Savior, more than life to me, I am clinging, clinging, close to Thee;
Let Thy precious blood applied, Keep me ever, ever near Thy side.

Refrain
Every day, every hour, Let me feel Thy cleansing power; May Thy tender love to me Bind me closer, closer, Lord to Thee.

Through this changing world below, Lead me gently, gently as I go;
Trusting Thee, I cannot stray, I can never, never lose my way.

Friends, Wm. H. Doane wrote the tune first...  Then Frances Jane Crosby added the words. That was in 1875.  Doane was looking for a hymn focusing on 'every day and every hour.'  The blind poet gave him words that would last far beyond their lives .. They both died in 1915. 

Blessings,
Bill

Jeremiah 30:1-11
Chapters thirty and thirty one of Jeremiah have been called the "Little Book of Comfort." In these writings the Prophet looks beyond the suffering of the present time. Jeremiah wrote during the time just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. His time of service spanned the days of destruction. It was a terrible time. There is a great lesson in the fact that these chapters are actually here. Jeremiah looked beyond the terrible days. His vision then reached out toward the day when the Messiah would come to ransom and redeem the people. Here is a view from the mountain top. In our troubled days we need to see things in a longer perspective. There will be other days. And the days to come are not just an automatic succession of days. The Lord will guide the days to come. Judah and Israel will be saved by the hand of the Almighty. God's words are, "So do not fear, O Jacob my servant...I will surely save you out of a far away place." The future is in God's hands.

-"You're so lazy."  "No, I'm not. I've been converting oxygen into... carbon dioxide all day."

-They say you need to listen to what your body is telling you. But mine just points and laughs.

-On the 90th day of Christmas, my true love said to me: You take Christmas too seriously.

-Now that I’m older, my memory is a mighty fortress. Nothing penetrates it.

-We have nothing to fear except fear itself and toddlers asking “Why?"

-You're annoying, but honestly, I've been annoyed by better.

-Beware of half truths... you may get the wrong half.

Friends, Just enjoy the humor... a smile is a kind of sunshine... be welcome on a cloudy day like we are having.

Blessings,

Bill

We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming 'sub-creator' and inventing stories, can Man aspire (in writing) to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil.

J.R.R. Tolkien

Friends, The above quote tells us more about Tolkien than we usually read in the press releases .. e.g., about the movies. Tolkien was a great myth maker, but he was a philosopher, and he was a Christian.  In several writings he explains his own views of life and writing.  I commend them to you.  Read "Essays Presented to Charles Williams,"  a series of writings by Lewis, Tolkien, Sayers, Barfield, etc.  Also, the "Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien" is a treasure of thought. It is wonderful that in his Lord of the Rings writing, he has in mind the Light beyond all Lights.  There are many lines touching that thought.  Still think Tolkien and Lewis are the best writers of the century.  Hope you are enjoying this glorious weather.  --Warmth before the frost -- get your woolies ready. 

Blessings,

Bill

Jeremiah 17:12-14

Dust and water are the opposites pictured in these verses. Those people who turn away from the living God will be written in the dust. Did you ever draw pictures in the sand box? Ever write something in the dust of a road? Have you built little dams in the water running at the curb? Perhaps you have constructed sand castles at the waters edge. All of these are temporary things, things that do not last for longer than a day or a season. So it is with those who turn away from the Lord. They may make their mark on things for a time, but they are soon like the dust. A well watered land, on the other hand, will give sustained growth, will provide a place for evergreen plants. Olives will grow. Figs will grow. Dates will grow. The well watered life flourishes. The Lord is the spring of Living water. Did not Jesus reveal that to the woman at the well? And did not Jesus reveal the shame and forsaken lives when he wrote in the dust in the story of the woman found in adultery? The living water is available to you today and each day.

Light and Warmth,

Bill

Butterfly on the Casket -- a true story

Right on the edge of the grave I intoned the ancient words, always more comforting than their face value -- the old words of the faith which carry faith's memory and future . . . " The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" And, "If this earthly tent we live in is destroyed . . . " And, "Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life . . .'" I stood at the edge of the grave . . . you should see a preacher's-eye view of it.

