Rainy Mornings

The other morning I woke to the sound of a driving rain coming down. I made a batch of coffee and headed for our porch swing. Why can't every morning be like this, was one of my earliest thoughts that morning as I recall. What a peaceful time I had for awhile - just me, God, my mug of Royal Cup Coffee, (thanks Erin) and the beautiful rain steadily falling from the heavens above. Peace,(true peace)doesn't come in any purer shade than this - my heart believes to be true.

After awhile I began to think back to a morning similar, yet so different in many ways. It's a day I haven't had the first thought of in many a year. I guess it was the smell and the sound of the rain that reminded me.... That Saturday morning, almost thirty years ago, (which is hard to believe) it rained that morning too, a steady flow so similar to the one I was witnessing just the other day. At the time I was living in Franklin Tennessee. Franklin is a beautiful little town, or was back then anyway. It was still quite small and quaint back in the early eighties, not so much this days. Still a wonderful town I'm sure, just too much growth for my taste-buds though. You ever stop and wonder, does the world really need one more Walmart? I don't think so, but they're building another thousand or so again this year – so go figure! Franklin now is just another town over ran with banks, food establishments, retail stores, four lanes of traffic and far too many red lights. Where's the beauty in any of that? Convenience yeah, beauty – not so much!  As usual, I'm off track again! 

Let's get back to my memory of another rainy morning though. That Saturday I got up especially early. Very early. Well before the sun was suppose to rise in the east, I stumbled around the house gathering up and putting on socks, pants, shirts, shoes and oh yeah, underwear. I quietly loaded up a cooler of drinks, my rain-suit and my trusty old lunchbox chocked full of food and headed out the door. In the pitch dark hours of early morn I drove away in my pick up with my bass boat in tow. Typically, I never get in too big of a hurry to hit the waters. I figure the fish will still be there whenever I get there, but this morning was different. I had heard tales, (believable fishing tales) about a place where the fishing had been exceptionally good of late, a place called Mousetail State Park.  I couldn't wait any longer - I was heading that way.

Though it was only a few hours from Franklin,and I had mapped it out the night before, it was still dark, and I was still half asleep. Stopping for a piping hot cup of Seven-Eleven coffee and a couple of two day old doughnuts was the first priority on this trip and now ready, I drove off into the darkness of several county roads.  I went where the map took me, or at least I thought I did. The problem I had to face up to though was this, I was nowhere near my destination. A couple of hours turned into four, and it would've been many more had it not been for a stop at a small little eatin' place and the wisdom of an old-timer which finally led me to the barely visible brown wooden state park sign saying Welcome to Mousetail.

Bout the time I got there, it began to rain. A rain very similar to the one I was enjoying here in central Alabama this week. A driving downpour - steady and smooth as the workings of a watch.- Just my luck I thought. Four hours, and a half tank of gas to get there and now a rain storm that looked as if it had set in on that part of the Tennessee River. Lightening and thunder joined the  pounding rain on the roof of the truck, and before I knew it the sounds took on the flow of a beautiful piece of music played by an heavenly orchestra. I nodded and dosed a time or two and by eight-thirty in the morning I was slumbering away in my pick up truck.

Finally I found the wherewithal to rise to the occasion, as I began doing what any abnormal person in my situation would do. I opened up the ol' lunch box and began eating what was supposed to be my lunch for the day. There's nothing better than a couple of potted meat sandwiches and sack full of potato chips for breakfast to get the ol' energy level back up, despite what all those cereal companies tell us about the nutritional value of their product.  I ate it all!

Truthfully, nothing makes me more hungry than a good ol' rain storm. Some folk like to sleep, some like to read, I simply like to eat when it's raining, it's just the way God made me. (hee,hee) I get especially hungry when it rains kinda like I do when it's not raining. Okay, rain or shine I like to eat – there you have it, Doug's "big confession" of the day. Whew, I'm glad I got that out of my system, now maybe I can eat once again without all that guilt stuff getting in the way.....

