Randy Wray’s Blog

Today will be a really tough work day for me. I will be spending the day with two of our former elders attending a four plus hour event. Yes, these are the trials and hardships of this job. I have to be with two men I respect (and enjoy spending time with) watching the Washington Nationals play baseball. It’s a tough, tough task but by the strength of pine-tar I hope to make it through unscathed.

I’m just wondering if it’s acceptable to yell insulting things at the other team in the presence of two former elders? I know this would be impossible with two current elders, but former elders?

Also, is there any way I could yell insulting things at the other team disguised as spiritual affirmations or religious statements? Perhaps, “Smite them with the fastball” or “The gospel chariot has just rolled right over thee,” or “Now turn the other cheek.” Anyone out there have any ideas that might work?

Maybe I’ll make a poster of some off-the-wall Bible verse that makes no sense just to get on TV. I’m thinking of Leviticus 19:27.

3 Comments »

It happened again. We were “patiently” waiting in line (at Walmart this time) to purchase some much needed chemicals for the swimming pool. Finally the time came and we were third in the cue. This is when the commotion started.

The person currently being assisted finished paying for his purchases. The cashier closed the drawer before giving the man his change. A conversation ensued about how the man was going to receive his change. The cashier, calling for a manager, explained that once the register drawer was closed upon completing a transaction it could only be opened by a manager with a key or by completing another transaction.

Since it was very busy and a manager had not yet responded, the quick thinking cashier decided to ring up the purchases of the next person (the person in front of us). “You mean I have to wait for you to ring her up?” the man disgustedly asked. “Yes Sir” came the very polite reply. This was not sitting well with the impatient customer who began to insult the cashier with a couple of derogatory names. He then demanded the cashier give him his change from his own pocket and take the money for himself out of the register when the drawer opened. The cashier, again very politely, tried to explain how that wouldn’t work.

The cashier finished the transaction with the lady in front of us and behind grouchy. We all waited like trained monkeys for that register drawer to chime and slide open. The drawer slid open and the cashier reached into the tray and gave Mr. Grumpy Pants two cents. That‚Äôs right, Se?±or Crabby made a scene and a spectacle of himself over two cents.

I said to myself (out loud) “Two-cents? Are you kidding me this was all about two-cents?” The lady in front of us, with the front row view to all of this, said: “I was getting ready to give him the money myself but then when he started acting so ugly I decided it was a matter of principle and he had to wait.” You go girl!

I’ve been thinking about that incident and thinking about how many times I get all worked up over “two-cent transactions.” Do you know what I’m talking about? Those minor annoyances which confront us daily? They are minor, they are annoyances and we often act like such morons (I mean that in the kindest way possible) in the midst of these two-cent transactions.

Growing in Christ means growing in patience, kindness and grace. Patience to endure, kindness to behave appropriately and grace to let go. Peter, who knew a thing or two about two-cent transactions, said it this way:

2 Peter 1:5-8 (NCV) Because you have these blessings, do your best to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add patience; and to your patience, add service for God; and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love. If all these things are in you and are growing, they will help you to be useful and productive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To that I would add the virtue of “chilling out!” If we make such a fuss over the two-cent transactions no one will ever take us seriously when it really matters.

8 Comments »

With only casual interest have I been following the Supreme Court hearing regarding public displays of the Ten Commandments. Ironically, I find myself divided between two opinions.

I understand the deep feelings and emotions of those who believe this event is further evidence of removing God from the fabric of our nation. I also understand the deep feelings and emotions of those who say it opens the door to the promotion of other religions of every kind.

Though I understand both sides, I still wonder: How long before we are banned from singing ‚ÄúGod Bless America?‚Äù How long before we are banned from saying “one nation under God?” How long before the removal of ‚ÄúIn God We Trust?‚Äù

Does it make any sense that a courthouse cannot display the words of God yet sworn testimony is given by the help of God? It is still curious to me why tolerance usually means tolerant of any and everything but Christianity.

One of our church members sent me an e-mail with the following thought and a question:

The God I worship is tough enough to handle not having His Word hung from every public gathering place. My freedom to peacefully worship has not been affected.

Where are the people who are calling for the display of the Beatitudes or other words of Christ, for example?

He’s on the right track. Forget courthouses and state capitols. When were the ten commandments removed from our churches?

The battle is not to have the commandments displayed on a wall. The struggle is to live obediently according to the will of God.

Twice in Ezekiel (11:19-20; 36:26-27) God envisioned a time when His way of life would be engraved deep within a receptive heart.

I will give them a desire to respect me completely, and I will put inside them a new way of thinking. I will take out the stubborn heart of stone from their bodies, and I will give them an obedient heart of flesh. Then they will live by my rules and obey my laws and keep them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

I’m not so sure we might be fighting (and losing) the wrong battle. The best monument is the commands of God engraved on a receptive heart not some display on a wall. What honors God more is someone living by His commands not staring at them in some courthouse or state capitol building.

