Many of us made New Year’s resolutions on January 1st. During the holidays, we overindulged in too much of too much. The birth of a New Year inspires plans of diet, exercise, and thriftiness.

Resolutions born at midnight on December 31^st seldom survive the first weeks of January. Habit is a hard master to overthrow. By mid-month, the new and improved model greatly resembles the old and not so improved model!

We can scoff at the idea of spontaneous resolutions leading to lasting change; but we serve a God of fresh starts and second chances. Today can be different from yesterday; and tomorrow can be different from today.

Paul wrote: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Our “re-creation” in Christ is both event and process as we grow into the image of our Savior.

Our January Worship Series at Northside Church is 4 Lifechanging Decisions. We will explore the power of practicing four actions: Start, Stop, Stay, and Go.

Jesus began his ministry preaching the message, “The time has come, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, and believe in the gospel.” The time has come for repentance rather than resolutions. This year can be new in more than name alone!

Lethal toys of the 60s emphasized fun over safety. I’m amazed anyone in my generation survived to adulthood.

Mattel’s Creepy Crawlers enabled children to create insect-like creatures. Young scientists poured Plasti-Goop into open molds heated to 400 degrees. We removed the molten plastic from the fiery forge with bare fingers.

A Flexy-Flyer was a snow sled mounted on rubber wheels. Helmetless riders rested headfirst on a wooden frame. Handles provided rudimentary control but no brakes. My friends and I alternated launching each other down steep sidewalks.

Clackers featured two tempered-glass balls connected with a cord. Players attempted to smack the balls together repetitively in rhythm. Glass balls under high impact next to children’s faces—what possibly could go wrong?

Jarts wins the deadliest toy award. The lawn darts possessed long metal tips with plastic vanes. Opposing players launched the missiles in high arcs towards each other, aiming for a circular target. Turns out deadly darts plunging earthwards work better in medieval warfare than backyard play.    

I survived the lethal toys of the 60s. They may not have been safe, but we sure had fun. 

Toxic toys of the 60s emphasized fun over safety. My generation smoked candy cigarettes and chewed bubblegum cigars. We inhaled noxious fumes from six-shooter cap guns and Testors-glued model cars.

One Christmas Santa brought me a Chemistry Set with glass beakers, measuring cups, litmus paper, and test tubes. It contained bottled chemicals with exotic names like Calcium Chloride, Calcium Oxide, Cobalt Chloride, Phenolphthalein, Ferric Ammonium Sulphate, Sodium Ferrocyanide, Sulphur, and Tannic Acid.

A booklet described science experiments for children of all ages, but I enjoyed mixing the agents haphazardly. A ten-year-old boy with access to bases, acids, and cyanides—what could possibly go wrong?

 The same Christmas my sister and I discovered Super Elastic Bubble Plastic in our stockings. The tubes extruded a thick, plastic substance that could be rolled into small spheres. We used straws to inflate the plastic into big bubbles.

The viscous goo contained polyvinyl acetate and ethyl acetate dissolved in acetone. Children inhaled the witch’s brew while blowing through the straw. I blame the product for many of the ills that plagued my generation.  

I survived the toxic toys of the 60s. They may not have been safe, but we sure had fun.  

Our granddaughter, the Grand Miss Haisley, introduced me to a book by Brendan Wenzel. They All Saw a Cat recounts the different ways various creatures view the title character. Each sees the feline through a unique lens.

They all saw a cat.

I possess a carefully constructed self-image, which includes a begrudging acknowledgement of my foibles and eccentricities. A few flaws accompany my overwhelming virtues, but what’s not to love? I’m delightful!

They all saw a cat differently.

I wonder how others perceive me. What blind spots limit my self-awareness? What glaring weaknesses do most note? What potential strengths do some see?

God saw a cat.

Mr. Wenzel doesn’t include a theological perspective, but I added another page to the book. How does God see you and me?

• Genesis declares we bear the Creator’s image.
• The Psalmist recognizes that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
• John writes that the Lord sent God’s Son into the world to save us.

They all saw a cat.

But they all saw the cat differently. Perception shapes reality.  

What does God see?

This week’s blog features my semiannual rant on changing times. Daylight Saving Time ended in the wee hours last Sunday morning. Most of the nation fell back from 2:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

I love Daylight Saving Time and an “additional” hour of sunlight each evening. I despise the weekends our nation adds or deletes 60 minutes of time.

The US Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act in March 2022. The legislation called for permanent Daylight Saving Time. The House of Representatives sadly never voted on the law. The odds don’t look any better this year.  

A critic wrote about a play, “A great way to kill time for those wishing it dead.”

God’s gift of time is a gift too precious to waste—or give away—every spring.

Let’s approve Daylight Saving Time forever and call it something creative like, “Time.”  

All Saints Day occurs on November 1 in the church calendar. Christians celebrate our honored dead have ascended from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant. This Sunday Northside Church will recall our members who have died during the past year. We will read the names, light candles, and toll bells in their sacred memory.

The United Methodist Book of Worship includes a powerful prayer in A Service of Death and Resurrection. Prayerfully consider the words.

O God, who gave us birth,

You are ever more ready to hear than we are to pray.