Then, before these eyes, the meaning of the faith words was revealed. A lovely butterfly flew right to the casket flowers, paused a few short seconds and took flight. I thought, "Butterfly, once cocoon wrapped in airless dark, now soaring in the sunlight of a new day, you point to the promise. The resurrection is real. Life goes on in some new splendor, within the realm of God's mercy."

Can anyone, having seen a butterfly, not believe in resurrection? Can anyone, having seen the risen Lord, through faith's eyes, believe any less?

Blessings,
Bill

-Another World's Oldest Man has died. This is beginning to look suspicious.

-The cool part about naming your kid is you don't have to add 6 numbers to make sure the name is available.

-I broke up with my gym. We were just not working out.

-One day I'll look up from my phone and realize my kids put me in a nursing home.

-I have a condition that renders me unable to go on a diet. I get hungry.

-Told the doctor I thought I had athlete's foot. He looked at me and said, "I don't think you have athlete's anything."

-You know you're stressed when you start getting on your own nerves.

Friends, Just enjoy the laughter. May the Most High God grant you joy in your soul. May the Holy Spirit lift you into a place of peace and hope. May the Lord Jesus Christ give you a heart devoted to the Triune God. Hope all is well in your division. Hold steady on the journey to forever.

Blessings,

Bill

Leaf Play

He laughed so hard that he got the hiccups. And getting the hiccups is funny in itself, so we laughed in between the hiccups. In fact, we sat down in the leaves and laughed – long lung expanding guffaws, life affirming, healing laughter, the medicine of the spirit. (That is in Proverbs. Remember? "A merry heart has a continual feast." Also, "A merry heart does good like a medicine.") So we laughed in the warm sunlight of a fall afternoon.

What were we doing? Well it was not complex equations, nor keeping rounds of appointments,
not even a necessary meeting. It was a game, a simple game. We were playing in the leaves in the yard…a fitting fall activity for grandson and grandfather.

Does time fly swiftly? Is the old saying correct? "Time, stern huntsman, who can balk, strong as hound, swift as hawk?" Just ask yourself where the summer went. Yes, the days fly! Earth tilts upon its axis and the daylight wanes swiftly. The geese form "vees" and honk their way after the sun. The owls call out in the night.  The locusts have surrendered their stage to the crickets. In the old days the corn would have been in shocks by now.

Let us gather a harvest of autumn days…joy and laughter, word and deed. Let us find time to play in the sunshine with the children. And remember that someone has called worship "Holy play". We gather close to altar fire, in the full warmth of that never diminishing flame, to sing and pray, to weep and to laugh, to share together these swiftly moving days. Some Sunday "activities" should give way to that kind of enduring joy.

Seek the Sabbath rest and laughter.

Light and Warmth,

Bill

Many promising reconciliations have broken down because, while both parties came prepared to forgive, neither party came prepared to be forgiven.  Charles Williams

Friends, Williams was an author who wrote in the first half of the 20th century.  He influenced C. S. Lewis.  Some of his novels bordered on science fiction with a Christian base.  I saw an ad for a new movie about animals appearing in places not normally animal space .. thus being a threat.  This was a theme for a Williams novel of the forties. Interesting.The quote above is accurate .. sometimes we are prepared to forgive, but fail to accept forgiveness as a need. Think about it. Hope all is well. The Spencers  are holding steady on the journey to forever.  Think we saw the last of the roses.  Fall is upon us.  Rejoiced in the Cardinal's victory Wednesday evening.  Great whoops of joy were heard around here.