3 Comments »

What is your favorite book? Ask Reese and he will tell you, without hesitation, Danny the Champion of the World (by Roald Dahl). I’m not sure exactly how many times he has read the book. He reads it again and again and just laughs and laughs. So that he could talk with me about his favorite parts, like he does with Beth, Reese suggested I read the book.

I took his suggestion and enjoyed the book immensely. It’s a great story of the relationship between a father and son who get entangled in some mischievous adventures. I won’t say anymore beyond this except you’d probably enjoy reading the book.

What I really thought interesting was how the book ends. Not how the story ends, how the book itself ends. Right after the story ends and right before the author page there is a page with a message from the author. Here is what Roald wrote:

5 Comments »

My intention was to have a nice family dinner at the Cheesecake Factory last night in celebration of Madison’s graduation. You know what they say . . . the road to Long Beach is paved with good intentions.

The ceremony was fine. We wondered, for many valid reasons, if this might be one of the few graduation ceremonies for some of those kids. If you hadn’t guessed we are very proud of Madison. She earned a Presidential Academic Achievement Award. She has a nice certificate signed by President Bush.

Being a bi-lingual school they observe some interesting traditions. We had heard about some mysterious event in which immediately following the ceremony the kids [alone] would be in the gym and no parents would be allowed. Turns out it was a dance - which explained the outfits some of the graduates were wearing.

I was having a hard enough time with being told by the school that my child would be participating in some event that I as a parent was neither informed of or allowed to chaperone. Even greater difficulties when it was discovered to be a dance. I don’t have the typical “church” opposition views about dancing (yes one of the dreaded “d” words). To “force” a dance environment upon my recently graduated child as some sort of rite of passage was (in my opinion) quite inappropriate. As parents we needed more than thirty seconds to have a legitimate conversation with our daughter about these kind of things.

That being said, I didn’t handle it as well as I would have liked. I didn’t behave like an idiot (though I often probably do) I just asked Madison to stay for about five minutes and come out so we could all go have our family dinner in celebration. I just rushed us out of there to go spend time with the family.

Probably the biggest mistake I made was suggesting the idea of a family dinner without talking with the rest of the family about a family dinner. The icing on the cheesecake was an expensive dinner of which I didn’t actually get to eat at the restaurant. They gave me the wrong item. The waiter argued with me about how I was mistaken and the plate I had been given was what I had ordered. I politely said he was mistaken but would eat the meal anyway. He left I took a bite - he came back and said, “oh I’m sorry we made mistake and you were right, we are fixing you a new plate.” By this time it was almost 10PM so I asked for the meal to go. Talk about good intentions.

I continue to learn things last about myself and my sweet wife. She’s trusting, I’m suspicious. I let my protective side prevail far too much over my fun side. He has a fun side? Sometimes it seems to be such a struggle trying to be the dad my kids need and the husband she needs. I’m just so thankful that I get another chance.

4 Comments »

Madison graduates from the 5th grade today. She‚Äôs as excited as any soon to be 6th grader can be. I’m not sure what its like around the nation but over here elementary school is 1st grade through 5th grade.

She’s a Honor Roll student, learned to play the Tenor Saxophone this year and an All-Star Softball player. Yes, she was selected to the All-Star team this year. She’s a good student, has tremendous musical ability and is an accomplished softball player. No need guessing who she takes after. Come on, didn’t you even think of me for one second?

We are certainly proud of her and somewhat nostalgic as she finishes elementary school and looks ahead to middle school / junior high. We will attend the ceremony tonight and join the other beaming parents.

In other news, the pool is finished. We measured, lasered, staked, dug, cemented, built, setup and filled with water last night. Reese (who also made the honor roll again) was ready for a 9PM swim. We told him he had to wait til tomorrow. He set out his swimsuit last night before going to sleep, woke up at 3AM wanting to know if he could swim. Such a literal thinker!

They have early release today and he is dying to get home to jump in. Of course, it started raining a few minutes ago. I guess if he’s going to be wet anyway it does not really matter.

3 Comments »

The kids only have three days left of school. Actually, three half days of school left. Couldn’t they just go all day Wednesday and get out Thursday at noon? No way, got to get those state mandated school days in so we get the funding! Forget the fact that the past two week they have done absolutely nothing.

We take SOL’s (Standards of Learning) tests here in Virginia – well I don’t, the kids do. All the instruction leading up to SOL’s is to do well on the SOL’s. Guess what happens after the SOL’s? Nothing, absolutely nothing, yet the kids still are required to attend school. Ok, from Reese’s perspective it’s the two best school weeks of all: Field day (P.E. all day long), field trips, picnics and no homework.

Makes me wish I was back in school! That‚Äôs the problem with those of us who don’t have jobs in a school setting. We don‚Äôt have that great feeling of no school in a couple of days. We miss that sense of relief or accomplishment in reaching the last day of school.

The first day of school is exciting. The last day of school is what it’s all about. Right Steve?

4 Comments »

It all started Memorial day weekend. I blame it all on the children!