You know our needs before we ask, and our ignorance in the asking.

Give to us now your grace that as we shrink before the mystery of death,

We may see the light of eternity.

Speak to us once more your solemn message of life and of death.

Help us to live as those who are prepared to die.

And when our days here are accomplished,

enable us to die as those who go forth to live.

So that living or dying, our life may be in you,

And that nothing in life or in death will be able to separate us

From your great love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

AMEN!

I recently attended a “Jesus Worldview Initiative” retreat sponsored by Good Faith Media. The continuing education event occurred in West Yellowstone, Montana with excursions into Yellowstone National Park.

Longtime friend, John Pierce, facilitated the week. He warned the group, “The National Park Service does not prevent people from killing themselves.” Rangers rather optimistically expect tourists to exercise common sense, which is not so common.

Boardwalks skirt boiling geysers. Broken limbs line paths around mud pots and steam vents. The South Rim Trail parallels a thousand-foot plunge into Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon. Bison, elk, bears, and wolves roam the fenceless park with clueless guests.  

Retired ranger, Lee Whittlesey, wrote Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park. The 440-page book recounts the tragic results of grizzly attacks, bison gorings, hot-springs falls, and freak avalanches.

Johnny shared this sage advice, “Never be within a step or a slip from death.” Appropriate boundaries guard against lethal consequences.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” Most of us can find temptation quite easily on our own.

Boundaries protect God’s people from physical and spiritual dangers.

I recently attended a “Jesus Worldview Initiative” retreat sponsored by Good Faith Media. The continuing education event occurred in West Yellowstone, Montana with excursions into Yellowstone National Park.

Words cannot convey the majesty and diversity of Yellowstone’s geography. The landscape features something of everything that the Lord God Almighty created: majestic mountains, steep canyons, lush meadows, flowing streams, large lakes, crashing waterfalls, gushing geysers, and scalding thermals.

One of our leaders, Bruce Gourley, literally wrote the book on Historic Yellowstone National Park. He led us on a hike starting at the Wapiti Lake Trailhead. We walked through knee-high meadows of sagebrush and grass overlooking the Hayden Valley, stepping carefully around the reminders of bison’s recent passage. 

The path meandered from meadow to forest before entering a desolate landscape filled with smoke and steam. The seared soil resembled a lunar landscape devoid of life. Mud pots and steam vents bubbled and burbled with caustic, watery voices. Pieces of wood marked a scant trail through the hydrothermal area.

The pathway reentered the wood line and passed two ponds. Silt and plants ironically obscured Clear Lake; but Lily Pad Lake lived up to its name. Various hues of green painted the water, plants, and trees.

The vista opened a few hundred yards down the trail. The South Rim Trail of Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon suddenly appeared. The steep walls plunged to torrential waters below. We ended the hike at Artist Point with a postcard-view of the Lower Falls.

The ancient Greeks believed that the world contained four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. We experienced them all in a two-hour hike over varied terrain. The flora, fauna, and landscape declared God’s glory.

Hike and see that the Lord is good.

I recently attended a “Jesus Worldview Initiative” retreat sponsored by Good Faith Media. The continuing education event occurred in West Yellowstone, Montana with excursions into Yellowstone National Park.

We entered the park through the Roosevelt Arch at the North Gate where Yellowstone’s wildlife greeted us. Pronghorn antelope grazed in the fields, bald eagles soared through the skies, and bull elk posed by the road.

6,000 buffalo roam the national park. Taxonomists classify America’s national mammal with the repetitiously redundant title of Bison bison bison. Herds regularly block roads and jam traffic. One group sauntered past our vehicle a foot beyond the rolled-down windows.    

Rangers warn about the unpredictable nature of wild animals, but tourists exhibit an idiotic lack of common sense. I observed several people taking closeup selfies with one-ton bison. Others approached within ten yards of a rutting elk for photo ops.

A friend taught me the adage, “Never underestimate the stupidity of people in groups.” Intelligent people do dumb things in group settings. Stories of animals goring or trampling incautious tourists illustrate Darwinism at work.

Yellowstone’s wildlife displays the majesty of God’s handiwork.

Just don’t pet the fluffy cows.  

I recently attended a “Jesus Worldview Initiative” retreat sponsored by Good Faith Media. The continuing education event occurred in West Yellowstone, Montana with excursions into Yellowstone National Park. Seven clergy explored ways to encourage fresh commitments to following Jesus above all other commitments.

John Pierce and Tommy McDearis participated in the retreat. John will retire this year from a career in Christian journalism. Tommy serves as the senior pastor of Church on Main in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Our 45-year friendship began at Berry College. We bonded as religion majors answering God’s call into full-time ministry. I styled my wiry hair into a six-inch afro, Johnny sported wavy locks, and Tommy, well, Tommy possessed SOME hair. A recent photo reveals that the years have not changed us a bit.

Our friendship has survived the test of time, including college, seminary, vocations, marriages, children, moves, accidents, surgeries, and funerals. We’ve been there, done that, and share the wrinkles and scars to prove it.  

Proverbs 27:17 observes, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” I am grateful for good friends who have sharpened, supported, and loved me. They may not want to take the blame, but I am who I am apart because of who we are together.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17)