Dancing for Daddy

Posted on January 4, 2016 by James Gorton

Nadine and I went to church last week and said hello to all the friends we have gotten to know over the years.  We took our regular seats in the front row to the right side of the stage, beginning with the fourth seat from the middle row–I know I made fun of people who need to sit in the same seat at church week after week after month after year and now I’m doing it.  Everything in the service seemed the same with familiar songs we had sung, Joe Webb the worship director with the worship singers, and friendly faces in the seats across from us.

Everything that is except a little girl on the other side of the stage who began to dance right in front of the stage.  At first I was a little annoyed at her distracting my attention away from the worship service.  But she was only 3-4 and she was having a wonderful time and my annoyed thoughts quickly were erased.  I began to notice something else that caught my fancy.

She was focused solely upon the people on the stage (the worship singers) and especially one in particular.  It was her daddy playing the acoustic guitar on the left side of the stage. She couldn’t take her eyes off of her daddy.  She didn’t look anywhere else but at her daddy.  Her eyes were laser-focused.  And she was dancing with all of her might.

I began to think of King David when he was bringing the arc back to Jerusalem.  In II Samuel 6:14 it says that David was dancing with all of his might.  His focus was on worshipping his Father in heaven and didn’t care what anyone else felt.  He had laser-focused attention on his Father.

I began to ponder how often I have that kind of passion and total focus on worshipping my Lord and Savior.  Not nearly enough.  This little girl taught me something that morning even in her dancing.  I would love to have that passion and focus for my heavenly Father on a consistent basis, and am beginning to pray that the love and passion I saw that morning would characterize my life this year.

On this journey of 2016, God has and will place people in your life to teach us what he wants from us.  Make sure that your annoyance at times doesn’t block the real message of life.

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Finding Favor

Posted on January 2, 2016 by James Gorton

When I was growing up I sought the favor of my mom and dad.  I was seeking their approval (not knowing that I was doing such a thing at the time) which readily came from my mom but was harder to come by from my dad.  My dad was a great dad and I truly respect him, but he came from a generation that taught the perspective of  “Keeping children humble.”  Giving children too much affirmation would lead to children becoming prideful and self-centered on their importance.  Therefore, I seldom got affirmed by him.

Dad was also a perfectionist.  Whatever job or task that needed to be done, he did it to the best of his ability.  He strived for being perfect and wanted me to be and do the same.  Unfortunately my effort and end results for the tasks I did invariably didn’t meet up to his expectation.  There were occasions when I did find connection with my father.

I remember one morning when I was in grade school that he got me up at 4:30 before school to go fishing in Crystal Creek lake.  I vividly remember stopping the car, crawling over the barbed wire fence and walking through the pasture to get to the pond.  Within an hour or so we had caught our limit of three fish each and headed back to the house.  I got home in time for school, but that day is etched in my mind of having the favor of my dad.

I also remember as a 3-4 year old wanting to play baseball.  My dad coached the little league in town and would take me to shag balls at practice.  I was too young to be on the team, but I do remember my dad at one practice telling me to get a bat and hit.  As I stood at the place, my dad started throwing pitches and I hit my first ball (a grounder to him) and took off for first base.  I remember experiencing the favor of my dad that day.

There are other experiences that I can recall experiencing the favor of my dad, but don’t we all want to be recognized by our parents here on this earth if they are still alive.  What about the favor of our heavenly Father?

I have started reading the bible through from Genesis to Revelation as has been my custom for many years and a passage hit me that I want for my life.  “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬  Noah lived in a society that didn’t seek the Lord.  The people in the society were moving farther and farther away from God and did not seek His guidance or direction.  They did whatever was right in their own eyes and had no thoughts of seeking the Creator’s approval or favor.  In the midst of this environment, Noah found favor with the Lord.  He was a fish swimming upstream when all others were swimming with the flow of the world.

I wanted to gain my fathers approval and remember those times of connection with him.  Today I want to find favor with the God of the universe who is always waiting for us to take that step of faith to connect with Him.  In 2016, it’s my desire to have this passage, “But Noah (Jim) found favor in the eyes of the Lord” to be true in my life.

