We are overwhelmed with news. Some of it is important to follow and understand. After all, we do live in this world, and people are affected by what is happening, so we should care about some news. Much news, it seems to me, is trivial and unnecessary. Gossip columns fall into this category for me, but also, it seems, many political debates. I do not deny that the outcome of these debates can be quite consequential. However, as Christians, the question is what do we (I) concern ourselves (myself) with and how should we allocate our time?
How did Jesus live? He was not pre-occupied, it seems much at all, with the political debates of his time. One could argue that the context of the political structure during those times was no less important than ours today. Rather, Jesus concerned himself with leading a pure life, fully dependent upon God His Father; and also on serving (and saving) the lost and helpless. He also invested significant time in building up and training his disciples (core leaders / followers) so that they, in turn, could follow-in his footsteps.
So, I must ask myself some difficult questions…
For my own benefit, am I leading a life that is totally dependent upon God? I must admit that in past months I haven’t been. I have been relying too much on my own capabilities, and this has resulted in stress and fatigue. Even the successes that I have “achieved”, I am left wondering: is it sustainable? Now, I must surrender, again, to Jesus. My hope and desire is to daily surrender to my Lord Jesus Christ; to pray “with my eyes open”; and to work at my best as if I am working for the Lord.
For the benefit of others in my life, is my life portraying a clear and pure witness to others regarding the Grace and Love of Christ? How can I expect that my friends will come to know and love Christ if they do not see any “light” coming from my life?
So, these are questions that concern my own spiritual health and wellbeing; my Christian witness; and now, the last question.
What am I doing to seek and save and serve the lost, helpless, and hurting? Not enough, to be honest. I have taken some steps recently to get better at this, but I / we can always do more. This must be an outpouring from our relationship with Christ (see point #1). Recently, I listened to a sermon from my home church in Louisville regarding “praying with our eyes open”. I must say that I have found this to be helpful keeping me aware of the needs of the people around me.
I am a work in progress.
Sudan is barely 100 days away from a referendum that is likely to split the country and that could even reignite a war. As a Christian, I feel called to pray for the people of Sudan. Recently, I had the opportunity to read the book “What is the What” by Dave Eggars. This story of one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan really opened my eyes to the tragedies and hardships that some of our brothers and sisters have suffered. Lord, I pray for peace, and for Your wisdom to rest upon those making decisions. In your powerful name, Amen.
Mark 1:40-42 – A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing”, he said. “Be clean”! Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
The leper called out, “Lord, IF YOU ARE WILLING…” (not “if you can”). What America needs today is a touch from the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be a nation (a people) that asks for that touch, that worships Christ, and falls on our knees and acknowledges him and lives by His standards.
RESOVE (this is our past)
RELATIVISM (this is today)
REPENT (this can be our future)
What has happened in recent decades? There has been another bailout. Not by the government – this bailout came from the body of believers in our behavior and beliefs. Christians have caved in.
If America could somehow speak, what self-indicting words would she say to us?
In our fear of offending newcomers to our country, we have downplayed the sacrifices of those who serve, and who have served, in our country; and who protected our freedom of worship.
In our attempt to be inclusive, we have stopped saying that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
In our desire to fulfill our lust, we have fractured our family.
In our efforts to cover our mistakes, we have allowed 51 million abortions to take place.
In our quest for more and more possessions, we have racked up huge debts which rob us of our joy.
In our attempt to be tolerant, we have discounted the sanctity of marriage.
In our search for the fountain of youth, we have stopped listening to the wisdom of the elderly.
In our desire for wealth, we have communicated in gold we trust.
In our efforts for political correctness, we have neutered the power of our Christian witness.
In our desire to fit in, we have forsaken our first love.
But, if you listen closely, it’s not too late. You can still hear the faint heartbeat of a country who desperately desires a bi-pass procedure that radically jumps starts within us a faith of our fathers. Which leads us to a Cross. Which starts a spiritual revival where Christians…
Have their Bibles open on their lap, instead of just as a decoration on their coffee table.
Where a hand-shake is just as binding as a legal contract.
Where husbands and wives actually mean it when they say, “Until death do us part”.
Where Christians are more prone to fall on their knees than to puff out their chest.
Where there are Bible-believing churches that the gates of hell cannot prevail against.
So, listen to your country. She desires a restoration that can only come through the power of God. But it begins with prayer, with humility and with repentance. And, without those three, God does not promise to heal our land.
So, how is this going to end? Will we return to our roots as a nation, or will we continue our descent on this slippery slope? That is up to YOU. That is up to ME. That is up to US. WE will write the ending of this Cliff-hanger through the lives that we chose to live.
