Tell me if I'm foaming at the ear, please.

I once had a supervisor who told me he bought a brand new leather jacket and wore it for the first time to his daughter's swim meet. He walked in and thought, Wow. People are looking at me. This jacket is pretty cool. I'm lookin' good! When he arrived at home, though, he found a massive collection of price-tags, brand-tags, and security-tags hanging from under the arm. Nice.

I hate it when I discover way too late that I looked like an idiot throughout the day. It's not a humility thing, I don't think. Maybe it is. But I think it's more like, Why didn't anyone tell me?! Do you have people in your life who will tell you what you need to hear? I value those people. From my perspective, these little displays of truth-telling build trust: Your tag is sticking out of your shirt; Your fly is open; You've got a little something hanging from the inside of your nose; Your t-shirt has a hole in the armpit - keep your hands down; You're foaming at the ear - went a little wild with the shaving cream, didn't you? I'd rather be momentarily embarrased than to wonder how many people saw me and thought, That dude looks ridiculous. So, again, tell me if I'm foaming at the ear, please.

Pike Place

So, several great things from today: I realized I want to be a street performer someday. And I officially signed Petie and Brittney to a five-year contract as my personal media/entertainment consultants. So, I found myself at Pike Place today. God bless the Kinders. I knew we were heading for downtown Seattle, but I had no idea we'd land at such an amazing spot. Standing in the first Starbucks store was surreal. I felt in awe and yet at home.


Watching them throw fish at the Pike Place Fish Market was like stepping into a $299 business training video I watched a few years ago. Pretty cool. The public market was amazing, many of the artisans creating their work right there on the spot. Several of the street performers were outstanding - especially those outside Starbucks. Slim Pickins wailed an earthy bluegrass while, a bit further down the road, a gospel quintet blended their harmonies and hawked their CD's all at once. One dude played two guitars, one of which happened to be balanced on his chin, played the harmonica, and kept two hula hoops going... I can't even begin to describe his average day at work. Pike Place. I'd recommend the experience.

Appearances #1 and #2.

So, in my eyes-wide-open watching for those I would normally overlook, discount, or outright ignore, I found two on an airplane. Siegfried was a man in his 50's, hailing from Stuttgart, Germany. Gagik was from the former Soviet Republic of Arminia. They had met in a bar in the Louisville airport and clambbered aboard the flight already in an altered state of happiness. Siggy was determined that everyone sitting in his row was going to have a drink. I politely declined but went out of my way to make sure he knew I was thankful for his offer of generosity. Gago had been forced to marry a girl from the home of his heritage although it sounded like he liked an American girl. They have twins now. The obstinate one, he compared to his wife. The intelligent one, to himself.

Gagik eventually asked what I did. I told him. He went on to remind me every few minutes afterward that he was planning to go to church this weekend. He said his wife attends a local church, but he gives money to get out of his perceived "responsibility".

The conversation was like ping-pong afterward. We talked about Siegfried's engineering skills as applied to a fire hydrant in which he installed a tap so that he could attach a keg, hidden inside a garbage can buried in his backyard, to create an unexpected dispenser of brew for his backyard parties. Gago reminded me he was going to go to church. Siegfried asked if Gagik was going to watching the formula one race this weekend. Gago leaned over to me and told me he wasn't going to be able to make it to church this weekend... "The race. Sorry..." Then he'd change his mind, determined to make an appearance at worship. Then he remembered he has a trip to New York this coming weekend. "I don't think I'll make it to church. Sorry..."

These guys were an absolute riot. But talking with them made me just want more for them. I'm praying God will draw them to Himself along this journey of life. In Romans 9 this morning I was reminded God is in the business of restoring lost people - "Those I called 'not my people' I will call 'my people'." Pray for them if you think of it - Siegfried. Gagik.

On Disappearing.

I just realized Travis has posted more recently than me. Thought I'd better get on it. How long must we wait for his marvelous waxing of eloquence?

So, disappearing. I know you're thinking, how do I disappear and make Jesus more visible? No. Not today. I mean, yes, keep chasing that. But I'm concerned about the people disappearing around me. I've got a growing friendship with a guy of Taiwanese descent and I realized, if not for freakish circumstances like me being in ministry (yep - pretty freakish), being selected practically from a hat to do his wedding because no one else would (His wife is Baptist, he's Buddhist), and sending him a random email on a whim last week, I would not have been sitting across from him at Starbucks this morning. I love this guy. Yet, again, without things playing out in a particular way, he might have shared airspace with me, but I don't know if I would have noticed him.

And what about those who, like we are all eventually going to, are vanishing into thin hair? Bad pun for aging. Sorry. But, you know? Assumed irrelevance because of the waning desire to shout in order to be heard, invisibility because of the slower pace, is a tragedy. Man.

I don't know if I always see. No, it's certain I don't see well enough. But I want to see people. I hope maybe you do, too. I'd like to stave off my disappearance for as long as I can and help rescue others from the same fate. Find someone too young, too old, too different, too quiet to be noticed... do it before they

Two realizations.

Realization number one, I love to take back roads. I would rather drive a longer, more circuitous route than get somewhere quicker while sitting at stoplights along the way. Is it the movement I like? Is it the scenery? Is it feeling like an insider since the new folks don't know this secret route?

If you didn't click on the embedded link at "take back roads" above, go back and take the detour. Please.

OK. You can find realization number two in the comments at this link. Many thanks to Petie in Seattle.

God speaks.

Abraham was absolutely convinced God was able to do anything He promised. (Romans 4:21)

This guy Abraham heard from God. And He believed what God said. There is apparently no really good reason for this communication to have ever occurred. Is it possible that if God can make His desires known to a man who did not have the Bible or other means to be directed toward God, He can talk with me in a way I can fully understand? Can He, even without my diligence, move me toward His ideas? Could it be He intends to keep His promises on my behalf? Do we sometimes over complicate this communication process, thinking surely it's got to be more difficult to understand Him? OK. Enough with the rhetorical questions.

Why do you think God spoke to Abraham in the first place? Why might God talk with us?