' prayer for us, John 17

God "will give to each person according to what he has done." To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

Paul, Letter to the Roman Believers, chapter 2

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

Paul, Letter to the Roman Believers, chapter 8

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Paul, Second Letter to the Corinthian Believers, chapter 3

The reason we enjoy fairy tales—more than enjoy them—the reason we identify with them in some deep part of us is because they rest on two great truths: The hero really has a heart of gold and the beloved really possesses hidden beauty. I hope you got a glimpse of God’s good heart. But what about the second great truth—could we possess hidden greatness? It seems too good to be true.

Remember, the theme of veiled identity runs through all great stories. As Frederick Buechner reminds us, "Not only does evil come disguised in the world of the fairy tale but often good does too." The heroines and heroes capture our heart because we see long before they ever do their hidden beauty, courage, greatness. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White—they're not simple wenches after all. The beast and the frog—they're actually princes. Aladdin is "the diamond in the rough." If the narrative of the Scriptures teaches us anything, from the serpent in the Garden to the carpenter from Nazareth, it teaches us that things are rarely what they seem, that we shouldn't be fooled by appearances.

Your evaluation of your soul, which is drawn from a world filled with people still terribly confused about the nature of their souls, is probably wrong. As C. S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory,

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare...There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.

John Eldredge, The Sacred Romance, 92–93

Shine--
Make 'em wonder what you got
Make 'em wish that they were not
On the outside looking bored.

Shine--
Let it shine before all men
Let 'em see good works, and then
Let 'em glorify the Lord.

Newsboys, Shine

Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty—He is the King of glory. Selah.

David, The Psalms, #24

What We Believe

The following is from the page called "Core Beliefs" on the website of Mars Hill. I've read this before, and maybe even posted something about it. But it's worth reading once a day. They touch on most of the main mythic realities that I love to write about. My comments are in [brackets]...

Mars Hill is devoted to joining the God of the oppressed in the restoration of all creation. [mythic reality: captivity and restoration]

We believe the Bible to be the voices of many who have come before us, inspired by God to continue to speak to us today [mythic reality: the purpose of scripture is to tell us the stories of God's interventions]. God calls us to immerse ourselves in this authoritative narrative [mythic reality: life is a story] and to continue to faithfully live out that story today [mythic reality: we are modern day bible characters] as we are led by the Spirit.

God, the author of all things good, created humans in his image to live in fellowship with him, others, our inner self, and creation [mythic reality: fellowship with each other, communion with God]. God is in a communal relationship with himself and his creation and he created us to be relational as well. Sin entered the world and our relationships with God, others, ourselves, and creation were broken and distorted [mythic reality: sin defined in terms of how it compromises communion with God or fellowship with each other].

We believe that God did not abandon his creation to destruction and decay, rather he promised to restore this broken world. God chose a people to represent Him in the world [mythic reality: the image of God in man]. This people started with Abraham and his descendants. God promised to make them into a mighty nation. In time they became enslaved in Egypt. They cried out to God because of their oppression and God heard their cry. He brought them out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. He brought them to Sinai where he gave them an identity as his treasured possession, a Kingdom of priests, a holy people [mythic reality: identity]. The story continues, revealing God's refusal to give up on his people through their frequent acts of unfaithfulness to him.

God brought his people into the Promised Land. They were blessed to be a blessing and called to put God on display to the nations. They made movement toward this missional calling, yet they disobeyed and allowed foreign gods into the land. In Israel's disobedience they became indifferent and in turn irrelevant to the purposes God had called them to. They were sent into exile, yet a remnant looks ahead with longing and hope to a new reign like David's where peace and justice would prevail.

We believe these longings found their fulfillment in Messiah Jesus, born of a virgin, mysteriously God in the flesh [mythic reality: the mystery of Jesus]. Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted and set captives free. He lived a perfect life proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom. He was rejected by many, crucified, buried, and rose again. His death and resurrection bring hope to all creation. Through Jesus we have been forgiven and God is reconciling us to himself, each other, ourselves, and creation. Jesus is the only mediator between God and humans. For all who accept his sacrifice he gives the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth through a communal life of worship and a missional expression of our faith. The church is called to put the resurrected Christ who lives in and through us on display to a broken and hurting world.

We believe the day is coming when Jesus will return and reclaim this world, the earth's groaning will cease and God will dwell with us on a new and restored creation [mythic reality: we were created to walk on this soil].

After Pain, Healing Power

If you've spent any time watching someone's heart monitor, you probably have experienced some pain and worry. Being the beings that we are, we want to know that there is some significance to be found in these kinds of things.

What does it mean to feel pain? What good is it? Why does it happen?

Henri Nouwen wrote a book called, Wounded Healers. The idea is that those who have suffered a great deal are also now very powerful agents of healing.

Reminds me of Jesus:

He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

Surely He took up our infirmities
And carried our sorrows,
Yet we considered Him stricken by God,
Smitten by Him, and afflicted.

But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.

When I'm suffering, there's no one I would rather be comforted by than someone who has suffered. My friends (you know who you are), you are more than you were before this happened.

Jesus has given you some of His healing power.

Imperatives and Invitations

Do this, don't do that, be this way, don't be that way, stop this, start that, get these, lose those.

We live our lives in a sea of imperatives. Most of the messages meant to encourage us to walk with Jesus come in this form. This is profoundly unfortunate for us all.

For lost in the deluge of all these commands is the inviting voice of the Father.

"Come," He says. The good news of the Gospel isn't an imperative--it's an invitation.

An invitation.

I think I'll go back and read all the words of Jesus and see how many imperatives He spoke, compared to the number of invitations He offered.

When was the last time you felt invited? The way the open road calls the name of the Harley rider?

What if most of what the Father speaks to us comes in the form of an invitation? What if He's done giving us commands? What if all the work's been done, and now there's life to enjoy, simply for accepting the invitation?

Have you ever felt invited by the Father?

Singapore and Manila

Talk about a study in contrasts:

Singapore, the world's only engineered city. Everything in its place. Ordinances for everything. No spitting, no chewing gum, no cars over five years old.

Clean, modern, very urban. Some friends and I took a boat ride on the river that flows through the city. When we floated by the "Merlion" (the statue in the picture) there were hundreds of people in the open area behind it--line dancing, to American country music.

Manila, sprawling metropolis, crowded, dirty, and poor.
Shanty towns everywhere. Still, the people keep moving from the country to the city. Somehow we gotta reverse that migration, give the farm boys a reason to stay on the farm.

Over sixty people were killed in the typhoon that came through when I was there (Sept. 28). Do a google search for Milenyo, the name of the typhoon. There are also some videos on YouTube. Incredibly devastating.

Around the World in Eighty Days

It's been a little tough to find time to post anything substantial lately. Been all over the globe in the last month. It all started with a trip to Virginia, followed by a business trip to SE Asia. Lived through a terrible typhoon in the Philippines, then walked the beautiful streets of Singapore the very next day. I spent a day in Des Moines at the World Food Prize (www.worldfoodprize.org), and attended a weekend men's retreat down in SE Iowa. Just got back from a business trip to Minneapolis yesterday.

