On this Terrestrial Ball

As an American celebrating Christmas in a foreign country, it’s a unique experience.  Visiting Thailand, I do see some Christmas decorations in the malls.  Aluminum Christmas trees of all sizes and colors.  I hear the traditional Christmas music (in English) playing over the speakers in the malls.  So yes, there’s a nod to “Christmas” in Thailand.  But that’s about it.  There’s no Christmas vibe, though.  Usually at this time of year you can tell when people are excitedly shopping for Christmas presents for their loved ones.   And when I drive away from the malls, there are no houses decorated with Christmas lights. Outside of the mall and its commercialized nod to Christmas, you would never know it’s Christmas time here.  And of course, the hot and humid weather with bright sunny days is about as far away from a winter wonderland as you can get.  Though I admit, I am from the southwest part of America where there was little to no s...

Okay, I’m going to rant and complain for a bit.  I actually have nothing to complain about though.  I’m healthy, have a roof over my head and all I need to live.  I have the most awesome wife.  I have Jesus in my life and know in my heart the assurance of Christ’s love and have the promise of one day being in paradise with him.  But that’s the thing with us humans, isn’t it?  We’re never happy.  Always complaining about something even when we really have nothing to complain about.  I think about the verse in the Bible: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15) . That’s that sinful nature in us that we cannot shake without the help of God’s grace.   But it’s such a bummer.  For example, here I am living in a beautiful country in a nice home with my awesome wife. Half the time I find myself complaining about the heat and humidity, poor construction standards, awful traffic an...

Sometimes I wonder why God created humans.  Was He lonely?  No, that would be trying to put human emotions and behaviors onto God.  God is infinite, beyond human understanding. God is eternal.  But think about that.  I mean, how old is God or does He even have an age?  The Bible starts with “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  But what about before that? And God is one, but also three in one – Father, Son and Holy Spirit ( Trinity is a name ascribed to this description of God).  Kinda blows your mind, processing all that, huh? The simple understanding of God, though – one that we humans can easily understand – is that God is love.  When you think about God this way, everything falls into place – why he created humans, why he is patient with us even though we keep behaving in our self-centered, selfish ways.  It’s all because of love.  About His love for us and that He is love incarnate.  Love is best ex...

I’ve noticed something about the sun.  Besides that it’s hot and, um, bright.  I’ve noticed that the sun is the same no matter where you are on earth.  I was recently in Thailand, then in the United States (on the West Coast).  I was also in Israel some years back, and a couple of times in Belize.  And every time I would watch a sunrise or a sunset; or every time I’d notice the sun during the day, the sun was always the same.  Seems like an obvious kind of observation, right?  Go ahead and say it – “Duh!”   But then consider everything that impacts our view (and perception I might add) of the sun.  A cloudy day.  Hot and cold temperatures.  Dry air and humidity.  A bright blue cloudless sky. The time of day.  There are so many things that influence how we view, feel, perceive, perhaps even interpret, the sun. And yet, it’s the same ball of bright churning gases that we’ve known all our life – warts, solar flares, and ...

I took a break from this blog to fly to the United States.  It wasn’t a planned trip.  My older brother had been scheduled for heart surgery on October 8 th .  Our family was constantly keeping him in our prayers for a successful outcome.  I had called him the night before his surgery to talk with him, reassure him, and tell him I loved him.  He didn’t answer the phone but sometimes that happened as he was always busy on the phone with his business. Though, he would always at least send me a text to let me know he missed my call and would get back to me.  So, I waited.  Then I called again.  No answer. And no text.  Then I called my other brother to ask if he heard from him.  He and his wife had just visited with him earlier that morning and spent a few hours with him.  So, I just thought, well, he’s busy getting things ready at his house for his surgery tomorrow.  His two sons would be picking him up early on the 8 th to take...

Recently, my wife and I went on a “little hike” as I called it (this was before we went on the actual hike).  There are a lot of cave systems in Thailand.  You may remember the dramatic rescue in 2018 of the boys’ soccer team who were trapped by flood waters in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system.  The caves are beautiful with many stalactites and stalagmites, and it feels like being in another world.  Now, let’s be clear.  I am not any kind of professional cave explorer.  I’m just your average cave tourist.  Being in a cave always reminds me of a favorite movie I watched over and over when it came on TV – Journey to the Center of the Earth .  Based on the novel by Jules Verne, it’s not only full of caves but also giant mushrooms, rubies and gems, the lost City of Atlantis, a sunken ocean, and even dinosaurs (actually, large lizards filmed up close to appear as dinosaurs but hey, looked like dinosaurs to me as a kid)! The cave we visited recent...

I’m still reminiscing about songs from my last posting.  Remember the catchy song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” by Bobby McFerrin in 1988?  Nice tune with a nice message.  And while I have nothing against the word, happy , I find it too temporary and quickly fleeting.  It’s great to be happy, but happiness is an emotion that fades quickly in the face of coming challenges we face daily.  What I seek is something deeper.   Something that doesn’t fade even when challenges and daily struggles come our way.   Something I can cling to like a life preserver while floating out in the stormy ocean.   The best way to describe that feeling, that quality, is with the word joyful . To be joyful goes beyond emotion. It goes deeper and is embedded into our very essence, that is, our soul.   Tied into being joyful is having a confidence, a conviction so rooted into who we are as a person that even on the days we take a hit from life’s challenges, it’s still ...