QUESTION OF THE DAY #15: What is one thing you look for in a friend?

As I was visiting people in the hospital today, wearing my clerical collar as Lutheran pastors sometimes do, I was greeted by a man who said, "Hi, Father! What's the good word?"  I should have told him I wasn't a priest, I know, but we were walking out the door and had places to go, so I just told him about the forest fires burning in Minnesota that were affecting the air quality here in Wisconsin.

I know what you're thinking, it would have been easier just to tell him I was a pastor, but hindsight is 20/20.  I really don't think he was expecting the answer I gave.  It wasn't something he wanted to hear, but he had been wondering about that smell, and it's good to know not to go out and exercise if the air quality is bad.  Certainly, we keep that forest fire and others around the world in our prayers as well.

In a small, small way, that relates to this question.  Although there are many qualities important to friendship, such as honesty, loyalty, empathy, a sense of humor, and so on, one truth that often gets overlooked is that a good friend will disagree sometimes.  They will hold us accountable.  They will tell us when we mess up, or when we're about to, but through it all they will be there for us, not because they have to be, but because they choose to be, and because God has brought them into our life.  It is a mutual thing, a pairing of equals, a sign of respect.  

I really don't know if we choose our friends because they have one quality or another.  Very often they are what the Bible calls our "neighbors," the people we come into contact with in our lives.  But this much I know, that a friendship where both people make each other better is something truly to be sought and cherished.  "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17) 

What is one thing that you look for in a friend?  In what ways do your friends make you better, and how can you do the same for them?

QUESTION OF THE DAY #14: How do you like to help others?

There are so many good ways to help others.  We can physically help them do something.  We can lend them our knowledge and experience.  We can be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, or a timely and loving voice of wisdom.  We can help out through organizations or volunteer in countless other ways.  Sometimes a "simple" smile or "just" being there is an incredibly effective way to help others.

One way of helping others that seems to have found me is through music.  Tomorrow, I'm bringing my guitar to a center for the elderly and singing hymns with them.   I enjoy playing in church and for children, too.  I've played guitar in the heat of summer for camp and in the dead of winter for living nativity scenes.  If  I ever travel to a foreign country, I have to bring my guitar!

Notice I didn't say I was good!  This is simply something I enjoy doing tremendously, and I hope through music to be able to lift other people up and bring them together.  If I can do that, and nothing else, it's been a good day.  It really makes it worthwhile for me to put in the hours of practice every day, dreaming about how I will be able to share music with others! 

Yet, even before I put these thoughts down, I was reflecting on Colossians 3:16-17, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

This is such a good place to start when it comes to helping others!  God is the one who will guide us in His Word.  God is the one who will empower us to help, and we are to help others in His name, not for our own purposes.  Don't think you have to be like anyone else, either.  Rejoice in the gifts you have, and, even more importantly, make bold and thankful use of the opportunities that you've been given today.

QUESTION OF THE DAY #13: What gives you energy?

What gives you energy?  For many people, coffee does the trick.  Exercise also works.  Getting enough of the basics like proper diet and sleep is a good thing, too.  

Here's another way to think of the question.  What gets you up at the crack of dawn?  What is the first thought on your mind?  What keeps you going when you feel tired or when you don't feel you have any strength left? 

It was very difficult for me to write this question, because today marks the 10th year following the September 11 attacks.  I thought of the firefighters that had to get up day after day to sift through the "pile" where the twin towers once stood.  Surely they had to be pushed past their limits.  How did they do what they had to do?

As human beings, we are unique in this world.  We live with an awareness us our purpose, and that makes a difference in our lives.  It gives us the power to do things that we would not otherwise do.  It keeps us going.

Purpose is not an easy thing, though.  Sometimes we're not sure what our purpose might be.  Yet, each person has a purpose as unique and wonderful as the way in which God created them. It says in Proverbs, "The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out." (20:5)

It's worth the effort.  It's worth the prayer.  It's worth the struggle and the mistakes sometimes, too.  It's worth taking a good hard look at yourself.  It's worth daring to be proud of who you are.  I hope, as I write these questions for you, that some of them also help you to ask questions about yourself--and to celebrate with certainty the purpose that God has for you. 