The week after next it's a trade show in Chicago, then Thanksgiving in Minnesota, followed by a week in Mexico.

Middle of December there's likely a trip to Southern Sudan. Sweet.

Whenever I get my hair cut these days, the lady asks me, "So where has your hair been this time?"

My head's spinning, but so is my imagination. You know, people are beautiful everywhere you go. God is a God of variety, there is no question of that.

I'd love to be a tour guide for the entire planet.

The Grand Illusion

One of the greatest illusions of all is the illusion of "control".

The best we can do (and the best word for describing the way God works in the universe) is "influence."

There's a world of difference.

One leads us to believe that someone (either God or us) is in charge. But whether it is God or us in "control," this invariably leaves us disappointed and wondering why things didn't work out better. The universe seems to be continually spiralling out of control, and we end up fighting, striving all the time.

The other leaves a space in your heart for faith. Faith that God will show up, when the time is right. Faith, even when things seem to be going the wrong way, that "being who we are" is the best way to live.

The marks you leave on the world are mostly unintentional. This isn't a picture of control. It's a picture of influence.

The Voice of God II

I didn't spend a lot of time on the "God speaking" thing before, and I've been wanting to go back to this because I have been collecting.

There isn't just one "way" that God speaks to His people. There are many, many ways. This being the case, it's likely that we do not all "hear" God speak in all the possible ways. We may only "hear" Him in two or three ways. They ALL require faith (mythic eyes) to believe that they are really Him speaking.

Now, I believe there are one or two ways that are universal, but many more that are only occasionally experienced by some. I believe that once you discover the way(s) that God speaks to you, you will experience them continually, as long as you keep listening for it at every turn. If you believe that it happens, then it will be happening all the time.

So, here are a few of the "ways" I believe God speaks to us today:

In an audible voice. It's clear that from time to time He speaks with an audible voice to some people. He uses our physical sense of hearing (using the ear drums). I've never experienced this, and most people haven't either. My, but there are so many other ways He can communicate. Thankfully, most of the rest of them have a lot more mystery.

In an inaudible spirit voice. Sometimes the deep places in our hearts catch on to a message that comes to us without words, or maybe with only a couple words. I believe God has spoken to me in this way a few times. Never on demand, but sometimes when I've asked something pointedly. All I can say to you is, when I turn off all the voices I hear in my head, allow the echoes of the day to fade, and turn away from the voice of my own will, when I reach the end of myself, then there is an empty space and a silent moment inside me where and when God can communicate with me. Fairly clearly. But I can't prove it, and I can't replicate it, and I can't offer anyone a "how to" for how this works. It's a matter of faith for me to believe that it even happens, but it does, and it brings words of comfort to me, and I love to be there.

Through the desires of our hearts. Nehemiah never claimed to have "heard" the voice of God, but twice he said, "This is what God placed on my heart to do." God does this ALL THE TIME in believers and in non-believers. Look around at the people in your world. Why do they want to do the things they do? I'm not asking why they do them; I'm asking, why do they want to do them? The kinds of things I'm talking about are actions that take us away from ourselves and toward someone else. Loving acts, heroic deeds, great accomplishments. Where do those desires come from?

In the changing moods of our hearts. Foreboding is a sense that may come from God. Anxiety may be from God. Anticipation, expectation, longings, loneliness, satisfaction, hunger--these may be God speaking to the world through your heart. Dreams often leave us "feeling" a certain way, a lingering taste of an emotion. So faint that it takes faith to believe that it may be from God. Just for fun, act on those whispy feelings sometime. See where it takes you. Call a friend and ask if they're ok. Tell someone what you think God would have them hear from you.

In the way things are. He speaks of Himself in the way people are, the way nature is, the way the cosmos is constructed, the way beauty comes to us. These messages can be received by anyone, believer or unbeliever. He sat down one day before He formed up the creation and said, "How shall I put reflections of myself in my work?" and then he made the mountains rise up majestically, the clouds to roll by in infinite patterns, the water to rise invisibly and fall to the ground again. He made babies coo, and wind to whisper. He caused water to boil and fire to consume. He made the seasons, and he gave us a measure of influence on the things that will come to pass. He made us wonder, and He made us care. And He gave us the ability to choose. All these things speak to us of Him.

In the invitations of life. What calls you to come forth? What places call your name? What brings out the best of you? What invites you to engage with all your strength, or to unveil your beauty? Who do you think puts these things in front of you? Where do these tailor-made opportunities come from? Read the book of Job, and listen to him and his friends wrestle with this whole question. Fascinating.

In the expressions of the deepest longings of our hearts, whether they be expressions of our hungers or our desires to get something done. These may be artistic expressions, or they may be courageous, or impulsive. They may be loud or quiet, joyful or anguished. People feeling what God feels in the way that God feels it. Remember what Eric Liddell said, the guy in Chariots of Fire: "But He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure..." That's what I'm talking about. You feel His pleasure. What if He IS your pleasure?

In the selfless actions of our truest identities. Ever notice when someone is so filled with the moment that they are completely unaware of themselves, how lovely it is? How their face is radiant, or somber, or concerned, or exhuberant? How what flows with the least effort from inside them is almost divine? I love to be around these people. I call those moments "unveilings." They are truly the glory of God on the earth, and they are as valuable to us as if He had spoken out loud. The messages are just as clear. They say, "I love you," or "I am concerned about you," or "I feel the pain you are feeling."

There are many, many more "ways." What have you noticed?

Book Recommendation: Searching For God Knows What

If you're looking for a good book to read, I recommend Searching For God Knows What, by Donald Miller. Wow, he hits right on some of my favorite themes, and expands them. If you read it, you'll see what I'm talking about.

Anyone read this one before?

What To Do With Anecdotes

an - ec - dote: noun - a short account of a particular incident or event of an interesting or amusing nature, often biographical.

It occurred to me this week that we Westerners like to turn anecdotes into something they weren't meant to be. An anecdote is simply an account of something that happened. It's an incident. An episode. An occurrence.

We love to microwave them for 30 seconds and turn them into principles. This is probably the most offensive use of the anecdotes that make up 90% of the scriptures.

Let's appreciate that the power of an anecdote is in the telling, not in what principles and conclusions can be derived from it.

We mythics focus on the delivery over the derivatives. Truth is best left unarticulated, hidden between the lines of the stories we tell.

So now we have a choice. We can say, "God is all-powerful," or we can say, "The sun stood still."

The first statement is uttered after much deliberation, reckoning, information gathering, experimentation, comparing, and the inevitable conclusion. Ah, now we feel better, because now his strength is measurable. The scientific method brought to bear on our faith and reason.

The second leaves the mystery intact. And a mythic is happy wondering, "Hmmm, the sun stood still. How did He do that? What happened to the tides that day? Did the moon stop moving as well?" The effect of these kinds of mythic musings runs deep. In the end, the mythic simply sighs and says, "Father God, you amaze me. I love you."