What about your journey.  It’s never too late to experience that for yourself and have 2016 be a transforming year with the favor of God.  Today is the first day of the rest of your and my life.  Let’s make it count.

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Four Years and Counting

Posted on December 18, 2015 by James Gorton

I can’t believe that four years ago yesterday, I was standing at the altar and saying I do to my bride as we began our journey for the rest of our lives.  Nadine and I decided to celebrate our fourth year anniversary in Hawaii and have been here since December 10, 2015.  We have had a wonderful trip and soaked up lots of sun in the process.

Last night we decided to go back to the restaurant where we had our wedding reception, Tommy Bahama.

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No, we didn’t get married in Hawaii, but we did have our reception in the Tommy Bahama restaurant in Scottsdale.  We wanted to relive that experience in the same environment with the same food as we didn’t really get to enjoy four years ago.  We were talking with all of our friends and family who came to celebrate with us and in the process didn’t eat much that night.  In fact we were looking forward to having coconut shrimp which Tommy Bahama is famous for, and when we got to the reception, the shrimp were all gone.  None left for us.  Nada.  Zero.

So guess what was on the first order of the night last night?  You guessed it.  Coconut shrimp.  It was a great night of eating and reminiscing and finished off with a huge piece of pina-colada cake with toasted coconut on the top (our wedding reception cake).

As the sun goes down on our trip to Hawaii and we head back tonight, my thoughts move forward with expectancy for the future of what God has in store for the rest of our lives.

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On this journey when we have our hope fixed on Christ, there’s always a tomorrow to focus our attention on His plan for us.  May this Christmas holiday be an encouragement for your eyes to focus on His plan for your next steps on this journey.

 

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Starving For Eggs

Posted on December 4, 2015 by James Gorton

Yesterday I came home early from work and began helping Nadine put on the finishing touches to our Christmas decorations before our Bible a study group came over.  Personalized ornaments on our Christmas tree.  Putting up garland on the fireplace mantal wrapped around stocking hangers. Placing 9 stockings on the hangers for each family member.  Hammering in the stabilizing pegs for the lighted reindeer in our bush out front.  Putting the empty boxes in the garage.  Arranging our three manger scenes in their places.  You get the picture.  There was a lot to do before 10 of our friends converged for soup and salad supper and fellowship time.

It was during this preparation time that Victoria, my daughter and her two kids, came over to get a printer for her college project that was due the next day.  Brayden came over to me while I was in the kitchen and said, “I’m starving for eggs and bacon!!!”  My initial thought was, “I don’t have time for this.  Maybe if I ignore him he will forget his hunger.”  But no, he became more insistent and determined to get his hunger pangs satisfied.  I told him we didn’t have bacon but that didn’t deter him and said he was starving for eggs.  What could I do but take care of my grandson and that’s what I did.  He ate 3 cheesy eggs and left the counter satisfied.

It reminds me of one of the beatitudes in Matthew 5 where it says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,

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Three Decades Renewed

Posted on December 2, 2015 by James Gorton

Today I had an encounter that took me back thirty years. It started yesterday when I got to my office. I saw on my answering system that a call had come in. As I played back the call it was a person from my past who was in town and wanted to get together. He was only going to here for two days and wanted to know if we could get together.  Let me take you back.

In my twenties my late wife and I had started a young couples bible study in Lexington MA with about 20 couples that grew to 50+ couples.  It wasn’t just a bible study but was a group with a mission to live transformed lives and to spread the good news to those we came in contact with.  In 1985, we left  New England and never returned.  There was silence for 30 years, until yesterday when John called me and wanted to get together.  We decided on Butterfields for breakfast today.

When I walked in this morning at 7:30, there John Dorr was sitting a few tables from the front door (he’s new to town and beat me there-GPS).  It was as if we had never been apart.  We went down memory lane of the experiences we had together.  His laugh hadn’t changed. His humor was just as I had remembered. His facial mannerisms were the same. Most importantly his commitment to the Lord and his journey with Christ was still growing.  It was an amazing experience that in an instant brought me up to snuff with my long ago friend.  I was reminded as we sat there of the passage in 3 John 1:4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth”.

