Evendays

I’m sure you’ve read some of the bulletin bloopers. They seem to always come as forwards from some of your best friends, and then you have to forward them on to some other of your best friends or something really bad will happen to you.

A Pentecostal group sent their bulletin to all of the Geneva area churches last week. Printed on colorful, pink paper, about half-way down the sheet, was the following information that caught our attention:

Healing room: Closed in July and August.

You do not want to get sick in Europe during Summer vacations.

The next paragraph started with a quotation of Acts 2.38, a fellowship favorite. “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. Then God will send you his Holy Spirit.” Then the following:

We will be having our baptism service on October 21, 2007. Sign up with Pastor X.

It was followed up by this verse (no lie) quoted from Acts 22.16:

“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”

All sport lovers in this small country are focused on Valencia, Spain and London, England. I guess that means they are cross-eyed.

The Swiss sailing enterprise Alinghi (the first European team to ever win the America’s Cup) is defending its trophy against Team New Zealand. It’s a best of 9 series, with the two teams tied one to one. The Alinghi boat was fabricated in close collaboration with Lausanne’s technical institute (where Daughter plans to study).

Between rain showers, Roger Federer will attempt to win his fifth consecutive Wimbledon Men’s singles title. After a frustrating loss to Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros final in Paris a few weeks back, Roger is in fine form and ready to tie Bjorn Borg’s record.

That’s all from ESPNNN Switzerland. (Oh, and how ‘bout those Angels?)

The latest student report from our household:

Daughter will pass her junior year in high school with great grades. She’s been out of school for almost a week. She’ll have two friends over from Geneva this week, then she’s off to Marseille for a week with a buddy from Lausanne to do the mini-spiritual internship there.

Son 2 is in the middle of his finals to get out of high school. He’s done very well. Did I tell you he got 1560 on his math-English SAT scores? (He takes after his aunt…) He’ll have some time off before serving as a counselor at the two-week long kids’ camp. Then he’ll do the year-long spiritual internship in Marseille starting mid-September.

Son 1 begins his exams on Thursday. He has worked very hard, and is working hard, preparing for these exams and the ones at the end of August. Only 30 of the 150 students will be allowed to continue into second year. He won’t have much of a break this summer… A sincere “poor guy” escapes my lips. Really.

Of course, our futures are in God’s hands. Bless his name!

(My mistake. It was 1540, not 1560. My math scores weren’t that good.) 

We’re about as far north as Seattle (for those of you in the New World). That means that yesterday the sun rose at about 05h01 and set at 22h04. I love the long evenings and the early morning light. It’s much easier to get up and get going, though in the evening you’re still looking for stuff to do at 21h30. Hey, if it’s still light, there must be more chores to finish.

Cornelius Ryan claimed that June 6, 1944 was the Longest Day.

When you get on the plane in Paris and fly to Los Angeles, now that day is long. You leave at 10h15 and arrive at 13h00 in the afternoon, the same day… Making for a 33 hour day.

I’ve had some sleepless nights that made (oddly) for long days, or stretches in hospital waiting rooms where hours dragged on.

I’m sure you have too.

On today’s slate, and already 4 weeks late, are the activities I’ve got to offer for the upcoming camp (July 16-30). They’ve given me detailed forms that need to describe the events and activities I’ll lead, thus giving teens unforgettable joy and making them want to elect me best camp counselor of the century.

I’m trying to find activities that will justify the purchase of some new Mac equipment. I’ve put film-making and digital portraits on my list. If I could just find a way to justify a 24” screen or a color laser printer…

There’s got to be a “nature” activity. Does capture the flag played in the forest count? I wanted to pin beetles to a piece of wood for display, but conscience got in the way. And I’m not too sure about mushrooms. (“Sure it’s edible. I think.”)

For the outdoor activity we’ll make water-balloon launchers with old jean legs and surgical tubing. We’ll shoot at the kids from the 7-12 year old camp.

I’ve got to find an outside game for 24 kids. Any ideas? What did you enjoy doing when you were at camp (besides painting ceramic fish), that did not include TP, explosives, or the display of under-garments?

Come on. Help me out here.

