Randy Wray's Blog

Ever see the people that spin a few dozen plates, all at the same time, on dowel rods?  We watch in fascination wondering if they will be able to keep it all together.

Ever felt like this variety act was an accurate representation of your life?  How many plates are you currently spinning?

We’re not in the business of impressing each other by how many plates are spinning.  We are in the business of impressing each other with the need to follow through on prayer impulses.

You’ve had them, right?  That moment when you know it’s the right time to pray.  Of course, I’m not suggesting there is a wrong time to pray.  There are those moments, however, when you absolutely know in your heart that "what we should do right now is pray."

Sometimes that impulse comes when you’ve heard some troubling news. Sometimes that impulse comes when you’ve heard some exciting news.  Sometimes that impulse comes when you’re worried, or frightened.  The hope is that impulse comes when a time of temptation or trial comes.

We all have quite a few plates spinning right now.  That we have so many plates spinning is not a reason to ignore but to carry through with these prayer impulses.  Put the book down, turn the TV off, shutdown the computer, do what you have to do and give in to this impulse to talk to God.

And, if a plate should happen to quit spinning?

We submitted our offer on a house today.  We prayed with our realtor prior to submitting the offer and ask for your prayers.  It’s not that we want this particular house -  we want God to be clearly in charge of the process.  We’re not asking for a ridiculous discount on the house as a sign of God’s will – though the thought did cross my mind.  We just want to be faithful in this process and allow the experience of this big decision, which we trust will be God-breathed, to infiltrate our "smaller" decisions which also need to be God-breathed.

Do you ever wonder if God gets tired of demonstrating personally to you his faithfulness? 

We’ve been searching for a minister to work with our Youth and anything else we can get them to do.  Most of us in ministry have had job descriptions similar to that!  We have a candidate and his family coming in today (for the weekend) and I thought it would be helpful for the collective advice of our fine blog community to rise to the surface with interview tips.

Your entries will be judged on the following scale: 

• 1 point will be awarded for each serious interview tip. 
• 3 points will be awarded for each humorous interview tip. 
• 5 points will be awarded for the "I have to stop laughing because my side hurts" interview tip.

I’ll get the ball rolling with:

• Don’t dress like you just finished shooting a music video on VH1.
• When the pizza arrives don’t shout "awesome, where’s the beer?"
• Candles, goat-heads and pentagrams should be avoided as teaching tools in the first interview.

Blog sages, you may begin . . . 

We may be making an offer on a house tonight. 

At this point we could benefit from one of those Swiss 99 year loans.  Come to think of it we could also benefit from a Swiss bank account.  Time to call my mother-in-law.  I realize that only three people will catch that last one but it’s worth it just to imagine the look on the face of the person who owns the Swiss bank account.

Here’s the thing; purchasing a house, at this juncture, can be compared to getting married.

Up to this point we’ve been renting (dating), courting (if you will) a life in Stockton (a premier destination for Le Tour de California).  As long as we were renting it felt like if something happened we could just go back home.  The kids have asked more than once "when are we going home?"  When we buy a house it means we’re here to stay.  So we’re not just choosing a house — we’re choosing a place to raise our swallows — a place they can call home.

We are praying for guidance in this decision and that God will again reveal his work through us in this process.

I read yesterday that sport killing of homeless people is on the rise.  Yes, you read that last sentence correctly.  Middle class teens, with no history or record of criminal activity, beating and killing people as a means to satisfy some thrill.  The article talks about a video series sold which features homeless bums fighting each other for a few dollars and others taping themselves in the act of beating up someone else.  Also mentioned in the article that violent video games played by teens is blamed for their desire to act out their aggression on others.

We can argue the merit or lack of merit for the reasons behind the actions and disagree.  This event, and others like it, are symptomatic of our disposable society.

Times have changed and it hasn’t, in so many obvious ways, changed for the better.

Also in the news, Le Tour de California comes to Stockton today.  Yes, you read that last sentence correctly.  The thrill of high speed road racing weaves through our little province today.  Race enthusiasts have proclaimed Le Tour de California as being on the same stage as the major bike races on the world stage.  I’m not sure I buy into that but we’ll rely upon our swiss authority and bike enthusiast to give us some perspective.

You’ve been hit up before.  We all have.  Worthy cause after worthy cause talking about how each little bit helps.

I gave $20 for a coupon book (to help kids go to college) and ended up with a subscription to a regional newspaper.  I still haven’t figured that one out.

