Just Eric

I will be running the 2012 Boston Marathon and raising money for Kupenda for the Children.  Click the image to find out more.

In my very first job there was a plaque in the office which I will never forget.It said, “God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things.Right now I am so far behind that I will never die.”Perhaps you have heard that quote before.Even if you have not, you have most likely experienced the sentiment which it expresses.

For most of us, when the sun goes down, we have more on our to-do list than when the sun came up.No matter how many knots we tie, we always manage to find more loose ends.There is usually month left at the end of the money and we find ourselves in a race against the clock …and the clock is winning.

We are so different from the one in whose image we were made.The book of Genesis tells us that in six days God created the heavens and the earth.That does not just include the planet on which we live but galaxies that we have yet to discover.He did more in six days than we could ever document in even six thousand years.And then we read that after six days, “the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done” (Genesis 2:2 (ESV)).In his creation of the universe, God established a rhythm in which he invites all people to join.

But we lack rhythm and we tend to miss steps.We try to make our own rhythm and we have spent generations destroying the universe that God created in six days.Not only have we destroyed his creation but we have destroyed our relationships with others and we have destroyed ourselves.The harder we work, the more damage we do.We find ourselves at the end of the day so far behind that it is impossible to catch up.

Then someone came who knew the dance and felt the rhythm.In his thirty-three years of life, Jesus Christ healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, fed the hungry, welcomed the outcast, taught the ignorant and gave compassion to the needy.And in the midst of all of it he still had time for his family, his friends, and even himself.He was restoring the world to the way his Father intended it to be – he was re-creating the world.And he was reminding us how to dance.

But there were many who did not want to see the world restored, who opposed Jesus mission.They had him arrested and then attached him to an execution rack.

As Jesus’ followers watched from beneath the cross they must have wondered, “Why did it have to end like this?So soon?There is so much more that he could do.There are still blind, sick, hungry, ignorant, and outcast people that need to experience the love that this man has to offer.”Jesus was on a mission to re-create that earth and it ended after thirty-three short years.

But Jesus was aware that no part of his mission had been left undone.Everything he had been called to do, he had done.And now the final whip had been snapped, the final nail pounded, the final taunt from his enemies had been spoken.His mission had been accomplished.And Jesus said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.The world had not yet been re-created, but there was nothing now that could stop his kingdom from advancing.Having been crucified, the plan had been fulfilled.He would die and on the third day be raised to life and his church would advance.Having been crucified at the age of thirty-three, Jesus could say what we rarely can say, “It is finished.”And he could bow his head and rest.

And today we can bow our heads and rest as well.Not because of the work that we have done but because everything we need for our salvation was done for us by Jesus Christ on the cross.

It. Is. Finished.

On December 31, 2010, my sister, Angela, passed into the presence of her Savior.

The visitation will be Monday from 5-7 at Libbey Funeral Home and the funeral will be at 1pm on Tuesday at West Cohasset Chapel.

Memorial gifts can be given to Joni and Friends.

⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:51-56

After a week of intense heat in Massachusetts, the sky turned black today and then the floodgates opened up.  After about an hour of rain, the National Weather Service issued this statement:

… A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 500 PM EDT FOR SOUTH CENTRAL ESSEX… EAST CENTRAL MIDDLESEX… NORTHERN SUFFOLK AND EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL NORFOLK COUNTIES…

I wish someone would have issued a flood warning to me six months ago when I began preparing to take sixteen youth to the Dominican Republic.  In order to make it happen, we had to raise over $27,000.  That is  about twice as much as we have raised for any of the trips I have led.  There were times where I was convinced this was impossible.

Someday I hope to quit using that word and simply trust God who can open the floodgates.

After months of hard work, we have raised $27,000.  I would like to say it was my genius ideas, energy, and sweat that made this happen but the real reason is that lots and lots of people were extremely generous.  Multiple people gave more than a thousand dollars and over two hundred gave at least twenty.  And then there are the dozens of people who gave of their time and energy and gifts…  Right now I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

I was reminded today of Psalm 42 which begins, “As a deer pants for flowing streams,so pants my soul for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (vss. 1-2a).  I have been praying a similar prayer for the last couple of months.

