Hummingbirds

It is dusk and I am sitting inside the house watching three hummingbirds duke it out around one of the hummingbird feeders. These are really selfish little creatures. There are three feeding positions on each of two feeders. The feeders are attached to our deck on the main floor and they are about 40 feet apart. These three hummingbirds are fighting over one of the feeders. There are no hummingbirds at the other feeder, but they have chosen to fight over control of this feeder. Why?

So I did some reading on the internet and since everything on the web is true, I want to share this fact with you: hummingbirds are very territorial. Sharing is just not part of the DNA of hummingbirds. They display very aggressive behavior in defending their territory.

Why that sounds like our own species! If you don’t believe it try driving on I-75 through Atlanta anytime of the day. You will witness some very aggressive territorial battles with some expensive armor.

I am making it sound like being territorial is all bad, but I believe that God wants us to be territorial in some respects. God knows our limitations better than we know them ourselves. He knows that we are incapable of taking on the whole world (I just started reading a book called “The World is Not Ours to Save”—not into it yet, but I like the title!). God exhibited territorialism in the Scriptures. God gave specific territory to Abraham. He did not give him the world. God sent some prophets to the northern tribes and some to the southern tribes. He sent Jonah to Nineveh.

As followers of The Way, I think we would use our resources (not thinking money here, but physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, etc.) more wisely if we would concentrate our efforts for the Kingdom on more specific sowing. Sowing everywhere can have a watered down affect.  What if we sow in a specific area and cultivate what we and others have sown? I believe that we will see greater results.

Don’t think broadcasting, but narrow casting. In this season of your life, what territory does God want you to claim, to nurture, and to conquer in His Name? Caleb asked for a mountain. For what are you asking?

Ducks

As many of you know--especially if you have dug back into the archives--this blog was started to share news about the construction of our house and about our hobby farm with family living in other countries. Ton Tenga is the name of our farm. It is from the  Mòoré (pronounced "mo' ray") language spoken in Burkina Faso, and it means "our farm" or "our land."

It has been a long time since I have shared news from Ton Tenga, so some of the family urged me to share some more farm news.

We have a few ducks and one very noisy goose, and they are constantly following us around the farm--begging for cracked corn. Cheryl suggested that we put up a duck crossing sign on our driveway--just for fun. Saturday, I finished mounting the sign, and immediately two ducks crossed the road headed to the garden to look for bugs. I snapped the following photo.

OK, so I know the photo is not properly posted, but I spent a long time Sunday night and then again tonight (Monday) trying to figure out how to get the photo in the right orientation. I gave up and you get the idea anyhow.

Angels

Does anyone out there who has a smart phone carry a camera anymore? These gadgets take such great pics that I don't need to carry a camera. Now the truth is that I stopped carrying a camera on overseas trips many years ago. I just don't like to be identified as a camera-carrying tourist. Now I find myself taking pictures overseas again because I can do it more inconspicuously with a very small phone.

It is surprising how many photos I have in my phone. I was looking through them recently--I really need to delete some of them, but it is hard to just wipe out a photo of something that I thought was very special at the time I shot it.

While scrolling through the pictures I paused to look at Jordan, Jenna and one of their friends dressed up as angels at a pageant at church. You know what angels look like--they are dressed in white, they have wings, and they are always smiling, right? At least that is what they look like in all the pageants that I have seen.

I don't really know how we know what an angel looks like. I suppose this notion of what an angel looks like has been passed down from generation to generation.

It strikes me that when an angel is introduced in The Word, the people to whom they appeared must have been afraid. Matthew 29:5 states: "But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified." So, what did the angel look like if the first thing it said to the women at Jesus' tomb was "Don't be afraid?" Probably not what our stereotyped notion of pageant angels is.

And, then, there is I Chronicles 21:30 where the angel carried a sword: "but David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD." How many pageants have you seen with an angel carrying a sword?!

Many times in our lives our minds are set -- on what something is supposed to look like, on what you think something tastes like, on what someone believes, on where someone fits in the societal rankings, on how we are going to like someone -- before we ever get an opportunity to see, experience and understand for ourselves.

Perhaps you are guilty as I have been of forming an opinion of someone based on what others tell you, before you ever meet the person or before you get to know her or him. I really do not want to allow someone else to choose my friends for me by accepting their opinion before I have the opportunity to make up my own mind.

Khat

I am in Germany and reviewing international news. The headlines are full of the potential terrorist threats. The US and other western countries have closed embassies and some Americans have evacuated cities over the Muslim world.

One of our conference speakers here in central Germany reminded us today that we cannot insult God by asking God for too much, but we can insult Him by asking for too little. I took that to heart, and I have just prayed for the Yemeni Arabs. I made a bold prayer request and asked God for self-replicating churches to be started all over Yemen.

Memories of traveling in Yemen are flooding my mind as I type these words. Visual images of Yemenis’ faces rush through my mind. I am thinking about stories of encounters with workers who have endured very hard times living in this desolate, but beautiful country. I am praying for their safety and for their leaders who have to make decisions about their safety.

Once two of these workers were driving me and some colleagues back to the capital city from a provincial capital where we had been visiting with our colleagues. There were no rest stop facilities to be found, and it was a long drive, so we pulled over to the side of the road to make a “pit stop.” As we were taking care of business we heard the roar of engines headed our way. All of a sudden two heavily armored pickup trucks came out of nowhere and there were large and small caliber weapons pointed at us.

Our colleague immediately staring speaking rapidly to the armed men, and as quickly as the armed men had appeared, they disappeared into the fields of tall green plants.