I pledged $20 to get someone out of fake jail to benefit Muscular Dystrophy.

I gave $5 once to an organization that spent at least $45 thanking me for my $5 donation.  I’m not math major but those numbers don’t add up.

Recently, however, I discovered a most worthy cause – a cause we can all get behind and support.  Yes, my friends, it’s the buy Randy a new guitar fund!  Not just any guitar, mind you, keep reading to discover the name of the guitar.

The buy Randy a new guitar fund promises to bring hours of therapy and enjoyment while teaching the world to sing – in almost perfect enharmonic jubilee. Now before you dismiss this worthy cause consider that this guitar company and guitar brand is fitting for one like me and my profession.

Ready for it? 

Randy needs a REVEREND guitar.  The name rings true doesn’t it?  It just makes perfect sense for a "reverend" to have a reverend guitar.  And Manta Ray?  How cool is that?

When you make a donation to the buy Randy a reverend guitar fund I promise not to spend $45 thanking you for your generosity.  So come on, dig deep, every little bit makes a difference, needy reverends are standing by.
 

Sure there’s nothing much to watch on the bobo box these days.  (Bobo comes from Spanish which comes from Latin and is a term from whence we get idiot box or boob tube)  If it weren’t for The Discovery Channel, The Food Network, and The Learning Channel we’d watch hour after hour of Nacho Libre.

Our newest must see show?  Man Vs. Wild featuring Bear Grylls.  WIth a name like Bear you have to be the perfect host for a nature show on the discovery channel.  Bear Grylls is a new breed of outdoor adventurer who’s willing to tackle imposible odds for the sake of reality (or semi reality television).  His show is quite entertaining in a macho man kind of way.

Perfect for a Sunday night shot of wilderness escapades.  Reese and I watched a few episodes tonight (back to back) and are all primed to climb Mt. Everest, explore a jungle in Costa Rica, trek through the Amazon rain forrest, or brave a day after thanksgiving sale at Macy’s.

Reese really gets into these nature / expedition shows and I’m always
amazed by the information and facts he knows.  I wouldn’t do very well
on a show like this.  At the first sign of a snake I’d scream like
preacher and start shooting.

Bear strands himself in places and scenarios where tourists get stranded (and some die) and uses his training and survival skills to survive and find his way back into civilization.  It’s just him, a camera crew and nature.  (Surely the camera crew sneaks him a cup of tea or a bisquit every now and then?)

He’s displays some savvy survival skills and makes you want to snag a salmon with your bare hands and bite into it like, well, a bear.

The weather is changing, spring is almost here.

We have a friend that used to see how late and how early she could wear shorts — even to work.  My kind of gal!

For some reason, as I like fine wine age, my legs seem to get smoother and whiter.

Musical interlude, please feel free to chime in . . .

"Whiter than snow, Randy’s legs are whiter than snow . . ." 

"Though his legs are muscularly and sinewy they shall be as white as snow . . ." 

The decision to wear shorts, in public for the first time in a season, must be considered carefully.  Once you cross that threshold there is no turning back.

. . . which is why I’m always hesitant to answer the door!

You don’t need to look hard these days to see misery around you.  People suffer from ailments, from loss, from bad choices, from a series of unfortunate events.

I understand that all things are relative but from the surface it appears that some people are more blessed or more protected or more sheltered from the storm than others.

Questions I struggle with:

Why does this person suffer and that person does not? 

Why does one person skate through life and one person seem to always fall through the ice?

Why do entire nations suffer from malnutrition and aids and unjust mortality rates?

Why does trouble touch down here and there, like a tornado, randomly afflicting portions of the population?

Answers I’ve found which explain all this:  None.

I’ve heard (and sorry to say repeated) the party line answers relating to God’s will or the consequences of a fallen world.  Those seem to be things people without time spent in the fire say. 

I’m suspicious of those who insist there is an answer that makes sense.  How can the answer make sense when everything that formed the question in the first place doesn’t make sense?

Fifteen years with my valentine has taught me to understand the power of covenant promises.

Before, when I was searching to love someone and to be loved valentine’s day had way to much baggage, the pressure was enormous and the pace too frenetic.

Now, after 15 years of keeping covenant promises, valentine’s day is a welcome breath of fresh air.

No pressure.  No baggage.  The pace of a long distance runner enjoying the run of his or her life.

When there’s no other person you’d rather be with, than the person who just handed you a love note, you know you’ve found something good.

And you spend the rest of your life keeping covenant promises.