Nonsensical Ramblings of Mark

I just got back from the dentist and all is well in my mouth...for now. I even got a red toothbrush when I was walking out the door. I like my dentist (http://www.drggg.com/) as I think he is very thorough and the work that he has done in my mouth has been great. I think he has filled a couple of cavities and I have been happy with him. All this to say that I "hate" going to the dentist. Now I have never been accused of having a movie-star smile and I have more than my share of fillings (less and less as the years have gone on) and that is probably why I have the angst I do at the thought of the visit to the dentist. I know this is my doing, but there it is. For me it always seemed like the day of reckoning. The judge looks into my mouth and declares the verdict on the previous six months of brushing and flossing, and I was always concerned that a cavity was going to be found. Was this really an issue? I had been through plenty of fillings and didn't even mind the novac...

I prayed and it happened. That is how I am supposed to think about things in the divine context. At least that is how C.S. Lewis encourages me to think. Because I live in a world where God is Sovereign I need not concern myself with the interplay between my prayers and the effect that those prayers (or lack of prayers) has on the events that were lifted up to God. I need only know that is was God’s sovereign plan that I should pray in the way that I did and that events were ordered in such and such a way because of God’s sovereign plan. The causality or the effect that my prayerlessness may or may not have had on the ordained situation is of no concern of mine – that is firmly in God’s realm and I may never know the totality of it. All this to say that I asked God for something and it looks like God has granted me my request. Thanks, Dad. May this situation vault me into a deeper prayer life with you.

We had one of my boy’s friends over last night for the last time this Summer and I am going to miss spending Monday nights with him. His dad has left the scene and is only marginally involved in the lives of his kids (four total). He has been encouraged to come back, been through church discipline and removed from membership, and pursued in a great many ways by numerous people but he refuses to repent. It is so sad. So my wife and I have made a point to have this boy over to our house for a couple of hours just to let him be around our boys and for me to interact with him for a bit. And it has been fun. Last night after dinner we went and got ice cream and then off to a nearby playground. He got quite a bruise on his shin after falling but he was all right. My two boys love it when he comes over too and they had a great time running around with him on the playground. It started to rain a bit so we “ran” back to the van and started the slow drive home. Well, the rain let up a bit and we...

It has been said that time is the currency of the 21 st century and it is the thing I guard the most. It is an interesting statement about the state of our country that we have enough money and things, but that thing that is scarce, our time, is what we hold onto the tightest. My oldest will be starting school next week (kindergarten) and the time that we spend together from now until he graduates high school will be so important and so precious. Of course this is also a time in my career when I am in high demand and it looks like the travel will get to be more and more of a bother as I get involved with more customers. Thankfully they’re in New Jersey right now, but that will not always be the case I’m sure. Please help me negotiate this tightrope, Lord, I need your wisdom more than ever. Help me to make sure I am doing what I can to provide for my family financially, socially, emotionally, spiritually…I do not want to make a mess of this. I know you do not want me to either. Tha...

The musical Godspell had a huge influence on me growing up. The high school I went to (Cardinal Mooney in Rochester NY) actually did the musical as part of their Spring production one year. I remember on my paper route the next morning after seeing the performance singing over and over “Long live God, Long live God, Long live God, Long live God” which is what was sung as they carried Christ’s dead body out of the auditorium before the image was shown of the resurrected Son. We also had the soundtrack on cassette that we wore out from playing it too much. The song below was one of my favorites. All Good Gifts by Stephen Schwartz We plow the fields and scatter The good seed on the land But it is fed and watered By God's almighty hand He sends the snow in winter The warmth to swell the grain The breezes and the sunshine And soft refreshing rain (Refrain) All good gifts around us Are sent from heaven above So thank the Lord Oh thank the Lord for all his love We thank thee then O Fat...

I thought my wife was nuts. She wanted to take a 5 year-old, 3 year-old, and 3 year-old raspberry picking last night. She put the bug in my ear about it when I talked to her over the phone from work and I thought we will wait to see how we feel after dinner before making a decision. Well, she brought it up again with the qualification that if it was a big disaster it was a big disaster – no big deal. I agreed, but thought that the boys and their friend we were watching for the night could just run around in the field. What happened there completely blew my mind. Not only were the kids into picking raspberries but each one of them filled a pint of their own and worked to fill some more that my wife and I were picking with. My oldest kind of lost interest a bit after the pint he picked was full, but there was no problem with him wandering off for a bit after staying on task for so long. My youngest was quietly working away and would continue to announce his progress as he picked. We late...

Wow, trying to get back into the swing of things after a vacation day in the middle of the week seems to be a bit more challenging to me than it ought to. Had a great golf outing with my brother yesterday at Salmon Creek Country Club in Spencerport, NY. It is a very nice course and I had some good shots. My chipping was right on which was good because I did not hit a green from the fairway the whole day. I can’t expect that much as I basically golf once or twice a year. And it is not like riding a bike – not even close. I was so tired this morning and really had to force myself to exercise. There were so many voices from my head and body saying “No! No! Don’t do it!” that even 6 minutes into the treadmill routine that I do I considered cutting it short. I figured I would regret it if I did so I plowed ahead. The more I do that the less resistance I will feel in the future I am sure. At least I hope. That is a principle I have learned and it can be applied to a lot of different endeavor...