These mythic musings change us in a way that knowledge never will.

I raise my glass to the humble anecdote.

The Journey within the Voyage

Once upon a time, a group of people embarked upon a great voyage in a great ship--but it was not the journey they had expected. For, after they had sailed westward upon the open ocean for many weeks, a great storm rose up and blew them far off course. So heavy was the storm and so dark was the sky that they could not tell night from day, and they lost all track of time.

They began to wonder if this powerful storm was sent to torment them. Finally, after many days, the storm subsided, and they found themselves upon the shore of a beautiful island, their ship badly damaged and unsailable.

So they decided to see what they could see. The island was lush and sunny, the waters warm, and a tremendous mountain rose up from the center of the island. Nearby, a cool, clear river flowed down from the mountain and emptied into the ocean.

[to be continued...]

Rabbit's Advice

About a year ago, Steve Coan told me to check out these lyrics. 'Bout time I shared them here.

These two songs from the movie "Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin" provide a nice commentary on this mythic walk with Jesus. I leave the interpretation to you.

The first is sung by Rabbit to Pooh.

If It Says So

A map is not a guess
An estimation or a hunch
A feeling or a foolish intuition

A map is a dependable
Unwavering, inarguably accurate
Portrayer, of your position

Never trust your ears
Your nose, your eyes
Putting faith in them
Is most unwise
Here's a phrase you all
Must memorise
In the printed word
Is where truth lies

Never trust your tummies
Tails, or toes
You can't learn a thing
From any of those
Here's another fact
I must disclose
From the mighty pen
True wisdom flows

If it says so
Then it is so
If it is so
Well so it is
A thought's not fit to think
'Til it's printed in ink
Then it says so
So it is

Never trust that thing
Between your ears
Brains will get you nowhere fast
My dears
Haven't had a need
For mine in years
On the page is where
The truth appears

If it says so
Then it is so
If it is so
So it is
A thought's not fit to think
'Til it's printed in ink
Never differ from or doubt it
Or go anywhere without it

Thank goodness we've got this.

Adventure Is A Wonderful Thing

The second song from "Pooh's Grand Adventure" is sung by Owl. Never mind the false bravado--listen to the message of his song:

Adventure Is A Wonderful Thing

Oh, how I envy you!
Not everyone has the chance
To face the unspeakable terrors
Of the great unknown.

Today's the day,
In only a matter of moments
You'll all be on your way.
What lurks around the corner
Not a soul can say.
But I can guess,
More or less,
Hidden dangers
Great duress
Ah, the moments of glory
Is close at hand
It's gonna be grand!

Adventure is a wonderful thing!
Pack only the essential
I'll tell you what to bring--
Your strength
Your nerve
Your hearts
Your wits
And for skullosaurus attacks,
First aid kits.

Adventure is a hoot and a half!
You'll face unearthly dangers
And look at them and laugh--
The claws
The teeth
The chase
The thrill
You'll never want to come home.
Maybe you never will.

That's the beauty of adventure!
It's strictly sink or float,
It runs you 'til you're ragged
Then it grabs you by the throat.
You struggle to survive it
Though the chances are remote.
Hoo, hoo, lucky you
Wish I was coming too!
Adventure is a wonderful thing.

I almost forgot the very best part--
You not only get to save your friend
From the most dangerous place,
Namely Skull,
But from the most dangerous part
Of the most dangerous place--
The eye of the skull itself!

(Pooh) Oh, bother...

(Owl) And you,
General Pooh,
Off you go
Marching high and low.
Your friend
Waits at the end,
Right here
Take a look--
The map is perfectly clear,
With your excellent sense of direction
You've nothing to fear.

Through the quicksand
Tempting fate,
And fighting spasms
Dodging avalanching boulders.
Remember, Christopher Robin's fate
Rests completely on your shoulders, Pooh!

(Pooh) Excuse me, Owl--

(Owl) It's up to you.

That's the beauty of adventure!
The trembling and the dread,
Oh I can't think of another thing
I'd rather do instead.

(Pooh) Perhaps you could join us?

(Owl) No, no, you go ahead.

Hoo, hoo, lucky you
Tally ho, and toodle ooh
Ready now, noble chin
Chest out, tummy in
Make a fracas, have a fling
Drop a postcard, give a ring
Get the lead out, time to swing
Whoop dee doo, and badda bing
Adventure, is a wonderful thing

I salute you!
And those of you doomed to never return--
I salute you twice.

Nehemiah the Mythic

I've been going through the story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem. Several mythic themes are jumping out at me.

1) God "speaking" through desires:

...Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. (1:1-4)

The king said to me, "What is it you want?" (2:4)

I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. (2:11)

Ever been "taken over" by something, by some situation, or opportunity, or plight? God speaks into you through your desires, my friends. What is it you want?

2) God speaking to His people through the nobodies.

...I was cupbearer to the king... (1:11)

Cupbearers, armor-bearers, illegitimate children, castoffs. God uses them all. Let us prepare to be used.

3) One man's desires elevating him to Captain

Then I [Nehemiah] said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work. (2:17,18)

The power of one man with an idea from God. Wow, this almost makes me cry. Reminds me of the truth that "without a vision, the people perish."

3) The universal desire to make God proud.

Remember me with favor, O my God, for all I have done for these people. (5:19)

4) Terror in the face of the Kingdom of God

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

There is so much more in this story. I may write some more. For now, just let these little scenes eat you alive, then ask God, "What is it that I want?"

Because YOUR deepest desires are HIS deepest desires.

The Stories Nature Tells

Fire consumes, and releases energy, and the heat rises. What is it saying about the Creator?

Trees spring to life and die each year. What story does that tell us?

Seeds die before a plant is born. Why does there always have to be a death before there can be life?

Reproduction takes two. Rain falls from the sky and soaks into the earth. The moon lines up perfectly with the earth so that from time to time it perfectly covers the sun. Where there is no light, there is darkness. Gravity makes it possible for us to walk upright. The surface of water is constantly in a state of change.

On and on it goes.

Why is it all this way? The earth is perhaps God's greatest Storyteller. The oldest, most prolific Storyteller of all.

God could have made things so differently, but He chose to do it this way, and He chose to give it a voice.

He also chose to give us eyes, ears, skin, a nose, and a tongue. These are the ways that we hear the story the world has to tell.

You can know so much about a person from the things they make. It works that way because we leave a part of ourselves in the things we create (not the things we manufacture--that's another thing entirely). God hid Himself in His creation, like a woman hides herself in a quilt that she lovingly creates. After she's long been gone, you can still look at that quilt and "see" grandma in it. It speaks of her.

It's the same phenomenon with nature. It speaks of Him. God's ways can be seen. His desires can be grasped. I might even go so far as to say, His presence can be felt--in all of the created world.

...what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain...For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (From Paul's letter to the Roman believers)

We may not hear the voice of God yet. But something tells me it's good practice to "listen" to that which speaks of Him.