Abraham Lincoln prayed this prayer. It is ours today:
Lord, we have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten YOU, Oh GOD. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied, enriched and strengthened us. We have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace. Too proud to pray to the God who made us. It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, and to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
And, Lord, here today, in 2010, may we do the same. May we say it, and may we mean it. In the powerful name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
(Taken from my notes at the end of a sermon by Pastor Dave Stone of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, which he delivered on July 4th, 2010.)
Ranking of Gabe’s favorite places:
- Rome:
- Pros: Christian History/Influence, Fascinating, Climate
- Cons: City bustle,
- Salzburg
- Pros: nature, Alps, genuine, Christmas market smell, beauty
- Cons: cold, prostitution
- Paris
- History, Fascinating
- Extremist Activity
- Venice:
- Pros: Manageable, Romantic, Interesting,
- Cons: Difficult,
- Florence
- Pros: near Tuscany
- Cons: Nothing new, traffic/congestion
Ranking of Katie’s favorite places:
- Rome
- Venice
- Salzburg
- Florence
Gabriel and Kallie’s Top Highlights:
Salzburg: trumpet players, castle fortress, breakfast, mountain trolley
Venice: boat rides
Rome: Bus rides; pope; soldiers at St. Peter’s Basilica
Florence: Ice-skating in Orvieto, merry-go-round
Paris: Eiffel Tour light show (Gabriel), cheese (Kallie)
We woke up around 10:30 am! We barely made hotel check-out by 12:00 pm, and so I checked out and we spent another 30 minutes getting packed up in our room. We walked to McDonalds (they were open!) and had lunch (yum… American meal). Believe it or not, they didn’t charge for ketchup or sauce there! Amazing!!
After lunch, we all bundled into the car and I took the family on a driving tour or Paris… complete with a summary of all the significant historical sites and associated facts… like what year they were built, who was ruling Emperor of France at the time, and what the original purpose of each structure was for. Katie was taking notes. She said that she wanted to submit them to the museum. This made me feel good, but it wasn’t until later that I found out that “museum” really meant funny farm. I talked her out of it, and l think she learned a lot.
Among other things, we saw the Luvre, and the area where I proposed to Katie. We know that we will have opportunities to return to Paris (when the weather is nicer) and spend more time. For now, we were content to just drive through in our warm, dry car. After the tour, we made the easy 2.5 hour drive back to Belgium. Home again, home again, jiggedy jig!
We were up relatively early, considering how late we got to bed. We had breakfast in the hotel and then checked out. I think we hit the road around 11:00 am. We drove straight through, the whole way, to Paris. It was only about a 5-hour drive. We made it to our hotel before it got dark. We chilled out in our hotel room for a while and I brought back some pizza’s for dinner. The kids watched “Tarzan” in Italian.
At around 9:45, we bundled up and walked to the Eiffel Tour for New Years! The crowd was a little disappointing to us. I wish we had more energy and more time to plan something special. But, it was neat to be in Paris for New Year’s and show the kids the Eiffel Tour (we stood right under it). We sat on the back-side of the tour and watched the lights for a while. We decided to leave around 10:45 because of the crowd. I don’t think this is an exaggeration… we estimate that 25% of the crowd was comprised of thieves and/or people who were seriously out for malice; 25% comprised of people who had too much too drink, or were on drugs, and didn’t know what they were doing; 10% comprised of people who appeared to be radical Muslim extremists (walking around in groups, yelling together in Arabic, saying things about Allah…). The rest of the crowd (and certainly the minority) was comprised of people like us who wanted to see the tower and be part of New Year’s Eve in Paris. The next day, we started to discover some places that we think would have been better.
Fortunately, our hotel was close by and we returned to our room for a 15-minute break. Then, just before midnight, we headed outside, across the street from our hotel, where we had a full view of the Eiffel Tower, and we ushered in the New Year there and got to watch the lights on the Tower. Gabriel really enjoyed it. Kallie was done… she was done when we were at the tower around 10:30 pm! We headed inside to finish our cheese, crackers, and sparkling water. I think we all slept pretty well!
We had breakfast around 9:00 am this morning. After breakfast, we packed up the car and we were on the road by around 11:00 am. We drove through Pisa, and stopped to see the leaning Tower of “Pizza”. The biggest attraction there? Kallie. Several Asian tour groups stopped to get their pictures with her. Their backs were literally turned towards the famous Tower, as they used their film on this little American girl… daddy was very close by for all of this.