The second passage that hit me this morning related to  time when Peter said, ” . . .one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one.”  When we are walking with the Lord, time stops and it doesn’t matter how long you have been away from a person, reconnection can take place in an instant.  It reminded me of the preciousness of friendships that I have all over the country.  We have an open invitation to New Hampshire when we are the area.

This journey sometimes brings wonderful surprises of old friendships that become new again.  Saying yes to those experiences and blocking out the noise of business bring great joy.  Enjoy the journey.

 

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Simple Pleasures

Posted on December 1, 2015 by James Gorton

I hope your Thanksgiving was a wonderful experience with lots of food and relational connection with people you love.  I can say that my life was full of simple pleasures.

The day started by getting the turkey ready for cooking. We were having 14 over for Thanksgiving and Nadine spent most of the night before getting the tables ready.  When I woke up the next morning I came out into the dining room and front entrance to find her creation.  She had spent the better part of the night picking out the right place setting, the gold silverware and the gold cloth napkins to go with the dishes  it was beautiful and I took time to admire her creation.

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My daughter arrived soon after and had made name tags that went perfectly with the dishes and place settings.  They were autumn leafs that she had glittered with golden sparkles.  She used a small clothes pin to attach it to the napkin and wrote each persons name on the leaf.  It was a beautiful piece of art for each person to enjoy.

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My signature apple pies were next on the agenda.  I love to bake, but I don’t know where my desire to bake came from.  My mom readily admits she hates to cook although she was a great cook growing up.  I never saw dad cook or bake.  I did have a grandmother that was a great cook and I will gladly use her as my inspiration.  As you can see they turned out well and tasted great.  You might see on the first pie my signature below the middle cross.  You can make out a J with a G next to it but under the cross.  I think of it as my place below the cross of Christ.

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Once the dinner was in the oven cooking, it was time to have a little fun with my grandsons, Brayden and Keaton.  I had three huge empty boxes that we cut and put together to make a fort.  They are looking out a raised box on top of a large box.  It was fun to see them enjoying something that Grandpa made.

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It was simple pleasures that caused me to reflect on a wonderful Thanksgiving time.  We finished off the day sitting in the family room reflecting on what we have been thankful for.  Simple pleasures for sure.  On this journey there are plenty of experiences and interactions that intersect in our lives which create these simple pleasures if we only open our eyes to them.

 

 

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Thanksformation from a Bostonian

Posted on November 25, 2015 by James Gorton

You might think it strange putting such a weird word (thanksformation) in the title but if you hang on and follow my drift it will begin to make sense–I hope. Here it goes.

I lived in Boston for 7 years and grew to love the northeast. It was full of American history with quaint fishing villages, historic homes in the 16th and 17th centuries, events throughout the year celebrating American events, and Boston driving–yes Boston driving.

I loved driving in Boston. Bostonians are the most aggressive drivers around. Their goal is to get from point A to point B in the shortest amount of time and use their right hand to honk the horn when someone detracts them from accomplishing their mission. I cut my teeth on the narrow back roads and the line free streets of downtown Boston. Yes, when I was there no lines were painted on the streets so if you had your bumper ahead of the person to either side of you had the right-of-way.

My favorite experience in driving in Boston was to drive by Quincy Market and head through the Callahan Tunnel to the Airport. There were 5 lanes converging into two lanes and during rush hour, it was like an hour-glass effect. All the cars were at a complete stop and inched (I mean inched) toward the two lane tunnel. The objective was to get your bumper just ahead of the person to your right and then you had for all practical purposes cut off that person from getting to the tunnel before you did.

I talk about the Bostonian driver because it is a composite of how I lived my life for so many years. My goal was to get the job done and it didn’t matter who I pushed out-of-the-way to carry out my task. I have worked hard to change this pattern in my life, and wanted this Thanksgiving to become a thanksformation. What I mean is that I wanted to have a transformed mind in looking at how I went about preparing for thanksgiving. Paul in Romans 12:1-2 talks about not being conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

In Boston, I drove like the Bostonian drove. I incorporated that mindset in everything that I did. The problem surfaces when you allow that mindset to invade your relationships. When task accomplishment becomes more important than relational connection, you lose and everybody around you loses. So I wanted a thanksformation Thanksgiving and asked God to transform my mind this holiday season. You see, I could do this on my own effort only for a short period of time and then I would begin to revert to my old Bostonian ways. What I wanted was a transformation in mind, a thanksformation spirit.