The Voice of God

Imagine that you were born blind and quadriplegic, unable to move, unable to see, or feel with your skin, or taste with your tongue. All you had to physically offer this world was your voice, and all you could take in came in through your ears.

Now imagine there was another person in the same condition in another state, and that the doctors put earphones on your head and a microphone by your mouth, so that all day long you could speak directly to each other, freely, constantly.

You would only be a voice to one another. You could never see the other person, or touch them, or watch them move, but they would be a constant companion.

Could you fall in love with that person? Could you marry him or her? Could you live a fulfilled and enriched life with only the voice of another? Could they make you feel loved? Could you freely express love for them?

What part of you would "reach out" to your companion? What part of them would come to be part of you?

Your WORD. That combination of language and meaning, words and intent, that makes up that which proceeds from me to you.

The essence and purest expression of YOU. It's like the things you say ARE you.

If we can see this for how simple it is, we will understand the "heart", because the heart is where our words come from, and it is where they land in another.

People can look at you, watch you, even touch you, but until they hear you speak, they don't really know you. On the other hand, if your words were all they had to go on, with no other inputs or information, they could know and love you deeply.

Imagine that you and your companion have fallen deeply in love, and you have been committed to one another for many years. Now imagine that your voice-only companion was suddenly restored. That after all these years of this intimate communion with one another, your soul-mate was able to move about freely, to choose where to go and what to do. That she could come to you, be in the room with you, sit with you, see all of you, see things about you that you yourself have never seen.

Imagine that her commitment to you did not diminish with her new wholeness, but that her wholeness simply enabled her to express her love for you in so many more ways, beyond just the spoken words of her heart. She could tend to your physical body, feed you, clothe you, wash you.

She would have so many more ways to communicate, to express herself. Many of those ways would go unappreciated by you, since you cannot feel her hands upon your back and arms, cannot see the way she has decorated the room around you. You cannot see her sitting in the park, inspired by the beauty of creation, writing a love poem for you. You have no comprehension of this, because you have never sat in a park, nor written a poem with your hands on a sheet of paper.

But she still loves you, in so many ways. In more ways than she can help you understand, in your condition of limited senses. And she knows that the voice alone is not enough.

Now imagine that she is given the power to begin to heal you...

Friends, this is where we find ourselves today.

Loved, but not in perfect communion.

Partially, but not completely, restored.

Underwhelmed with what we "hear" from God. Wishing there was more.

We feel incomplete, like some parts of us don't work. We are insensible of so much of His activity, unable to hear Him clearly, and we wonder whether He is actually as 'nearby' as others have claimed.

But He continues to love, and He knows what kind of love we can receive. The trouble isn't with His ability or desire to communicate; the trouble is with our limited sensibilities.

[This is made worse because of the constant messages we receive that tell us we should be better than we are already. That we are not enough. Stand against that, my friends. We cannot heal ourselves.]

Let God heal your spiritual body and its senses in whatever fashion and order He chooses. Not everyone can hear, or see, or feel, or taste and smell. But all of those whom He has chosen have some of those senses at least partially restored.

In my case, it was light that first penetrated my eyelids and broke through the scales that were over my eyes. It hurt quite a bit, because much of what I had thought was reality turned out to be false.

[There are some who are horrified at what they have been allowed to see, to the point of being nauseated. All I can say is, ask Him to show you more-there's glory to be seen here.]

I talk to God about the stuff I see, and He answers back by showing me more. It's uncanny, unearthly, and I ain't making this up. Just don't ask me to prove it.

Here's the cool thing. Lately, I have been having these sensations that are a remarkably like what I have always imagined "hearing" to be like. It's more like a wind passing by my ears, vibrating my eardrums, not yet coming to me in clearly articulated syllables.

It's a wind that requires faith to believe that it's even happening. I can't duplicate it, I can't teach it, I can't even really remember what it's like when it happens. It's mysterious, barely audible at times, and only happens in the stillness of my deepest heart, the place where stories come to live inside me when someone tells them to me, the place that is reached when I feel compassion or rage.

But it's so gentle and patient. Sometimes it's as quiet as my own deepest desires.

No, we are not all able to hear, we are not all able to see, or to feel, or to taste, or to smell. But if you care about what I write here, if these stories and words reach into your heart, if you can "see" what can't be looked at, if your ear drums vibrate from time to time, if you can "taste" the glory of God in His handiwork, if you are "touched" by the pain of the poor and forgotten, then I believe your own restoration is also underway.

Talk to Him about it, and wait in expectation for the restoration of your heart and all its senses.

Any sensation at all gives us hope that one day we will be able to drink in the love and word of the Father in all of our senses. Then we will have the deep communion and one-ness that we were meant to experience all along.

One day, we'll sing something like this:

You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest,
Like the mountains in springtime,
Like a walk in the rain,

Like a storm in the desert,
Like a sleepy blue ocean.
You fill up my senses,
Come fill me again.

--John Denver, Annie's Song

Until we are fully restored and living in the deep communion that fully sensible people can have, we’ve got to make due with what has been healed in us so far.

For some, it's sight. We share our visions and tell our stories here and around the campfires at night.

For some, it's touch. You guys are moved with compassion or desire in ways that blow my mind.

For some it's the sensuous tastes and aromas of this delectable world we’re in. Write your poems, sing your songs, dance for joy. We need you to overflow.

For some it's hearing. Some might be in nearly constant communication with God, even two-way. Please, let us know what He's saying. I have a feeling He isn't quite done narrating the story yet.

Whatever is stirred in you, it's that long-time companion, the first-fruits of those who will be resurrected, working to slowly and lovingly restore you. Be patient. Enjoy the sensations that you can't really make sense of. You might be the next one to say, "I heard something today that I can't really explain."

Builder or Maintainer?

Before you beat yourself up for feeling like moving on in your career every couple years, take stock of whether you are a 'builder' or a 'maintainer'. By that I mean, some guys like to sit in the planning room, some just want to be called in once the thing's been built.

There are strategic thinkers, builders, tearer-downers, problem solvers, and guys who just run the machines.

Those are all Godly characteristics. We gotta know ourselves in this way, or we're open to all sorts of accusation from the darkness.

I used to work at a company that owned a vacuum cleaner manufacturer. I heard about a problem that they had with consumers who would buy a vacuum in a box, take it home, get frustrated trying to put it together, and would end up returning the whole thing. A huge percent of units were returned. Anyway, I really wanted to create a task force that would tackle that problem and solve it. It would have saved the company millions of dollars. Capture the data, analyze it, form a strategy, get a budget, and go after it.

The last thing I wanted was to be handed a department to 'run'. That would have bored me to death.

I'm good for about three years at a job, and at that point, I've just about built whatever system needs to be built. Then it's time to move on to build something else.

One of my favorite John Eldredge quotes is "desire reveals design." It's true in so many ways. We humans are designed with certain leanings, and if we cannot live according to them, we are just not right.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, at least give it a chance that part of the urge to "run" might actually be the frontier calling, and your heart naturally longs to go.