Blessings,

Bill

A god who let us prove his existence would be an idol.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Friends, the above quote is one that we read and discussed many years ago in grad school.  The truth of the statement still holds; the power of the idea wakens the reason and affirms the faith.  The are many 'proofs' for the existence of God.  The Intelligent Designer proof reads as follows:  Whatever acts for an end must be directed by an intelligent being.  So the world must have an intelligent designer.  This is God.  This still resonates in my thought, and could now be expanded universally by such tools as the Hubble Telescope.  (Been looking at the star clusters recently.)  But basic to all thought is a belief in thought.  And thought presupposes a creator of thought.  God is in the mind, and the text books, but the intense reality of the Holy One is found in our hearts -- in the faith that lifts and sustains, in song and word, in sermon and caring action.  Bonhoeffer is accurate.  

Blessings,

Bill

-I'm ready to be a parent because I just told the oil change guy "no" 15 times in 30 seconds.

-He said "Your obsession with cats is out of control. I can't handle it anymore."

She cried, "You're kicking meeeowt?"

-They say you need to listen to what your body is telling you. But mine just points and laughs.

-Now that I’m older, my memory is a mighty fortress. Nothing penetrates it.

-We have nothing to fear except fear itself and toddlers asking “Why?”.

-You're annoying, but honestly, I've been annoyed by better.

Friends, Enjoy the laughter. It is a gift from God.

Blessings,

Bill

We must learn to regard people less in light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Friends, Bonhoeffer was a well known name in the middle of the last century.  His writings were requirements for religion courses in college and seminary.  On of his posthumous published writings was Letters and Papers in Prison.  He was jailed by the Nazis.. for his Christian opposition to their policies, and his personal opposition to Hitler.  Later, when the Reich was falling, he was executed, a martyr of the faith.  Read the above in light of his full commitment of his life to Jesus Christ.  I hope they still read his works in school.  Suffering is a key to character.

Blessings,

Bill

Prayer for a Time of Fear

Dear Lord Jesus, we rejoice that you have told us not to fear. "Fear not!" You tell us. And we hear those words and tremble. It is not easy to "Fear not!" And some of our fears we rather enjoy, they stimulate us, keep us alert, or they distract us from something from which we want distracting. But we do not like being afraid. It is a poor place to stand, fear. So, as often is the case, we are caught between the sheer joy of your audacious command and our human weakness in response to it. Help us, Dear Lord Jesus, to know that what you command you enable. Help us to see that we can be -- more and more -- without fear. The more we trust in you, the less fear will penetrate our hearts. Save us from "fear" as an everyday condition of our heart, and lead us toward a fearless reliance on you. So strengthen us, help us,uphold us with your righteous right hand. We wait upon you here in this place and we remember your words that whoever waits on you will renew their strength, will soar on wings like eagles, will run and not grow weary, will walk and not faint. We wait for you, claiming your words, your saving grace. Be with us this day.

Dear Lord Jesus, hear the prayers of all today. Hear and grant your saving touch:

+To those who walk in pain

+To those who suffer depression

+To those who fight disease and debilitating illness

+To the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely

+To those alienated from family

+To those who speak to you in silence, pouring out the deepest needs of their lives

+Be strength to the feeble, sight to the blind.

+Be words to those who find shaping sounds difficult

+Be with all of us in this sacred place, a resting-place on the journey to your Holy Land.

Answer us and we will not be afraid; but we will take heart and journey faithfully, singing and saying your holy words…..Pray the Lord's Prayer.

Light and Warmth,

Willard Spencer

-The only member of my family with a personal trainer is the dog.

-Nothing in fine print is ever good news. Andy Rooney-A day wasted on others is not wasted on one's self. Charles Dickens (A distant relative)

-A loving heart is the truest wisdom.  Charles Dickens

-The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.  Charles Dickens

-For fast-acting relief try slowing down. Lily Tomlin 

-I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific. Lily Tomlin 

Friends, Here are some collected thoughts to start the day.  Hope they add to the hours, lift the spirits, give some helpful direction.  Hope all is well in your life. Cool and clear here in the Piedmont.  Starting to get a bit dry -- a difference from the summer.  Still have a few roses, but not for much longer.  Any change in the leaves in your setting?

Light and Warmth,

Bill