Anyway, finally, nearly an hour and a half later the rain began to let up. Just a sliver of sunlight peeked through the cloud cover, but it gave me hope, and that was all I was looking for. I got out in the drizzle and started to prepare the fishing gear. The rain continued, but I wouldn't be deterred. I was fishing this day, rain or no rain, I've come too far not to. Besides I was out of food, so what else was there to do. The lightening stopped, and for me that was as good as it was going to get – sure enough a sign from God that he wanted me to hit the water, and I did.

With my rain gear on I launched my boat, parked my truck, and left behind an empty lunchbox, as I headed onto these unknown waters in search of the big one. With the rain still coming down, and me not knowing what dangers lay just beneath the river's surface, such as trees and logs or what-not, I decided to play it safe and stay close to the main cove of the park. I headed down the first branch (or finger as they call it) that I came to, and even in the dim morning light I could see the potential fishing spots it held were plentiful. This looked like one of those areas that them big time TV fishermen always seem to just stumble onto (yeah, after days of pre-production scouting) as it looked absolutely perfect.

Trees downed all along the water's edge on both banks, from the mouth of the branch to the back shoreline and I quickly imagined hooking into a big ol bass hanging beneath every half-sunken tree I saw. I was trembling from anticipation and /or the cold drizzle as I tied on the best lure for the situation and started my attack. One tree, one fish – good start. Two trees, and three more fish – getting better. By the time I made my trip up and down both shorelines I had boated the largest and heaviest stringer of fish I have ever caught. Lurking beneath,or beside each tree was some of the most beautiful large mouth bass (each weighing a couple pounds or more) my eyes had ever seen. This truly was just like one of those TV shows. I was so excited half-way through fishing the branch I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs, but I didn't want to scare the fish, and I sure didn't want to attract any other fishermen, though I'm pretty sure I was the only NUT on the lake at that time.

Mousetail State Park, and this part of the Tennessee River had exceeded every expectation I had when I left the house some eight hours earlier. I could see myself fishing until night fall, catching a world record Lunker as my imagination went wild for awhile. Then the downpour and the lightening returned and within minutes my big ol' butt was out of the boat and backing the trailer down the ramp to reload. Wasn't even noon, yet I was exhausted from the fullness of the morning. Still shivering from the wet and the cold I headed home with a smile that reached from one side window to the next. This had been a great morning indeed, though I had fished less than two hours of it! I bragged about that trip for weeks on end to anyone that would listen, like any good fisherman would I reckon. To be right truthful, I kinda got sick of hearing about it myself.

So anyway, sitting in the porch swing the other morning, listening to the rain as those memories flew through my head I began to see the many lessons to be had from that rainy, fishy morning from decades gone by. I'm weird I suppose, but there are times when God shows me things in ways that I think only I can understand. I think He really has to work hard at simplifying things in order to teach someone like me, one that is so hard of learning. How he chose to use the rain from this morning to paint the backdrop of such lessons is far beyond my comprehension level.

You see, what began to flow through my pea-size brain along with the memory of that long ago fishing trip were these few tidbits of reasoning. I share them with you in hopes that you also can be reminded God works in many ways to bring us closer to knowing His truth - sometimes in the rain, sometimes in the sunshine, sometimes in a porch swing and even sometimes in a bass boat at a place called Mousetail. So here's what He showed me the other morning, yet I'm sure you guys are far more knowledgeable of these than I am.

1.Even when you think you know where your heading, you may have difficulty getting there. You may get lost, you may have to ask for help, you may not get there exactly when you think you should - but if God wants you there,( if this is where He's sending you), you'll wind up there at exactly the right time. Maps, GPS systems, directions from others - all a waste of time if your heading somewhere He's not leading you to.

2. It may seem at times in your life that the rain will simply never stop, but if you'll be patient - if you'll wait until He says GO, the window of opportunities He's prepared will open up just like the clouds in the sky on a rainy morning. At some point you'll see a sliver of sunshine and you'll know it's Him saying; Come on boy, put that lunchbox down, lets get with it.