Ever notice how your heart is usually a few months ahead of your brain in these matters? God is a mysterious guy, ain't He? He just might be having a quiet chat with your heart, while you're brain's busy getting ready for that stupid annual review.

Song of Deborah

A friend of mine sent me this song, written by his mentally challenged friend, Deborah.

Life is To Short

Life is to short to lost time. Life is to short to lost time. Losting time to learning about things. Life is here. Life is there. Life is now.

Life is learning about you. Learning about are glory. Learning about are savior. Learning about are lord. Learning about are god.

Oh mighty one, oh mighty lord. You died and rise again. You take are sin away.

We keep on learning about you. Life is here. Life is there. Life is now. Life is to short. But Life is now.

Scripture as Narrative

Two snippets from two different "Statements of Faith". The first is from an unnamed Bible Church that has a website. You can find this kind of wording everywhere:

THE HOLY SCRIPTURES -- We believe the Holy scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16,17; 2 Pet 1:20,21; Matt 5:18; John 16:12,13).

This is the common teaching in many, many churches and institutions today. "Obedience" is the ONLY WAY to relate to a book like that, and the organized church has been using this approach for years.

Here's a snippet from the statement of faith of Mars Hill Bible Church:

Mars Hill is devoted to joining the God of the oppressed in the restoration of all creation.

We believe the Bible to be the voices of many who have come before us, inspired by God to continue to speak to us today. God calls us to immerse ourselves in this authoritative narrative and to continue to faithfully live out that story today as we are led by the Spirit.

The difference between the two is subtle but incredible. In the second, you read the stories, let the light of them shine into your heart, and seek the voice of the Father for clarity to walk through today.

And you wonder, "Where is it all going?"

There was an age when He simply allowed the written Law to dictate what to do when people fail one another and sin. That era is over. Those who subscribe to the first statement above would have us believe that it still works that way, that "God has spoken" and now we simply abide by it or pay the consequences.

Well, He doesn't work that way anymore. This is the New Covenant, my friends. He spoke a new Word, and that Word is alive, He shows up in our lives in a thousand different ways a day, and He guides us through crap.

The specific action (murder, divorce, adultery, hatred, etc.) isn't the issue any more.

What happens in the space between us IS the issue.

Is God happy with the breaking up of a marriage? No. Does He condemn the divorced ones simply for divorcing? No. He cares deeply about the restoration of their hearts and souls with Himself. I believe God frequently thwarts or kills that which we believe makes us feel righteous, things like having a happy family, no debt, perfect church attendance, never having committed adultery, never having had a homosexual thought, never having divorced.

Let the story of your life play out, including your failures. Confess, then let God intervene as He wishes. It's not up to you to maintain your purity. It's up to you to walk with God.

In a narrative view of life and the scriptures, you wonder what will happen next, and always join God in desperately seeking restoration and restored communion with God and fellowship with each other.

The Trail of Life

My heart sees the world as a giant parable. Today, let's consider life as a journey.

We are each at a different point on our journey along this trail. If that's the case, then we shouldn't be surprised when we meet people who aren't standing at exactly the same place as us, or who are simply crossing the trail that we are on. No one is far out in front--we are all at varying stages even within ourselves. We are in motion. We are MOVED ALONG, by God--through the events of life, words from a friend, the sunsets, the stories of scripture, the gentle guidance of the Spirit, and the living Word--Jesus. God uses the most extraordinary things to move us along and shape us.

But all the time, He is inviting us to continue moving on the trail. To play our part in the story.

There are two particular trail-markers that we all seem to pass in the same order, however. The first trail marker says "OBEDIENCE," and the second says "FREEDOM." For some people, there are miles and miles of trail between. But I have seen some pass the first and come in sight of the second in only days.

God teaches us about this "spiritual path" in the very way that we start out as children and grow up to become adults.

Little children need to grow up with a healthy dose of Obedience, so they are basically subjected to absolute LAW--they have to learn what it is to submit, what penalties are, why it matters. It's a way of "artificially" teaching them morals. I say "artificially" because it's from the OUTSIDE-IN. The trouble is, all of mom's scoldings don't really make little Johnny into a good boy. Children start under Law (an objective, external standard), but little by little they are granted FREEDOM. They don't take it, they don't earn it. They are given it. It is this freedom that changes them from the inside out. Think about it.

If you were 25 and your mother still had to tell you how to behave, wouldn't that be ridiculous? No, somewhere in between ten and twenty, we are given the chance to make decisions. We are trusted to act on our own, and we are given the freedom to blow it. In an ideal world, young adults will have moved from LAW to FREEDOM in a graceful way, not in a tortured way. Sometimes it really is a painful walk, and we may stumble as we try to get away from mom's grip. Generally speaking, the sooner the parent trusts the child, the sooner the child begins to be changed inside. (That's all the wisdom you will get from me on parenting.) All the laws of the earlier years are just echoes in the ears. Living well gradually becomes automatic, a habit (with occasional screw ups, of course), our identity.

Our life as a child of God plays out in the same way. Those who have lived under the condemnation of the "commands" of the law are invited by Jesus to enter into His Freedom, accept His light yoke, and live as He did. He chose us, and He calls us Brothers. The most critical question in the WHOLE THING is this:

How can He trust us to be good?

And the answer is a sweet deal, the peak in the trail—after this, it's all downhill:

Because it was HIS work that made us good.

It was none of our doing, so, He either did a good job, or He failed in transforming us on the inside. HE changed us, and now He trusts us to listen to Him, abide in Him, walk with Him, follow Him, and fight with Him. Given the effectiveness of what Jesus did, and that it was ALL HIS DOING, what need do we have then for a new body of "commands" (what we have collectively called the Bible, or the New Testament), something to take the place of the OT Law? Wouldn't it place some of the burden for our safety on the journey back on our shoulders?

As Jesus' brothers, we are growing up because He trusts us to live in His life here on earth. And His life sometimes looks really irrational. We are the ones who "hear His voice." We do the odd stuff like the people in Hebrews 11. Jesus is on the throne, and He is reigning from there, and the Spirit is like the whisper of His wishes in our ears. He shares His strength and His authority with us, and we go push back the powers of darkness. We've been forgiven, and there is no more condemnation left to be handed out. Only a kingdom to advance.

What do we do with the collection of writings, then? That's the cool part. The scripture then becomes a story book. It’s like a time capsule, sitting beside the path, written by the hands of those who have walked this way before with God.

It's not (and never was) a science book, or a manual for Christian living. It certainly isn't a list of commands that we are to obey. That's western thinking, gone awry. Scientific, cause-and-effect thinking. We've read this phrase "the Word of God" and we equate it with the collective writings. Again, that's scientific. That isn't faith. Science books are either black or white. Stories come in black, white, grey, and all sorts of colors.

II Timothy 3:16 is a WORD PICTURE. God breathed, and men wrote their stories. That's not a scientific explanation, and it isn't the foundation for "authority of the scriptures." Unfortunately, our theological books have taken a scientific approach to explaining the scriptures. It's incredible, too large to comprehend without your imagination.