We were walking through Sports Authority taking advantage of some good prices on sneakers when we saw a rather large inflatable pool. The people on the box were having so much fun, it was instant family happiness in a box! We wanted to be that family and have that much fun.

On top of it all, the pool was part of a super spectacular sale! It’s an inflatable pool with a built in filter and the box claims you can set it up in three easy steps. I’m still on step 1 - find level ground.

The pool footprint is a nice 14 feet. I’ve made a box of 16 feet and am waiting (even at this moment) for the county to deliver my free fill dirt. I will not go in to how much money and time has been spent making this 16 foot square box.

All I will say is this: If Jesus had been walking through my neighborhood today, if he had stopped to see what was happening in my backyard he would have smiled and said:

“If you want to buy and setup a pool, you first sit down and decide how much it will cost, to see if you have enough money, time and energy to finish the job.”

Anybody else out there start a “small project” that turns out to be the Eiffel Tower?

6 Comments »

We had a visitor in church a couple of weeks ago who walked up to me and said, “So, you actually admit to being a friend of Danny Mann.” Since he was not holding any sort of weapon in his hand I said “yes.” He told me about looking at our church website and seeing the link to my blog where he read the article last week from Danny. We talked about how we both had met Danny and how long we had known him. I’m still waiting for the blackmail material.

While we wait, a second installment from my friend Danny Mann:

The Handbook for Broken World Living, The SURPRISE! Factor

From Last Week - As God was describing the consequences of their sin, he said, “Adam and Eve, your sin has broken the world.” That which had been perfect was perfect no longer. Where there had been health, there would be disease. Where there had been life, there would be death. What a terrible, awesome thought - Sin broke the world.

I make my bed every day. That’s right. Every day. Even on weekends. Even on holidays. Yes, I know I’m going to crawl back into it every night, but still – I make it every day. I take a little ribbing for it. A few of my friends give me a hard time when they walk in and see a neat, tidy made bed. They never make their beds. “Why bother?” they say. “You’re just going to mess it up again in a few hours. What a waste of time, making your bed every day!”

I have my reasons. I’m not a neat-nick. My office is a mess. But I am a little bit of a control freak. Not obsessive-compulsive – but, yeah, a little bit of a control freak. If you admit it, so are you. It’s part of being a good American.

There’s a major problem with being control freaks. The problem is this - we have little to no control over most of what happens around us. If you haven’t come to terms with this yet, you probably spend much of your day frustrated and angry. Everywhere you turn, everywhere you go, things are happening that are completely beyond your influence. And for a control freak, it can be maddening.

You’re late to an important appointment because you had to stop for the train. Frustration. You miss the good parking spot because the bozo in the other car cut you off. Anger. Your husband went from perfect to pitiful the moment the honeymoon was over. Disappointment. The diagnosis came back and it wasn’t good. Fear. And the list goes on and on. It’s tough to be a control freak in a world that’s beyond control, in a world that’s beautiful but broken.

Today’s hint from The Handbook for Broken World Living is this: Realistic expectations reduce the SURPRISE! factor.

Control freaks hate surprises. Late because of the train? SURPRISE! Missed the good parking place? SURPRISE! Husband’s not perfect? SURPRISE! Me, get sick? SURPRISE!

In a broken world, a world that isn’t working like it was meant to work, it’s just one surprise after another. The hits just keep on comin’!

We usually don’t think of the trials and struggles of life as surprises, but that’s exactly what they are. Because our expectations aren’t realistic, because on some level, we believe we’ll be on time, we deserve the best parking place, we made the perfect choice for a spouse, if we eat right, exercise, and floss between meals, everything will work out just the way we want it to work out. Are those unrealistic expectations or what?

Jesus was perfectly clear and hauntingly honest when he said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Did you catch that? In this world you WILL have trouble. SURPRISE! But what if, when you leave the house everyday, you adjust your expectations to the reality of broken world living. What if your daily prayer is, “I pray things go as planned with positive results. If they don’t, I pray for the grace and peace to respond in a peaceful, productive way.”

If you pray that prayer, you’ll greatly reduce the SURPRISE! factor. Your blood pressure might go down and you might turn out to be a nicer, happier person.

Oh, I almost forgot – so why do I make my bed every day? Because it’s one of the few things I can control. When I walk out the door and start my day, chaos is waiting. It’s part of broken world living. While I have to deal with chaos in the world, I don’t have to come home to it. So, I make my bed.

Adjust your expectations. Make your bed. Your SURPRISE factor will go down and “The peace that transcends understanding” (Philippians 4:7) will start to take hold in your heart.

Good thoughts from Danny. I hope you were encouraged. Have a good weekend.

2 Comments »

Some thoughts for reflection today from St. Teresa of Avila:

Christ has
No body now on earth but yours;
No hands but yours;
No feet but yours;
Yours are the eyes
Through which is to look out
Christ’s compassion to the world;
Yours are the feet
With which he is to go about
Doing good;
Yours are the hands
With which he is to bless now.

6 Comments »