God responds to the Psalmist’s prayer in verses 7-8,

Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.

As we prepare to leave having raised almost exactly what we needed for this trip, I can relate to what it feels like when God opens the floodgates.  Tonight as I listen to the sound of rain on my window, I pray that I don’t forget that God is always faithful to provide what I need today.

Follow our trip at www.manchesteryouth.com.

I was about thirteen and I was at the golf course with my dad.  We were going golfing with his friend, Rich.  My dad was lifting my clubs out of the van when he noticed how dirty they were and commented that I should probably clean them.  I told him that I didn’t know what to use to clean them.  He said that I should try using elbow grease.

I had no idea what that was so I asked.  He told me that Rich usually carried some in his golf bag so I should ask him for it.

Later, when we were waiting to tee off, my dad said, “Eric, didn’t you want to ask Rich for something?”  I proceeded to ask him if I could borrow some elbow grease.  He looked at me strangely and I proceeded to say, “My dad told me that you carry some in your bag.”

Then Rich understood that I had been set up.  Knowing my dad, he wasn’t surprised.  This was a common occurrence throughout my childhood.  My father made it his goal to embarrass his children any chance that he could get.  One of his favorites was using his Donald Duck voice in public and at the most inappropriate times.  And he loved to make up stories like the one above.  I could think of several.

A few years ago my parents were visiting me in Massachusetts.  I had some friends over and we were telling them about the furniture store with the iMax inside.  When someone asked about the price of tickets, my dad and I said simultaneously, “You have to buy a piece of furniture to see a movie.”  That’s when I realized it… I am turning into my dad.  There was a time in my life when that might not have appealed to me.  However, at this point in my life, I think that’s a really good thing.  He loves God, loves people, is a great golfer, and has a pretty good sense of humor… once you get used to it.

This Father’s Day I thought it was important to let my nephews know what’s coming:

My mom taught me how to knit when I was in second or third grade. I decided that I would knit a washcloth for my teacher. I remember putting hours of work into it and being really excited to give it to her. I wrapped it up and bringing it to school the day before Christmas break. She unwrapped it and her face lit up when she saw it. I told her I made it myself. She was bursting with excitement about the beautiful washcloth I had knit for her. I felt so proud.

I smile every time I think about that story. Partly because I remember how good it felt to give a special gift to someone but mostly because I know what that washcloth looked like. It was the first thing I had knit so it wasn’t very good. There were mistakes everywhere and there were lots of loose knots. It was full of holes. It probably would have disintegrated if my teacher tried to scrub a plate with it.

My teacher didn’t like the washcloth because of the quality, it was because I made it. Rather than making it less valuable, its imperfections actually made it more valuable to her because they reminded her that it came from me.

I think the word for that is grace.

Grace is what bonds us together as humans (and what bonds us to God). When we accept the imperfections of others, we are showing grace. If we were all perfect, we wouldn’t need grace. But then we probably wouldn’t need each other either.

I made the videos below for my church. They would never make it on television. They are full of imperfections. But the people in the videos love them because they represent our relationships with each other. They are full of grace.

(If you love me, you’ll at least watch the first couple minutes of the first video. It goes downhill from there but it’s worth it.)

A lot of people who know me think I have a problem.  Some call it an addiction.  It’s not easy to talk about, mostly because it has such a strange name: cornhole.

I was originally introduced to the sport four years ago at a family reunion in Minnesota.  I was hooked from the beginning.  For the last two months, Tania and I have been driving into Boston every Tuesday to play.  It was a lot of fun and we were pretty happy with the results.

Pretty much every night, our opponents would ask us, “Why would you drive this far to play this game?”
“Well, because we’re addicted and the closest place to get a fix is 45 minutes away.”
Not anymore though.  Introducing www.northshorecornhole.com!  If you live within a hundred miles of Manchester-by-the-Sea, I expect to see you at the fun night next Tuesday.