Ours is not a culture with many oral traditions--we love our books, and we trust our scientists. Unfortunately, we have lost our appreciation for what the spoken "word" can mean in a person, in a family, in a people. Look at the number of times Jehovah told the Israelites, "Tell your children and your grandchildren all the things that I have done for you here in Egypt." Jesus is that kind of message to the world--"Look at what I have done for you! He's right here, at my right hand!"

Friends, we need to tell each other our stories. There is healing there, and strength. And hope that I can make it another mile on this journey.

Instead, we've been trained by a thousand preachers that "the Word" is the bible. Actually, no it's not. The bible is a bunch of stories, poems, historical narratives, and letters--cumulatively, they represent a portion of all that God has revealed to us. A few examples of what it's like when God shows up and intervenes.

But only a few.

Back to the trail--every man and every woman needs to be close to those stories and letters in order to know what it is like to live as a believer. That is normal. We begin the walk closer to the Obedience trail marker than the Freedom marker. We need to be shown "how to live" for a time.

But, like Paul says, we should be growing as the miles go by. The invitation of the New Covenant is this: walk with Jesus. Hear His voice. Live in freedom. It might only sound like a voice calling from the path, far ahead, in the fog. Those who have gone ahead and tasted this freedom, don't shout back at the people who are still reading the time capsule that is near the Obedience marker.

Tell them that freedom is up ahead. It's just up over that ridge, and you can see it from where you stand.

Mythic Willy Wonka

Just for the stimulation of your mythic nerve...quotes from the great movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. (All quotes are by Willy Wonka, unless otherwise noted)

There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free if you truly wish to be.

If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it.

Sam Beauregarde: What is this, Wonka, some sort of funhouse?
Willy Wonka: Why? Having fun?

*We* are the music makers... and *we* are the dreamers of dreams.

So shines a good deed in a weary world.

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.

No other factory in the world mixes its chocolate by waterfall. But it's the only way if you want it just... right.

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere, and not a drop to drink... yet.

If the good Lord had intended us to walk he wouldn't have invented roller-skates.

So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.

Willy Wonka: We're there.
Mrs. Teevee: Where?
Willy Wonka: Here.

Mrs. Gloop: My son! He'll be made into marshmallows in five seconds.
Willy Wonka: Impossible, my dear lady. That's absurd. Unthinkable.
Mrs. Gloop: Why?
Willy Wonka: Because that pipe doesn't go to the marshmallow room. It goes to the fudge room.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Charlie Bucket: Mr. Wonka, they won't really be burned in the furnace, will they?
Willy Wonka: Well, I think that furnace is only lit every other day, so they have a good sporting chance, haven't they?

Sam Beauregarde: Come on, Violet. We're getting out of here.
Willy Wonka: Oh, you can't get out backwards. You've got to go forwards to go back, better press on.

I don't understand this. The children are dissappearing like rabbits. Well, at least we still have each other. Let's move along.

Who's going to watch over my factory and take care of the Oompa Loompas for me after I pass on? Not a grown-up. A grown-up would want to do things his own way. That's why I wanted a child. A kind and caring small boy.

Grandpa Joe: But the roof is made of glass. It'll shatter into a thousand pieces. We'll be cut to ribbons.
Willy Wonka: Probably.

No, no, don't speak. For some moments in life there are no words.

Mrs. Teevee: I assume there's an accident indemnity clause.
Willy Wonka: Never between friends.

'Round the world and home again, that's the sailor's way.

Willy Wonka: How do you like my factory, Charlie?
Charlie Bucket: It's the most amazing place in the whole world!
Willy Wonka: I'm very glad to hear that. Because I'm giving it to you.

Questions, Questions, Questions

you should never, never doubt what nobody is sure about.
--Willy Wonka

If you've been following this blog, you know that I love to wonder about things. So here's your invitation to wonder out loud with me. Post a question -- I promise, no answers from me. I'm not the coin-operated genie dispensing "Yes" and "No" answers.

Answers are so much more boring than the questions, don't you think?

So you are invited to drop questions here in the Q-Box, and I'll do the same. Let's wander and wonder together, my friends.

Guest Book - Leave Your Mark

It's time I set up a proper Guest Book. Please feel free to make an impression here. Not fishing for comments, just want you to know you're welcome here. You can tell a little about yourself and the story you find yourself in, or just say "Hey!"

Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know

This is a long read, but if you're interested in fairy tales, this has a nice mythic feel to it. By the way, what he says about "myths" in the second paragraph is in reference to "myths" as in Greek Mythology. That is NOT what this blog is about.

When I use the word "mythic", it is in reference to the proportion, immensity, and magnitude of the reality--not an invented story line of purely fictional 'gods.' Parables and Faerie Tales are the best means of conveying Truth to one another and to the younger generation.

By the way, if you only have time to read a little, read the paragraph that I bolded below. Holy smokes.

Introduction to
"Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know"
(I downloaded this book from the Gutenberg Project. The gorgeous picture above is from this gallery of pictures by Inga Nielsen.)

The fairy tale is a poetic recording of the facts of life, an interpretation by the imagination of its hard conditions, an effort to reconcile the spirit which loves freedom and goodness and beauty with its harsh, bare and disappointing conditions. It is, in its earliest form, a spontaneous and instinctive endeavor to shape the facts of the world to meet the needs of the imagination, the cravings of the heart. It involves a free, poetic dealing with realities in accordance with the law of mental growth; it is the naive activity of the young imagination of the race, untrammelled by the necessity of rigid adherence to the fact.

The myths record the earliest attempt at an explanation of the world and its life; the fairy tale records the free and joyful play of the imagination, opening doors through hard conditions to the spirit, which craves power, freedom, happiness; righting wrongs and redressing injuries; defeating base designs; rewarding patience and virtue; crowning true love with happiness; placing the powers of darkness under control of man and making their ministers his servants. In the fairy story, men are not set entirely free from their limitations, but, by the aid of fairies, genii, giants and demons, they are put in command of unusual powers and make themselves masters of the forces of nature.

The oldest fairy stories constitute a fascinating introduction to the book of modern science, curiously predicting its discoveries, its uncovering of the resources of the earth and air, its growing control of the tremendous forces which work in earth and air. And it is significant that the recent progress of science is steadily toward what our ancestors would have considered fairy land; for in all the imaginings of the childhood of the race there was nothing more marvellous or more audaciously improbable than the transmission of the accents and modulations of familiar voices through long distances, and the power of communication across leagues of sea without mechanical connections of any kind.

The faculty which created the fairy tale is the same faculty which, supplemented by a broader observation and based on more accurate knowledge, has broadened the range and activities of modern man, made the world accessible to him, enabled him to live in one place but to speak and act in places thousands of miles distant, given him command of colossal forces, and is fast making him rich on a scale which would have seemed incredible to men of a half-century ago. There is nothing in any fairy tale more marvellous and inherently improbable than many of the achievements of scientific observation and invention, and we are only at the beginning of the wonders that lie within the reach of the human spirit!