I purposefully chose to allow others to take a parking spot I was eyeing when I was at Fry’s Grocery Store to get groceries.  At Costco, I let those to the side of me or crossing in front of me with their carts go first and waited patiently.   I gave them a message of love and care along with a verbal message of “Happy Thanksgiving” as I passed them.  I sought to take time with those working in the store to wish them a blessed Thanksgiving day and sought to encourage them as they worked to serve me.

Today is only Wednesday, but I expect that on this journey, I will see God transform my attitude so that this Thanksgiving will be the best ever. In fact those of you reading this can do the same. It’s never too late to start. Happy thanksformation.

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Heart Restoration

Posted on November 17, 2015 by James Gorton

My daughter in Chicago is an example of strength and encouragement to me.  A few years ago she completed her Ph.D. in Psychology and promptly passed one the most grueling exams to pass her licensure test for becoming a Psychologist.  She was asked by Moody Bible Institute to become the director of their psychology program in making it licensable in state of Illinois.  She has had to develop curriculum for the program as well as hire professors that can teach the classes along with teaching classes herself.

Her most recent challenge has been to buy an older home that was gutted from the third floor to the basement.  All new electricity and plumbing was put into this house, and then the owner stopped restoring it because of family problems.  This is where she stepped in.   She bought a house that was unlivable and is in the process of restoring this old house.  House restoration.  From top to bottom.  Hiring contractors.  Securing a building permit.  Restoring a house to its former glory.  Time and materials.  House restoration.

Over seven years ago I started a small group bible study from new people who attended our church.  We intended it to run for 7-10 weeks, but after 10 weeks, the people coming didn’t want it to end.  People have come and gone due to move changes and other circumstances in their lives, but we are on our eighth year of meeting weekly.  About a year ago the pastor encouraged people to meet together and share food with one another.  We took on the challenge and started by hiring a friend of mine who was a chef to come and cook us a gourmet meal.  That was the start of a weekly tradition of breaking bread with one another.

We still meet weekly and have a theme for the food that we eat.  Tomorrow night is breakfast night where everyone comes with something that resembles what one might eat at breakfast.  I am making chocolate chip Mickey Mouse pancakes for those who want the Disney theme.  After supper we go into the living room and focus on the theme of “heart restoration”.  We are taking passages related to the “kingdom of God (heaven)” and seeing how they can impact our daily thinking and restore our hearts.

This week we are focusing on one of the beatitudes, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  As I have looked at passages about the heart, I came across one in Joel that I thought worth pondering.  “Even now,” declares the Lord,”return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. (Joel 2:12, 13 NIV)  The Lord is speaking through Joel in telling the people to “return to (the Lord) with all or your heart.  It seems that a heart divided has multiple desires is contrary to His desire.  He wants all of our heart solely focused on Him and His plan for our lives.  It is similar to what Jesus was saying in the beatitudes when he blessed those whose heart was pure and not convoluted with other desires or idols.

Joel tells us that the way to have a heart fully focused on God is by fasting, weeping and mourning.  Jesus gives us a similar message by saying that people are blessed when they are poor in spirit and who mourn.  Humility and humbleness come when we contemplate our choices in life we regret, our attitudes we have that are displeasing to Him, and actions that eventually cause us to come to dead ends.  It’s at this point that we are ready to take on a pure heart that is totally devoted to serving the Master.

On this journey, transformation of the heart only happens when we take a sincere evaluation of our heart and seek to cut out areas that divide our focus.  Purity is what the Savior is looking for.

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Finding The Fake

Posted on November 16, 2015 by James Gorton

Nadine and I went on our 20 mile bike ride yesterday.  It was a glorious day with no wind and temperatures hovering around 65-70.  We passed the fake Swans in the three ponds along Hayden that I wrote about 14 days ago (Fake vs. Real).  I can never go by the ponds looking at those swans the same way I did when I thought they were real.  We got to the half-way point and began to think of the egg, bacon, and bagel sandwich we would share along with a blueberry smear bialy.