If Jesus quenched every thirst, there would be no more temptation, no more sin, no more unfaithfulness.

The truth is, he can only open doors that enter into his home. He only answers prayers that are in his name. He is only found by those who are ultimately searching for him. (Granted, he is found in unexpected places, by people were looking for him without knowing it.)

The desires of my heart are satisfied when they are redirected toward God. This is especially true of religious activity. Worship is never enough if I am at the center of it. Prayer will never suffice if I search for my will and not his. Love will never be enough if moi is at the middle of it. Piety, by definition, is God-centered.

You know that true life is God-centered. When you are searching for God, you find him in your work, your family, your leisure and your dreams. His quest fills your life.

As Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead…

But Paul, don’t you already know him? Didn’t you meet him face to face? Haven’t you spent these many years following him?

Ah yes, he says. But I’m still hungry. I want to know him better. Even to the end.

I can remember trying to hold my breath from one end of it to the other. Dad would do it too, and he was driving… Then always slow down at the end and I would have to gasp for breath… It was about the only tunnel we would ever go through, right there at the entrance into Yosemite Valley.

There’s a new tunnel opening in the adjoining canton of Valais, and it’s a whopper. Check it out here.

21.5 miles long, trains will probably be able to pass through it at over 155 mph. After 13 years of digging, the light at the end of that tunnel is coming very quickly.

We have 8 Harding University students with us and they will be staying until Wednesday evening. Their professor, Dr. Robert McCready, has been taking them about Europe the last few weeks and they’ll be in France till the end of the month.

This morning, two minutes after their arrival, they went to Daughter’s English class and took the place by storm! Daughter’s classmates got to do one-on-one interviews with the Americans and did they ever make a lot of noise. Daughter’s teacher was very happy to welcome the group. So much good communication taking place!

Afterwards, the group had a great lunch (prepared by Wife) and hit the streets stuffing mailboxes (legal here) about the websites we’ve set up which host short articles about “looking for God”.

Tomorrow, a group of us will be at the nearby Protestant Reformed church for their morning prayers, then 5 or 6 of the old ladies from the neighborhood will come over for tea with the group of young people. Son 2 and Daughter have invited the group to lead the High School sack-lunch Bible study, before we head to the nearby rest home for an afternoon of singing and contact.

Come join us.

In the last few posts, I’ve been working through “searching”, basically that we are all searching for something or someone; that God built us that way to look for Him, yet we do so as one groping in the darkness (Acts 17). We resemble, if only a bit, intelligent Googles, continually sending out queries, some essential to life and its meaning, others that are, well, frivolous.

Many of us claim satisfaction because we have found God. Or, in our most lucid moments, we admit that we have found nothing. Rather, we have been found by God.

This finding seems pretentious. But we take seriously the words of Jesus: Seekers find. Knocked-on doors get opened. If you ask, God will answer.

Jesus declared that he is all that was necessary to quench our thirst. And even that rivers of living water would flow from the hearts of those who accepted his water.

He said he is the true nourishment descended from heaven to give life to all those who ate of him, to all who confidently put their trust in him.

If this is true, (and I believe it is), why am I still hungry, thirsty, and (sometimes) still searching?

Happy birthday, sis!
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An old story tells of the millionaire who spotted a beautiful old painting in a book which covered the history of art. He fell under its charms and decided he had to add it to his collection. So he called his curator and charged him to find the work and to purchase it.

A short time later, the curator returned and informed his employer that the masterful work was not for sale. The rich man, used to getting all he wanted, exclaimed: I told you I want it. Buy it. Don’t tell me you can’t. Do whatever it takes.

But the curator held his ground and quietly answered: Sir, you cannot buy that painting because you already own that painting. In fact, it has been in your collection for many years.

It’s just possible that it’s not necessary to climb the highest peak or to cross the swiftest river to find your “treasure”. You may not even have to sing along with U2’s 1987 hit (though it’s tempting):

    I have spoken with eternal angels
    I have held the hands of a devil
    It was warm in the night
    I was cold as a stone
    But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for…

Is there  a solution for the thirst that’s in us? Was the disciple right when he said to a brainy crowd:

“God has done all this so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn’t really far from any of us…” ?

Could it be true?