3.What He may have in store for you will almost always exceed what you expect. You'll enter situations thinking one thing, yet pass through the opening at the other end knowing and believing in something so much greater. He truly is a God of wonder, never forget that!

4.Always be prepared by bringing your rain-gear along, even on the sunniest of days. You never know what you may be in for, you never know how your situation may change. This way you won't be so inclined to say; no God, not now, not while it's still raining. With rain-gear it's much easier to say, okay God, I'll go, I won't wait til the rain completely stops. Sometimes rain-gear may even take on the form of a well rehearsed verse or two of scripture stored away in your heart and mind, so at a moments notice you can offer it to someone in just the right situation, a situation where He has placed you. Again, be prepared, never hesitate because you just don't know what to say to someone in a certain situations (maybe your self) - keep His Word close by, like a good rain-suit.

5.When God chooses to pour out His glory recognize it for what it is, and where it comes from. Don't get too caught up with the notion of showing or telling others what you've done lately, yet rather acknowledge what God has done through you, for you. Tell others how wonderful your God is both when the sun is shining brightly, and then again especially on those rainy mornings. doug

Satisfying the hunger

If you've never been hungry, I'm talking about really hungry you have no idea what it means to be hungry. I'm not talking about the time you were sooooo hungry that your stomach growled endlessly until you finally had to pull up to the drive through window and pay for your Happy and Fat Meal – BIGGIE size, no doubt. No, I'm talking about the kind of hunger we look away from when one of those stinking has-been celebrities come on the screen with their arms around a little boy or girl that you can see every bone of the rib cage, yet their stomachs are so bloated it's almost sickening. That kind of hunger. I admit, I can't watch those kind of infomercials, I just can't. I don't mind sending my money, just don't make me watch the suffering these children are going through, I can't t take it.


If I ever commit a really big crime, that would be the easiest way the cops could get me to confess. Not water-boarding, stretching me out on a rack, or even holding a gun to my head. Stick me in front of a TV set, super glue my eyelids open and force me to watch Sally Struthers with those precious and starving little children and I'll confess to anything if only I don't have to watch. Did you know that again today, nearly 20,000 children around the world under the age of eighteen will die, and almost all of them will die from starvation or disease from malnutrition, yet we declare to be an advanced civilization. I question that myself. We don't think about stuff like that mainly because it doesn't effect us personally, but trust me there's going to be many moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and grandparents that will have their hearts broken today by the loss of a child. So, what should we do?


There were many a night as a child I went to bed hungry as I recall. No, it wasn't because my mother was neglectful, or we were that darn poor. It was because I either failed to heed the sixteen warnings I had heard to settle down and quit fighting with my brothers and sisters, or it was because I didn't like what was on the table. Back then, sending a kid to bed without dinner was a reasonable option for parents, probably still needs to be today. If your snot-nosed kid wouldn't mind - send him to bed without supper. If he doesn't want to eat Spaghetti, FINE - send him to bed without eating. He'll learn! Either get with the program, or go to bed hungry, it's your choice big boy!


I remember several times laying awake in bed, the sun still not fully set, listening to all the hustle and bustle from the other rooms and wishing like heck that I had done as I was told. The cries of my stomach would get the best of me and I'd beg for forgiveness, regardless if I were sincere or not. I just wanted to eat and it didn't matter if it was something I didn't like, I just wanted to eat. Today, that's just-cause for D.H.R. to send a SWAT team into a home to take out these dangerous parents for the hideous crimes of making a child do as they're told. In today's world a good old fashioned butt-busting or sending the kids to bed without dinner has been replaced with Time-Out and costly therapy sessions. Even today the Time-Out strategy is under attack by those that believe it's too cruel. Hey, it's not limited to just parents, look at last year's ousting of the University of Texas Tech Head Football Coach. He put a player in timeout and the young man's dad, (a popular sports commentator) cried and complained so much the school ended up firing the coach. I remember speculating that the dad probably should have taken a belt to the boy's behind a few times long before he ever got to college and maybe that kind of thing wouldn't have happen.


