Good morning, nice people.
I managed a little old man walk/jog shuffle this morning. It was so gentle, I didn’t even reach a sweat. I guess I should have shuffled harder. Oh well—maybe next time.
I changed clothes in a hurry to accommodate some folk who came by with a 4” slab of maple. They had me use my mill to trim it up and rip to the width they wanted. It will serve as a fireplace mantle.
Just to help you visualize the simple shelter I erected yesterday, I’ll stick on a photo. You may notice a new feature he’s added to the options being offered to his customers—a small wood-fired pizza oven. He gave me a slice of the pizza he’s turning out. Really good—with the added smoke flavoring.
Now, in typical conformity to my non-typical work, I’m preparing to head to the small Mulino airport to paint “PACIFIC NORTHWEST SKYDIVING” on the side of the main building there. Who knows? I might even get a skydive out of the deal.
Blessings on your day—however typical or non-typical it may be. Ray.
Perhaps I’m a rebel at heart. Sometimes I wonder if something is wrong with me—which then leads me to reason that perhaps something might be right with me. All I know is that there is nothing in me that is attracted to a posture or lifestyle of being “easily influenced and shaken by the shifting opinions of others.” In fact I find myself reacting in the opposite direction from that kind of pressure to conform to popular thought, fashion, thinking, activities, and speech. Just because it’s cool to wear baggy pants down below my underwear, or an oversized ball cap with a flat brim, or a stocking cap in summer, or get a tattoo and show it off as a statement of cool conformity, or get some piercings and hardware installed on my head—or even think that illegal aliens or lazy butts deserve to be getting a bunch of free stuff that is paid for by people working for a living—or think that killing babies or same-sex marriages represent hallmarks of an advanced liberated culture. Nor do I have any interest in conforming to the popular liberated style of speech that laces the “F-word” into about every sentence spoken. In response to all that, I’m OK with being a non-conformist.
Am I reading too much into Jesus’ applause of John the Baptist? Whatever the case may be, from these words of Jesus, I’m finding encouraging support for my resistance to that which is popular. All I know is that if Jesus is going to commend John’s non-conformity, I think that fact should influence my own orientation. To be sure, I would certainly prefer to view John the Baptist as a worthy role model than any of our current popular trend-setters. In the course of discussing my views with others I meet, I often express appreciation for what my Biblical worldview offers—“I’m thankful for a source of authority that is bigger than my opinions—or the opinions of anyone else, for that matter.” After all, if we don’t have a resource for authority and truth, what do we have left to work with? Isn’t it just a big cacophony of opinions?! Yippee!
Consider the rest of what Jesus said about John: “Who did you really go there to see? Did you expect to see a man decked out in the splendid fashion of the day? They are the ones who live in the lap of luxury, embracing the values of this world. Or did you discover a true prophet out in the lonely wilderness? Yes, John was a legitimate prophet…” (vv. 25-27, TPT).
Finally, consider this: If a Biblical “prophet” is one who proclaims the Biblical Gospel, I have a pretty good hunch that Jesus wants you and me, like John, to be prophets too.