We had stopped on the side of the road beside a field of tall dark green plants. I did not recognize the plants, but I was more interested in taking care of my physical needs that identifying the plant. The field was planted in almost-ready-to-harvest khat. Khat is an addictive plant that men in Yemen and the Horn of Africa chew on like tobacco for the narcotic effect that they receive. Men regularly chew this narcotic during the afternoon and get high and sometimes cannot complete their work. Many children have gone to sleep hungry at night because their fathers spent food money on Khat.

Khat is such a valuable commodity that owners go to great expense to protect their crops with armed men and vehicles. When we made that rest stop the guards quickly swept down on us because they thought we were going to steal khat from the field. When I was looking down the barrel of a 50 caliber machine gun mounted on the back of the pickup, many thoughts quickly went through my mind. But oddly enough I was not afraid. I did, however, instinctively raise my hands over my head in a silent proclamation of “Don’t shoot. I have done nothing wrong.”

I think a lot of fear expressed by us humans is driven by our perceptions and expectations. We can easily get psyched up to fear something when we think about it. Dread can become fear. Whenever my mind starts thinking about a fear of something, such as a noise in the dark while walking outside, I remember that the Scripture teaches us not to fear anything but God—and that is an AWEsome fear.

I Samuel 12:24: “Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things He has done for you.”

See one, do one, teach one

Shelby is probably the most risk-taking grandchild among our 11 grandchildren. Her dad often says that she is a daredevil, but I am not sure I like anyone using any word that has devil in it to describe one of my grandchildren. So, let's just say that she is extraordinarily daring. 

Sometimes when she is with me she watches me doing something on the farm, and then after I have finished, she says, "Now, I want to do it, Papa." I will usually let her do it--well, not everything. I haven't let any of my grandchildren run the bush hog.

When I began to learn the More' language in Burkina Faso, I enjoyed learning some of the proverbs from the Mossi culture. One of the proverbs says, "See one, do one, teach one."

I still love this proverb, and all my kids have heard me use it many times. For the past 30 years this proverb has helped me be a better leader. I have had challenges in my career thinking that it is easier for me to just go ahead and do something rather than allowing someone else to do it. After all, I can do this task better and faster than anyone else. Then I think about that proverb.

A leader helps those with whom he/she works be successful. One way of accomplishing that goal is to show someone how to do something by modeling it, then allow them to do it--even if they can't do it as well as you. Then, they are ready to show someone else how to do it. That's multiplication of leaders!

Sabbath

I believe in the Ten Commandments, and I also believe that they are foundational in our Judeo-Christian beliefs and legal system. I had to get that all straight before I launch into this one.

Occasionally my wife tells me that I should honor the Sabbath and rest. The fourth commandment is clear and dear to me and says that I should honor God by resting on the Sabbath. I do not ever want to hurt my witness with someone saying that I am dishonoring God, but I have an interpretation of what constitutes rest that may be different than others. Cheryl thinks of rest as napping, reading, lounging around, etc. I don’t like naps; I don’t like to sit inside and just stare outside. I like to be outside. I think of rest as working outside—tending to my animals or garden or pasture. I get great pleasure in working with God’s creations and God’s good earth. Working outside is like therapy to me. When I am caring for my animals or caring for our garden or even driving the tractor, I don’t consider any of that as work.

Anyone who knows my mom and dad understands me better. My parents are still going strong—or at least I think it is strong for their age. They embedded a strong work ethic in me. They picked butterbeans in their garden right beside Cheryl and me during a recent visit. As I worked my way through the bean patch, my back was hurting and I was on my knees most of the time, but I knew better than to complain.  My mom and dad were right in there with us.

The challenge for me comes with the definition of rest and of work. I agree that most everyone would define it just as Cheryl would—refraining from anything that smells like work. Rest can mean a lot of things: a rhythmic silence in music, what a column does on a foundation, sleep, stopping all activity that causes exertion, what farmland does when no crop is planted on it, etc.

I think of rest as a time of recovering strength. It would seem strange if you saw me sweating while doing some of my “resting.” My time outside is a refreshing of my mind, body and soul. Some of my best quiet times with God are when I am “working” on the farm.

This afternoon I picked peas from our garden. I sweated something fierce. It started raining, and I did not stop. I was soaking wet with sweat and rain, but I continued to pick—and I loved it. Was it work? Maybe for some people, but for me it was perspiration therapy. I brought the peas up to the house and I invited three granddaughters to help me shell them. For an hour we talked and shelled peas. No TV was on and the only entertainment was us talking with each other and telling stories about things we have done together this summer. Was it work? Not for me and I don’t think it was for the girls either. It was fun!

Now there are some chores on our hobby farm that I definitely consider work—mowing grass and running the weed trimmer. I don’t do things like that on Sunday as I consider that work. Picking blueberries or feeding my goats – that’s not work for me.

Cheryl and I have just spent a week of vacation with two grandchildren at a Christian Dude Ranch in Colorado. I left my computer at home. Several of the guests asked me for a business card, but I did not take any with me. I had a Sabbath Week. For the first time in years I read an entire novel in one week. I relaxed, but I admit that I thought about all that email that was piling up in my inbox. It is now late Sunday evening, and I am typing on my computer. I want desperately to work on some of that email, but I am trying hard not to “work.” Can it wait until tomorrow morning? Yes, but it will be a very hard Monday. As bad as I want to do email, I am not going to do so because I feel convicted that would be work and it would not be a good example for my colleagues.

As I have been typing, the sun has set. The Sabbath is over. So, should I do that email?!?