But anyway, let me get back on track here! Geez, me and my ramblings....


As I was saying, as a kid I didn't go to bed hungry because of a lack of food as do the helpless children in many parts of the world do every night, I got hungry as a result of my own stubbornness and spite. Sure, there were a couple of times we got near the point of no food, as my mom did the best she could raising six kids and an alcoholic husband, but we make it, just like many of you made it through some rough times as a family. That's life!


As many of you know I spent the first six years of this decade living in a small camper at a campground just off the interstate near my home town. Truthfully, I did that mainly because I was completely broke during those times, and couldn't even afford an apartment. Even then I had to scrape by every week just to make ends meet, and many times they didn't quite meet. Yet, because God used some very special people in my life at that time I was able to keep a going until the light bulb finally came on. In the beginning it was somewhat torturous living in the campground. It wasn't one of those parks tucked away in a national park or something, no it was withing a rocks throw of I-75. I simply wanted peace and quietness, yet all I got was the constant coming and goings of those pulling through for a one night stand on their way to somewhere fun, like Disney World or the beach. Soon though I began to see the beauty in the opportunity the place afforded me to meet so very different, yet wonderful people. Somewhere around 2004 there was a couple from Oklahoma that parked their much bigger and more expensive travel-trailer behind mine for about six months or so, and we became friends to some degree or another prior to them heading home.


Though I can't remember their names, I certainly recall the book the lady gave me to read, as it was a self-written story of her growing up as the oldest child to a father who had lost his wife at an early age. I passed the book onto another friend, and no longer can quote to you from it, yet I remember in vivid detail the chapter she wrote about cooking up a couple of possums for Thanksgiving, simply cause that was all they had to eat. I recall how she confessed about the pride she had from seeing the delight on her father's face when he came in from chopping wood, or whatever he was doing, and smelled the feast she had prepared. I love meeting folks like her! Living in a campground, even alongside the interstate sure has it's perks, trust me! She shared how they were hungry, and it was a bitter Oklahoma winter some fifty years ago, yet they made the best of what they had by eating a couple of possums, being thankful for what God had provided.


I think that's something we often fail to do in our hour of plenty, with our self-excused sin of gluttony. A few years back as I read Tommy Tenney's “God Chasers” the first time, I remember how relieved and excited I was to hear someone else communicate (which I wasn't able to) the same feelings I had deep inside of me – a hunger for more of God. Tenney hit the nail on the head for me, and from that day forward I've been able to at least explain to others what I'm hungry for. B.G.C. (God Chasers I was like a six month old baby yet to speak. All I could do was cry when I was hungry, cry when my diaper was full of poop, cry when I needed to be held. A.G.C. (you got it) after God Chasers I could at least say; Dougie wants a cookie, and me make poopy.


Reading the scriptures you get a real taste for those that had a true hunger for God. King David, thirsted mightily after more of God, as we read how his heart longed for more God as a deer pants for water. Moses sought His presence always, in all his coming and goings. Peter so desperately wanted Jesus's attention he often made a fool out of himself. Many times in the New Testament we find how John, the disciple needed Christ's love so badly he would rest his head on Jesus' chest even. Hunger may take on many forms, the results are all the same. Hunger will make a person do strange things, like steal, kill, lie and cheat. Hunger for healing, hunger for freedom, hunger for forgiveness creates a desperate feeling in one's soul. A mom or dad seeing their children starving will do almost anything to feed them, this I've seen first-hand. Hunger for God makes a man do many a strange thing also, yet unfortunately so often our hunger for more of Him, has become over-shadowed by our growing dependency on what the world puts on the table for us.