On our way back, we passed the ponds again and something caught my eye.  As I looked at the swan, I saw an unusual sight.  A bird was sitting on the back of the swan.  He ( I called the bird a he, but probably it was a she because women are more insightful and sensitized to life than men)-she was sunning herself and primping her feathers on the back of the fake swan.  Not scared.  Not intimidated.  Fully aware.  Living in the real.

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It reminds me of a truth that Jesus was speaking about for us to emulate.  “Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “ ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ “ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭16:1-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In our society, we (and myself) have a tendency to think that money will be the end-all of all of our problems.  If only we could have more money in the bank.  If only I could have more to buy a new car.  If only I could have a better job to bring in more.  If only I could pay off the loans.  If only.  We think that money will solve our problems.  We idolize it.  We worship it.  We toil for it.  We sacrifice for it.  We think it is the real thing.  Jesus said that money should be used for a different purpose and that is to cultivate friendships here on this earth.  It’s like seeing the swan and putting beauty in the swan for several months only to realize that the swan is only a means to an end as the bird realized.  She was using the swan to rest and be refreshed.  Jesus said that money should be used for building friendships with others.

As someone once said, you can’t take any money with you.   This journey is a process of turning our focus to things that are real and using what God has given us for enhancing life which opens the door to new perspectives of what God intended.

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Singing With Mom

Posted on November 9, 2015 by James Gorton

I went up to Colorado Springs to be with my mom this past weekend and something amazing happened. Let me give you a little backdrop on my mom. She is 96 and is coming up on her 97th birthday in January. She was a high school teacher of English and Home Economics for many years until the school she was teaching at needed a Superintendent and asked her if she would be the interim. She said yes and did it for 5 years. A couple of years ago she was awarded an award for being the first woman superintendent in the state of Colorado.

After she retired, she began to sharpen her skills as a writer upon my urging. Over the next several years, she wrote numerous articles that were published in various papers around Colorado. She wrote spiritual stories that were put into weekly Sunday School papers for little children to take home.

After 49 years of marriage, my dad died in 1990 so Mom has been a widow for 25 years. During that time she has completed countless crossword puzzles (I hate crossword puzzles). She loves to walk and would go on 1-3 mile treks around Seibert, CO when the wind wouldn’t blow her over. Water aerobics were part of her regime until the pool in Flagler closed. One to two times per week you would see her at a game table playing bridge with friends who went way back. Talking about friends, she would drive either to Flagler (11 miles away) or Burlington (32 miles away) to visit her friends who were shut-ins or were in Senior Citizen Centers on a regular basis. Just a note on driving, her last driving trip was two weeks ago when she went to Flagler to get her hair fixed and visit a dear friend.

This last Saturday, I found myself alone with my mom driving from Seibert to Colorado Springs where she decided it was time to give up her home that my dad build 62+ years ago and enter a Senior Citizen Center. She had an Elvis CD that she wanted to listen to and on came old-time hymns that Elvis was singing. I began to hear my mom begin to sing along with Elvis. In the Garden came on and we both began to sing,

I come to the garden alone

While the dew is still on the roses

And the voice I hear falling on my ear

The Son of God discloses

(Refrain) And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own;

And the joy we share as we tarry there

None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,

And the melody that He gave to me

Within my heart is ringing.

(Refrain) And he walks with me, and He talks with me,

And he tells me I am His own;

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

I’d stay in the garden with Him

Though the night around me be falling,

But He bids me go; through the voice of woe

His voice to me is calling.

(Refrain) And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own;

And the joy we share as we tarry there

None other has ever known.

Tears were streaming down my face. I was singing with my mother and as I write this I can’t help but cry. The greatest gift my mother gave me was her sweet spirit and her relationship with Christ. As I listened to her, I heard an angel singing and will never forget that moment as long as I live. I put my hand over on her arm and rubbed it and the love I had for her at that moment overflowed.

This journey can take you so many places were you experience ups and downs of life. Being with those who have molded your minds and thoughts can never be quantified in terms of value. Those experiences are priceless. Cease those moments with those you love during the holidays coming up.

 

 

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