No one can understand the modern world without the aid of the imagination, and as the frontiers of knowledge are pushed still further away from the obvious and familiar, there will be an increasing tax on the imagination. The world of dead matter which our fathers thought they understood has become a world of subtle forces moving with inconceivable velocity; nothing is inert, all things are transformed into other and more elusive shapes precisely as the makers of the fairy tales foresaw and predicted; the world lives in every atom just as their world lived; forces lie just outside the range of physical sight, but entirely within the range of spiritual vision, precisely as the tellers of these old stories divined; mystery and wonder enfold all things, and not only evoke the full play of the mind, but flood it with intimations and suggestions of the presence of more elusive and subtle forces, of finer and more obedient powers, as the world of fairies, magi and demons enfolded the ancient earth of daily toil and danger.

In a word, the fairy stories have come true; they are historical in the sense that they faithfully report a stage of spiritual growth and predict a higher order of realities through a deeper knowledge of actualities. They were poetic renderings of facts which science is fast verifying, chiefly by the use of the same faculty which enriched early literature with the myth and the fairy tale. The scientist has turned poet in these later days, and the imagination which once expressed itself in a free handling of facts so as to make them answer the needs and demands of the human spirit, now expresses itself in that breadth of vision which reconstructs an extinct animal from a bone and analyzes the light of a sun flaming on the outermost boundaries of space.

This collection of tales, gathered from the rich literature of the childhood of the world, or from the books of the few modern men who have found the key of that wonderful world, is put forth not only without apology, but with the hope that it may widen the demand for these charming reports of a world in which the truths of our working world are loyally upheld, while its hard facts are quietly but authoritatively dismissed from attention. The widest interpretation has been given to the fairy tale, so as to include many of those classic romances of childhood in which no fairy appears, but which are invested with the air and are permeated with the glorious freedom of fairy land.

No sane man or woman undervalues the immense gains of the modern world in the knowledge of facts and the application of ideas to things in order to secure comfort, health, access to the treasure in the earth and on its surface, the means of education and greater freedom from the tyranny of toil by the accumulation of the fruits of toil; but no sane man or woman believes that a mechanical age is other than a transitional age, that the possession of things is the final achievement of society, and that in multiplication of conveniences civilization will reach its point of culmination.

We are so engrossed in getting rich that we forget that by and by, when we have become rich, we shall have to learn how to live; for work can never be an end in itself; it is a "means of grace" when it is not drudgery; and it must, in the long run, be a preparation for play. For play is not organized idleness, frivolity set in a fanciful order; it is the normal, spontaneous exercise of physical activity, the wholesome gayety of the mind, the natural expression of the spirit, without self-consciousness, constraint, or the tyranny of hours and tasks. It is the highest form of energy, because it is free and creative; a joy in itself, and therefore a joy in the world. This is the explanation of the sense of freedom and elation which come from a great work of art; it is the instinctive perception of the fact that while immense toil lies behind the artist's skill, the soul of the creation came from beyond the world of work and the making of it was a bit of play. The man of creative spirit is often a tireless worker, but in his happiest hours he is at play; for all work, when it rises into freedom and power, is play. "We work," wrote a Greek thinker of the most creative people who have yet appeared, "in order that we may have leisure." The note of that life was freedom; its activity was not "evoked by external needs, but was free, spontaneous and delightful; an ordered energy which stimulates all the vital and mental powers."

Robert Louis Stevenson, who knew well how to touch work with the spirit and charm of play, reports of certain evenings spent at a clubhouse near Brussels, that the men who gathered there "were employed over the frivolous mercantile concerns of Belgium during the day; but in the evening they found some hours for the serious concerns of life." They gave their days to commerce, but their evenings were devoted to more important interests!

These words are written for those older people who have made the mistake of straying away from childhood; children do not read introductions, because they know that the valuable part of the book is to be found in the later pages. They read the stories; their elders read the introduction as well. They both need the stuff of imagination, of which myths, legends, and fairy tales are made. So much may be said of these old stories that it is a serious question where to begin, and a still more difficult question where to end. For these tales are the first outpourings of that spring of imagination whence flow the most illuminating, inspiring, refreshing and captivating thoughts and ideas about life. No philosophy is deeper than that which underlies these stories; no psychology is more important than that which finds its choicest illustration in them; no chapter in the history of thought is more suggestive and engrossing than that which records their growth and divines their meaning. Fairy tales and myths are so much akin that they are easily transformed and exchange costumes without changing character; while the legend, which belongs to a later period, often reflects the large meaning of the myth and the free fancy of the fairy tale.

As a class, children not only possess the faculty of imagination, but are very largely occupied with it during the most sensitive and formative years, and those who lack it are brought under its spell by their fellows. They do not accurately distinguish between the actual and the imaginary, and they live at ease in a world out of which paths run in every direction into wonderland. They begin their education when they begin to play; for play not only affords an outlet for their energy, and so supplies one great means of growth and training, but places them in social relations with their mates and in conscious contact with the world about them. The old games that have been played by generations of children not only precede the training of the school and supplement it, but accomplish some results in the nature of the child which are beyond the reach of the school. When a crowd of boys are rushing across country in "hounds and deer," they are giving lungs, heart and muscles the best possible exercise; they are sharing certain rules of honor with one another, expressed in that significant phrase, "fair play"; and they are giving rein to their imaginations in the very name of their occupation. Body, spirit and imagination have their part in every good game; for the interest of a game lies in its appeal to the imagination, as in "hounds and deer," or in its stimulus to activity, as in "tag" and "hide-and-seek."

There are few chapters in the biography of the childhood of men of genius more significant than those which describe imaginary worlds which were, for a time, as real as the actual world in which the boy lived. Goethe entertained and mystified his playmates with accounts of a certain garden in which he wandered at will, but which they could not find; and De Quincey created a kingdom, with all its complex relations and varied activities, which he ruled with beneficence and affection until, in an unlucky hour, he revealed his secret to his brother, who straightway usurped his authority, and governed his subjects with such tyranny and cruelty that De Quincey was compelled to save his people by destroying them.

These elaborate and highly organized efforts of the young imagination, of which boys and girls of unusual inventiveness are capable, are imitated on a smaller scale by all normal children. They endow inanimate things with life, and play and suffer with them as with their real playmates. The little girl not only talks with her dolls, but weeps with and for them when disaster overtakes them. The boy faces foes of his own making in the woods, or at lonely places in the road, who are quite as real to him as the people with whom he lives. By common agreement a locality often becomes a historic spot to a whole group of boys; enemies are met and overcome there; grave perils are bravely faced; and the magic sometimes lingers long after the dream has been dissolved in the dawning light of definite knowledge. Childhood is one long day of discovery; first, to the unfolding spirit, there is revealed a wonderland partly actual and partly created by the action of the mind; then follows the slow awakening, when the growing boy or girl learns to distinguish between tact and fancy, and to separate the real from the imaginary.

