bierkergaard

Tomorrow is Fathers Day. It is a good time to reflect on the role of dads in our lives. Few will contest that our society is in trouble. It is one thing to be a doom and glooomer, yet it is equally mistaken to think that the current serious state of affairs is going to improve without us changing some fundamental and foundational premises and practices in our culture. Now. The last verse in the Old Testament is Malachi 4:6: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Although "curse" is a heavy word, it seems to be a fair description of what is going on today. Economic dislocation, unemployment, addictions, abuse, sordid entertainment, diseases, crime, and the like, all have a common source: Many men being the perpetrators of negativity rather than the protectors from negativity. A dad who is inclined to his children brings much blessings into their lives. The import

Yesterday, I was at Hersheypark with my extended family. I rode the coasters until my brain was scrambled like an egg. The Storm Runner to our left is designated on the Hersheypark website as "An Aggressive Thrill Ride." Indeed it is...we did it twice. My head and neck still seem a little thrashed today. Yesterday was one of those early summer days with some rain that kept the crowds away but the rides were still open. We whistled nonchalantly by the signs that state "two hour wait from this point" and either hopped right in the cars or had a slight wait. Things came full circle. I will tell you why. I don't want to use the word Karma because Karma is nasty. Grace is what I am riding here. Back when I was about ten, my parents packed us four kids in the Station Wagon and we headed out from the Philly 'burbs to Hersheypark. I was so excited to be going to a "real" amusement park that I almost had a stroke from excited anticipation. Up to then,

May you live all the days of your life. ~Jonathan Swift The sentiments expressed in this picture are quite common...Life is Short so either do ______ or don't do ______. Here is the ironic rub...it is not that life is too short, it is instead too long, to not treat each moment as momentous. For eternity invades the everyday, every decision, everything. When this world becomes the sole focus, our hearts begin to ache and desperation sets in. We fear losing what we know we cannot keep. First, our lives, and then all else. If we have an eternal perspective, it certainly gives us the power and the purpose to not fritter away our days or worse. Much sin is borne out of a desperate sense to get all we can as fast as we can, by whatever means possible. I think that is what Jesus is getting at when he says what shall it profit an a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul. To trade that which is temporal for that which is eternal.

Yesterday, I had a bad attitude. Maybe it is more accurate to say that I was discouraged. This is before I went for my run. So, I sat on the couch looking out our Great Room's large bay window sulking. It is truly a great room...I have never had such affection for a space before. There I saw the blue sky so peaceful and the green grass so verdant. For some reason, the more I peered upon the blue and the green, the less disturbed I became. The color in my soul went from black to azure. The blessings of God tend to become givens...of course the sky is blue and the grass is green. Next! The troubles, instead, we howl and whine about in protestation. Sort of like when disasters are called "Acts of God" by insurance companies, but wonderful events, tend to be categorized as decidedly less divine in origin. Having an attitude of gratitude should not have to be conjured up like some spell. Psyching my inner cheerleader to shout "Yea, God!" Instead, we just need to

The last couple of days, two people that I don't see very often (one of the dudes I haven't seen in almost 20 years, we used to play rugby together on the Lancaster Roses ) said that they see me running around Mountville a lot. I suppose it is hard for a heaving and sweaty 6'8" guy to not be ostentatious, if not threatening. The other dude, a younger guy, apparently, calls me a "Beast" when he sees me--according to his Dad. I wasn't too wild about being called a "Beast" due to its Revelation association. But, he meant it as a compliment in that I push hard when I run. Running is the Yang to my beer drinking Yin. It is a little unnerving to realize people are paying attention to me when I run. It is even more unnerving to know that people are watching how I run in faith ( Hebrews 12:1 ). May I exhibit perseverance in the race for running is often a test of endurance more than anything else. Today, I came in under 40 minutes in my running rout