QUESTION OF THE DAY #12: If you could name an extra day of the week, what would it be?

This is a strange question, I know.  Days of the week are a bit odd to start with, being named after the sun, moon, and planets.  The ancient Romans actually had an eighth day of the week for a while, too, which was their "market day."  What would your special day of the week be?

This question entered my mind because I needed an extra day to get things done this week.  So I guess I could have named it "Getthingsdoneday."  Still, somehow, things managed to get done for the most part, so I'll go a different route.

There is a certain daily pattern to the life of faith. God's blessings are new every morning.  We are told not to worry about tomorrow, for each day has enough troubles of its own.  We may not be able to do all we want to in just one day, but each day we can grow and learn and accomplish a little bit more.  In fact, Paul reminds us, "...we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16)  

So my day would be called "Daybyday."  It would cover all seven days of the week.  Each day would be a day of being inwardly renewed through faith in Jesus Christ, a new opportunity to grow in Him, being refreshed in His love.

It has been a blessing for me, too, to share my thoughts with you, day by day.  I hope you have enjoyed it, too!

QUESTION OF THE DAY #11: What is your favorite plant? 

I like trees!  There is something very wonderful that happens when I go for a walk in the woods.   It is time to think and be alone.  I feel whole and grounded after time spent among the trees.  

Still, when most people think of a favorite plant they think of flowers!  And there are so many to chose from: roses like this one, orchids, pansies, daisies, flowering cacti, narcissus, jasmine, poppies, tulips, lilacs, and freesias, to name a few!  What is your favorite plant?

One flower that is mentioned in Scripture is the lily.  A lily could be any of a number of wild field flowers.  The lily I'm thinking of is the one mentioned by Jesus, recorded in Matthew 6:28-29.  "And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." (ESV)

We are grounded in God!  He is more than capable of helping us with the things that cause us to be filled with anxiety and worry.  He takes the time to make lilies so beautiful.  Imagine what He's taking the time to do for you right now!

QUESTION OF THE DAY #10: What tool couldn't you do without?

The other day, my box of cereal broke open. I was trying to open it nicely and neatly. No luck! You know, I hadn't even eaten my Wheaties yet. Still, I wanted to fix it, but no Duct Tape could be found. Duct Tape is a good candidate for a tool I couldn't do without. It can be used for so many things! Someone made my daughter a wallet out of Duct Tape. I even hear that there's a contest for prom dresses and tuxedos made of said tape.

I honestly don't know how to answer this question, though. Tools have been around since the beginning of time. Already in Genesis we see that "Tubal-Cain" was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.

So many tools are at our disposal today. The computer that I'm typing on is a tool, so is the lamp on my desk. Yet, of all the things at at our disposal, there are two that top the list for me, namely the human mind and heart. Used wisely and according to God's plan, minds and hearts can dream and care and think and plan and so much more. They are unique to their owner, too. Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

These are just a few of my own thoughts, and there are so many wonderful answers to this question. What tool couldn't you do without?

QUESTION OF THE DAY#9: "What's your favorite season of the year?"

As Fall waits to unfold here in Wisconsin, I'm eager to begin my favorite season! Fall is the time of harvest. It is the time of the changing of the leaves to all their brilliant colors. It is a time where it is really refreshing and enjoyable to be out in nature. There's just something about Fall that I can't even put into words. Plus, it is a time where you don't have to mow the lawn as much or shovel snow! What is your favorite season?

So often we think that what we're going through is unchangeable, written in stone. We think that we're stuck and that there is no way to get past that obstacle that is frustrating at the moment. In spite of that, life is about seasons. It changes. It unfolds. You plant. You change. You grow. You produce a harvest, and then you start over. It's like that passage from Ecclesiastes that was made famous when it was turned into a song:

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace." --Ecclesiastes 3:1-8