This process of learning to "see things as they are" is often regarded as the substance of education, and to be able to distinguish sharply and accurately between reality and vision, actual and imaginary image is accepted as the test of thorough training of the intelligence. What really takes place is the readjustment of the work of the faculties so as to secure harmonious action; and in the happy and sound development of the nature the imagination does not give place to observation, but deals with principles, forces and laws instead of with things. The loss of vision is never compensated for by the gain of sight; to see a thing one must use his mind quite as much as his eye. It too often happens, as the result of our educational methods, that in training the observer we blight the poet; and the poet is, after all, the most important person in society. He keeps the soul of his fellows alive. Without him the modern world would become one vast, dreary, soul-destroying Coketown, and man would sink to the level of Gradgrind. The practical man develops the resources of the country, the man of vision discerns, formulates and directs its spiritual policy and growth; the mechanic builds the house, but the architect creates it; the artisan makes the tools, but the artist uses them; the observer sees and records the fact, but the scientist discovers the law; the man of affairs manages the practical concerns of the world from day to day, but the poet makes it spiritual, significant, interesting, worth living in.

The modern child passes through the same stages as did the children of four thousand years ago. He, too, is a poet. He believes that the world about him throbs with life and is peopled with all manner of strange, beautiful, powerful folk, who live just outside the range of his sight; he, too, personifies light and heat and storm and wind and cold as his remote ancestors did. He, too, lives in and through his imagination; and if, in later life, he grows in power and becomes a creative man, his achievements are the fruits of the free and vigorous life of his imagination. The higher kinds of power, the higher opportunities of mind, the richer resources, the springs of the deeper happiness, are open to him in the exact degree in which he is able to use his imagination with individual freedom and intelligence. Formal education makes small provision for this great need of his nature; it trains his eye, his hand, his faculty of observation, his ability to reason, his capacity for resolute action; but it takes little account of that higher faculty which, cooperating with the other faculties, makes him an architect instead of a builder, an artist instead of an artisan, a poet instead of a drudge.

The fairy tale belongs to the child and ought always to be within his reach, not only because it is his special literary form and his nature craves it, but because it is one of the most vital of the textbooks offered to him in the school of life. In ultimate importance it outranks the arithmetic, the grammar, the geography, the manuals of science; for without the aid of the imagination none of these books is really comprehensible.

HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE

The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library

Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., for The Parents' Institute, Inc. Publishers of "The Parents' Magazine"

1905

"Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf"

This day in the life of Jonathan is so cool for showing what it's like to walk in faith, and what it might look like when God shows up.

One day Jonathan, son of Saul, said to the young man bearing his armor, "Come, let's go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side."

But he did not tell his father.

A normal day, a normal guy (ok, he was the son of the king--wait a minute, that's what we are!) and his assistant armor-bearer.

Actually, it wasn't like every other day, because the Philistines were across the valley, threatening to attack. It was a stand-off. Wait, it's like that every day now, too, isn't it?

And what was the mighty leader of the army (Saul, Jonathan's father) doing?

Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men, among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod's brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD's priest in Shiloh.

My gosh, nothing's changed. Saul, the mighty leader-king, was sitting, taking no action. He was paralyzed. Motionless. Doing anything but leading.

Now let's consider Jonathan's idea. Would anyone have recommended to Jonathan (the king's son) that he should head over to the enemy camp, with a guy trained only to carry a shield? Was it wise? Was it well thought out? Was it a good war strategy?

No one was aware that Jonathan had left.

Evidently he didn't consult the generals in the planning room. He had his radio turned off. Didn't wait for orders. He was going it alone. No one knew, and certainly no one would have advised him to go. The advice would have been exactly the opposite. Saul would have forbidden him.

On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez, and the other Seneh. One cliff stood to the north toward Micmash, the other to the south toward Geba.

Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few."

Are you kidding me? Heading over to the enemy camp, no air cover, two versus hundreds, and the best you can tell me is, "perhaps"? What's up with that?

And the armor bearer must have been nuts:

"Do all that you have in mind," his armor-bearer said. "Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul."

I can't think of any line from any movie or book that tugs at me more than this tiny dialogue between Jonathan and his companion.

Jonathan said, "Come, then; we will cross over toward the men and let them see us. If they say to us, 'Wait there until we come to you,' we will stay where we are and not go up to them. But if they say, 'Come up to us,' we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the LORD has given them into our hands."

Ha. Let's go show ourselves to them, and if they taunt us and tell us to come up to their camp, we will know God is in it. Do you get what he's saying? If things look bad, if it gets worse as we walk ahead, if things start looking grim, then we'll know God is in it.

What gives? Aren't things supposed to look brighter along the path to paradise? Shouldn't we get what God has made us desire? Doesn't He make the path clear and smooth?

You gotta see mythically to look beyond what you can see to what could be.

So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. "Look!" said the Philistines. "The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in!"

The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, "Come up to us and we'll teach you a lesson!"

You knew that was coming, didn't you? You suppose they recognized the prince?

So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Climb up after me; the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel!"

Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.

You didn't expect that, did you?

Then panic struck the whole army--those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties--and the ground shook.

It was a panic sent by God.

God didn't send lightning and strike half of the enemy dead before Jonathan and the armor bearer went on up that hill. He didn't blind them, break their legs, trip them, or in any way make them less the warriors they were when they woke up that morning.

Jonathan and his heart-mate were simply filled with confidence that this was God's battle, and they fought like wolverines. Lips snarled, swords slashing, back-to-back. Don't you want to live just one day like this one, sometime during your life?

And guess what. God didn't show His own might until Jonathan took his action. Until he had gone past the point of no return. Jonathan climbed and killed, then God came in and finished up the job.

So sweet.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Saul's lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the army melting away in all directions. Then Saul said to the men who were with him, "Muster the forces and see who has left us." When they did, it was Jonathan and his armor-bearer who were not there.

(Isn't it like a faithless leader, when there's a commotion, to look around and see who's not standing at attention, who's not sitting in their pew this morning?)

Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God." (At that time it was with the Israelites.)

Was Saul looking for a sign from God? Whatever he was up to, he didn't have time. Because--

While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand."

Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle.

Heh. How fascinating. Even men with no faith will follow when a man with faith steps out. I don't think this is an endictment of Saul--it's more of a picture of how God fills some with faith and courage (Jonathan), and they advance. Others He prepares to follow.

And when they follow they see the most amazing things--

They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords. Those Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines and had gone up with them to their camp went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

When a man of faith takes action, even the traitors come back. Gotta love that. Welcome back, Prodigals.

When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined the battle in hot pursuit.

Even those hiding in shame come out into the light, when a man of God moves into action.

So the LORD rescued Israel that day, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.

Wow, a single day in the life of Jonathan. Yet it speaks volumes about our own lives.

Reminds me of the song of Deborah and Barak, when they sang together:

When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer themselves—
praise the LORD!

Men of faith, rise up.