Good Ministers of the Silver Screen

You won’t see a lot of TV shows and movies focusing on ministers these days, and usually when you do, they are either terrible goody-goody caricatures or ridiculous portrayals of people who are using their pulpit power for selfish gain.  I saw this article today about the Good Ministers of the Silver Screen.  While I haven’t seen all of the shows/movies that are referenced, I agreed with them on the ones  that I have seen.  If you are interested, take a look, and let me know if you can think of other actor ministers that came out on the good side.

Beautifully Slower

I look forward to funerals.  The loss of a friend or loved one is always sad, but to see that person honored by the people that loved him/her most is usually moving.  Last week, I attended the funeral of John Laseter, the dad of Jenni Claeys, one of our close friends.  I had never met John, but Caroline and I wanted to attend in support of Jenni and her family.  The funeral was my first full military funeral.  After singing Amazing Grace and hearing the testimony of several friends and family, there was a salute with rounds fired outside the sanctuary.  Following the salute, two marines made their way down the aisle to fold the flag that had been draped over the coffin during the service.  Each slow, measured step was accompanied by an equally precise arm movement.  My impatient nature would have normally responded, “just get down the aisle, already”, but I was able to suppress that feeling in the beauty and honor of the moment.  The ceremony continued as they reverently folded the flag into the familiar triangle. They worked together, with each marine checking the other’s folds, prior to presenting the flag to Jenni’s mom.   I feel like I learned something that day.  Faster is not always better.

Family on the Fourth

We had all of my immediate family at the lake for the Fourth of July and also had some extended family with us.  Caroline’s mom has passed away, but one of Caroline’s favorite aunts, Aunt Delma, and her husband, Dickie, were with us.   Aunt Delma has been just like a mom to Caroline and has always taken an interest in all of us.  Dickie has always been one of my favorites as well as a favorite great uncle to my kids.  I can still see them  piling into his pick-up truck to head off to McDonald’s for breakfast or an ice cream.  We also got to spend time with one of their grown kids, Steven who is married to Tanya, and their children, Rachel and Josh.  It was so much fun to see the kids behind the boat  doing some x-treme tubing, and a thrill to see Josh get up on water skis for the first time.   Most people associate the Fourth of July with fireworks, and we did have our share of those, but the Fourth means Family to me.

Live More In Dependence on Him

The Fourth of July is all about independence.  We owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who has ever fought for our country’s independence.  I had to register for the armed forces when I was in college, but never got any closer to serving than that.   Independence also means being able to take care of yourself.  There is a lot that is good about that.  I love knowing and being around people who take responsibility for the circumstances in their life.  To the contrary, one of the most unattractive character traits of people is people who blame everyone else for anything that might not be going their way.    I feel like we come full circle when it comes to our spiritual life though.  If we think we can take care of everything ourselves, without God’s love and guidance, we will quickly realize how wrong we are.   I want to live more in dependence on Him.  Happy Fourth of July.