I suspect there's many a person who goes to church every time the doors open sincerely hungry to experience God, the one true God, yet leave so desperately empty despite the best efforts of today's wind-up monkeys singing, playing, and preaching on stage. So many of today's churches are just as empty of God as is the lives of some of it's best front row sitting members. An absence of God, an absence of a daily, moment-by-moment relationship with God is the greatest hunger we face today as a people, I believe. We focus our attention on french fries and cups of espresso, yet our body needs vegetables, and nutrients to grow, to stay healthy, to survive. We lie awake at night craving a double cheeseburger and one of those really thick chocolate milkshakes from down the street, yet what our heart needs is something so much different.


We need God in a mighty way to satisfy the hunger we have, but so often we give ourselves over to the settlement of something far less. It's as if we've gone to the store and spent ten bucks on the best frozen pizza the grocer has to offer. We then take it home, heat it up to just right temp where the cheese is dripping down into the oven's base, (which makes my wife mad, by the way) we take it out, slice it into four or five pieces depending on how much were willing to share with others, then we toss it in the trash and eat that piece of round cardboard the pizza was packaged with. Crazy huh! But, that's exactly how many of our church experiences are today. We get there with all the juices flowing, our taste-buds standing at attention with full of expectation, then we find our self sitting in the pews gnawing away at the cardboard of a watered down version of the Word. Better yet, we stand as we sing halfheartedly a song which was placed on the finely crafted bulletin to show off the talents of the singer. Where's the real worship, where's the real praise, where's the real sharing of God's word cries out the really hungry? For those that want him the most, (the really hungry) the problem often isn't nearly as much the church's fault as it is with their misplaced idea as to where to find food.


So much of what we eat today in this land of plenty is bad for us, and it's not just coming from the fast-food joints, but the churches as well. We settle, or better yet demand fast service, instant results, immediate needs being met and have forsaken the quality of the experiences. We spend our entire week hungry for God, yet we don't pray, we don't praise, we don't confess with our words. We simply show up Sunday morning with a clean shirt on expecting the Praise / Worship team to serve up a piping hot bowl of Christ-o-licious with buttered toast on the side and a tall glass of ice cold milk. It's no wonder we get disappointed so often! We just don't get it sometimes, and for the most part I believe it's because we don't know, or have forgotten what it's like to be hungry, I mean really hungry.


Maybe what we need is to be sent to bed without supper a few nights to remind us of what hunger really feels like. Perhaps that's what's beginning to happen here in our country? I don't know, but I do know this, we as a people, as a society need a lot more than ten minutes in the time-out corner. We need to once again recognize the fact that our hunger, our true hunger can only be satisfied by God, and God alone. I believe we / I need to fall on our knees, cover ourselves with sackcloth and ash, ask for forgiveness, fast, and then pray God quenches our hunger with His presence. We can continue to go to bed at night with our bellies so full they're ready to bust with appeasement, denial, false idolatry, self-centeredness, hatred, blame, religion, etc, (as I could go on forever with the list) - yet we'll continue to awake in the morning hungry once more. A dying man crawling across the desert's floor can easily be convinced by the illusions of his mind to drink the sand, but soon he recognizes the sand for what it is. We'll remain hungry until we eat the food designed to meet every need we have, and of this I am convinced!


I believe there's a lot of starving children in African and Asia that would love to eat a possum this day, thus living to see another day, but let's be honest here there's no way you or I would. This serves effectively as a great analogy to show the difference between being a people that is really, really hungry versus a society who has so much they can pick and choose what they'll eat, or leave laying dead on the side of the road. I don't know about you, but as for me, I'm simply tired of eating the cardboard tray, I personally need to change my eating habits. Some of you know what I'm talking about, you hunger also for God and the more hungry we become the more tempted we are to eat the offerings of the world. We need to pray for each other that we continue to hold to the truth that our hunger can only be satisfied by Him and Him alone. We need to pray for the only true Happy Meal available!


Oh yeah, can you BIGGIE size that please. Doug