After Pizza, we continued our drive to Geneva and made great time. We drove through the amazing Alps, through snowy winter passes, through long tunnels, through fog, rain… you name it. It was an amazing drive. We made it to our stop (Geneva) at about 11:00 pm. From what I saw, it seemed like a neat place (Geneva) and I hear the lake it really neat. We decided, however, to forego another tour of another town. To bed quickly.
Pisa Basilica
Bell Tower of Pisa
Pisa's Main AttractionWe identified the problem...
And the Solution.
After lunch, I bought some dress shoes and Katie bought some rain boots. We then walked down to the Ponte Vecchio bridge. This is a famous bridge in Florence. I found a shop where I could by some Tuscany wine and some olive oil. I almost bought a jar of white truffles from Pisa, but I decided not to. We headed home early, and then we went to McDonalds for dinner. That was tasty, and much needed. After “dinner”, we curled up on the bed and watched a black-and-white movie in Italian. I put the kids to bed and then did some Summit work until about midnight. We headed to bed, and prepared for the longer drive to Geneva.
Medici Chapel
Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
Palazzo Vechio
Ponte Vecchio
Woke up and had a good breakfast at the hotel. We ended up leaving around 11:00 am from the hotel. Based on the recommendation of one of our friends at the hotel, we stopped at the town of Orvieto. This is a beautiful mountain town between Rome and Florence. It is known for it’s olive oil and for porcelain. We had lunch in Orvieto and Gabriel (and Kallie) ice skated for the first time (I can hear the conversations now… when did you first ice skate? Well, let’s see, it was in a mountain village in central Italy called Orvieto…). Katie was pretty tired on this day so we didn’t dally.
We made it into Florence late… around 8:30 pm. It was tough finding our hotel again, and we were also greeted by the wonderful surprise of Florence traffic. Later, the hostess at the hotel remarked, “if you can drive in Florence, you can drive anywhere in the world”. She might be right. There are no rules, no lines, and it is every person for themselves! I learned the pace of the road and began to fit in nicely. I made Katie start calling me Giovanni…
Katie was super-tired when we got to the hotel, and I ran out and got some chicken (kip) sandwiches from the deli next to our hotel. Our hotel, by the way, was super-duper retro from the 60’s… wow… I mean, groovy. It was the kids’ favorite room out of our whole trip. They loved it. Anyway, I brought the chicken sandwiches back to the hotel only to realize that they weren’t cooked / warmed up! So, I convinced the hostess lady to let us use the hotel kitchen. Problem solved.
Random: Ok, Italy officially has the dirtiest, stinkiest bathrooms in civilized Europe.
Orvietto
Orvietto
Ice Skating in Orvietto
Our Driving Route
We began the day well. Katie and I were both up at 5:30 am. We got the kids ready, and we made it down to breakfast early. We left in a tax headed for the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel. We arrived around 8:45 am… 15 minutes before they were scheduled to open at 9:00 am. The line was incredible. I remarked that I wasn’t sure if it was worth waiting in a line this long if we got to sit in the pope’s lap. This warranted a few looks from our fellow line-waiters. We made the best of our 1:30 wait in line, and we finally made it in to walk through the museum and finally see the Sistine Chapel. There was an incredible amount of walking involved in this process, and we emerged from the Museum / Chapel around 12:00 pm. We had a quick snack, and then walked around the wall to St. Peter’s Square, where we caught the yellow tour bus and rode around for about an hour and a half, resting our legs, soaking in the “overview of the city”. Kallie fell asleep for a short time (we were on the top of the bus in the front) and Gabriel was directing traffic. We got off the bus at stop three – a short walk from the Pantheon. We stopped in St. Mary’s church / St. Catherine’s church, and then we stopped by the church that also contains the house where Paul was under house arrest while he wrote several letters to the churches. Unfortunately, the church was closed (they must be on Italian time), and we could just see in the front gates. So, we continued to the Pantheon and saw that. There is an impressive view of the Pantheon from the front at the fountain in the square. Then, we got gelato. Katie remarked, “why don’t they make this in the States”? Good question, dear, good question. We walked past the Piazza Venezia and the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II and found the location where our shuttle picks us up. Back to the hotel for another good dinner. We all passed out almost immediately after getting to the room.
Vatican Courtyard
Pope's Garden
Vatican Museum
Vatican Museum
Vatican Museum
Vatican Museum
Apostle Paul - House Arrest
Pantheon
Pantheon
Gelato
Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II
Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II
Gabe Smith 
