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Written and Shared by: Chaplain Chris Belfield
Last week I shared about the trials and tribulations of snow blowing with a blower that was experiencing some mechanical challenges that would test the saints' patience – of which I am not one. As with all things mechanical, there was an undignified end to a friend that had served faithfully for over 16 memorable Minnesota winters. True, there had been necessary modifications to continue the service life right up to this winter. I like to think that these modifications gave "Matilda" her own unique persona. But, alas, since the last update, she had suffered another mechanical difficulty. Was it terminal? No, not really, but Cathy and I have better things to do in our mature years than spending hours outside in the cold performing surgery to keep the patient going. On the plus side, we followed the local chamber of commerce solicitation to support our local businesses. Hence, our local dealer reaped the benefit of our relatively immediate need for a new, as yet-to-be-named, snowblower. This contemporary marvel of technological advances includes a broader, more powerful machine that eagerly clears a clean path to be enjoyed. Cathy actually loves to snow blow the driveway. A wife who loves to snow blow, how I have been so blessed. Being the last day of 2020, I had considered an encouragement that would meet the obligatory requirements to observe the out-going of the old and the beginning of the new. I had it all lined up to use the example of the old and the new snowblower and describing excellent past service and anticipated future service. Pretty good idea, right? That was all before the call late last night. There was a need to go out and travel up the shore. This is typically not an issue, but last night the projected 1-3" of snow eventually became more like 8 inches. The challenge was the plows had not been up the highway yet, or if they had, it had been quite a while. The first several miles were no issue as I had traveled them so often and was familiar with the road and terrain. However, north of Gooseberry State Park and the situation changed. It was difficult to see where others had driven as the tracks had been covered up. The snow was blowing, and visibility was reduced to 50 feet or less, and I slowed down to 30 mph. When there were lights from businesses or on-coming traffic, I could make out the faint telltale signs of earlier vehicles. But at midnight, there are few lights and even less traffic to assist me. How significant a small thing like a light became. At times snow swirled around the truck so that I seemed to be encased in a darkened snow globe with only a vague reference as to where I was. Imagine the relief as I came into the reassuring lights of Beaver Bay and knew where I was. It only took 40 minutes to come 16 miles. However, the evening was not done. A person needed assistance and had no immediate means to provide what they needed. Hence, they reached out and asked for help from the county, resulting in a late-night call. What makes this relevant is that there was a meeting of a need and a provision. I was only a conduit. An incredibly gracious Christian colleague, farther up the shore, offered the safety and comfort of his home for the person in need. The person requiring assistance received the most essential requirements for the evening – a meal, warm bed, and a caring individual's fellowship to help them. Me, I was just praying for enough lights along the way to safely get home. Last week we celebrated the light of Christmas that God provided for all of us in Jesus. There are desperate times in our lives when we urgently need and seek that light, because otherwise we may be lost in the dark with uncertainty all about us. Let 2021 be your year to continue in that light, or let it be the year you accept the light of God. Our encouragement verse for this week is: John 8:12 (NIV “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” May you be blessed by God's word, and Happy New Year! Chris Written and Shared by: Chaplain Chris Belfield
SPOILER ALERT! Christmas presents are discussed in the article. When I was nine-years-old, I enjoyed watching my grandfather cut the lawn with a push mower. He did such a meticulous job of getting into every nook and cranny of a substantial sized lawn. In fact – it was one of the larger yards in our neighborhood. Three houses shared a backyard fence with us. My grandfather was raised in rural eastern Virginia and had real skill and love for gardening and keeping the yard in pristine condition. He knew all about watering, fertilizing, edging, and providing all the essentials needed. A weed would not dare consider desecrating such a landscape with its evil presence, or such was my youthful perception. We also had pear trees, plum trees, and a rose garden that would make the White House proud. When I turned ten, my grandfather bestowed upon me the honor of being permitted to partner with the mighty Briggs and Stratton to cut the lawn for the very first time. The experience was sullied by the fact that the lawnmower had an evil spirit that took it places I did not want to go. Needless to say, the first experience was indeed a learning experience until I was shown how to direct the roaring machine to do as I wished. After that, it was much more enjoyable. I also learned a valuable lesson at that time – any job worth doing was worth doing right. I had finished putting away the mower and was set to go bike riding with my friends when my grandfather reminded me that the yard was not finished. There was raking and trimming along the fence. Raking and trimming what seemed to be an area as big as a football field? Really? The rake was a well-seasoned metal tine rake and did the job adequately. However, as this was in the pre-weed eater age, and trimming was done with hand trimmers and on your knees. I was almost an hour into the grass trimming along the fence, ensuring that no blade of grass escaped my efforts when my grandfather taught me another lesson. He stated that I just needed to cut the high points and that perfection was not required. A reprieve! Thank you, Lord! Fast Forward 30 years and the United States Air Force trained me as a navigator, nuclear missile officer, and security officer. For the duties as a navigator and missile officer, perfection was the standard and expected. Everything was timed to the highest exacting standards and was frequently tested during exercises. This mindset carried over to my training as a security officer. I was a little surprised when the rifle shooting range official saw my obvious disappointment in not hitting all of my shots within the black circle. She explained that I did not need to be perfect every time in shooting – just close enough to stop the threat and get the job done. Hence, I learned the axiom, "Close enough for government work." Fast forward again to 2020 and the changes that the pandemic has wrought. All have not been bad. In fact, if not for the pandemic, I would not have learned how to use my lathe to turn bowls, platters, and vases. A kind and incredibly patient gentleman I met at our local Sunday breakfast eatery volunteered to teach me how to turn. After hours of instruction and practice, he had successfully trained me to a level of confidence where I could try on my own. He also emphasized that there was a point where you stop and are satisfied with the results, rather than try for perfection. Oh, if only I had listened. Last week, I turned a bowl I was making, as a Christmas gift, from walnut and maple. It had the correct form and function. The outside buffed up to an excellent finish. All I had to do was take my time removing the inside material. All went well until I noticed a nub of wood that was sticking up in the bottom center. I mean a really tiny nub. But I was after perfection. I slowly and methodically chipped away at the nub, at 3,000 RPMs, and was just about there when the entire project blew apart from the lathe. I had gone all the way through because I had not kept an eye on the bottom's thickness—three hours of work gone. Nobody would have noticed the tiny nub but me. Christmas this year is not the perfect Christmas that we would want, courtesy of the pandemic. However, perfection, again, is not required. What is needed is to do the very best we can for others, ourselves, and be content with the blessings that we have. Our perfect God loves us just as we are – imperfect and human, but his loved children nonetheless. The perfect gift of salvation is available to all – for free. Receive it and enjoy. Our encouragement verse for this week is: Romans 15:7 (NIV) “ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” May you be blessed by God's word. Chris Written and Shared by: Chaplain Chris Belfield
Art Linkletter is best remembered as a TV host from 1952 to 1970 during the golden days of television. He was also an award-winning author and motivational speaker. His fame came as a result of his famous House Party program. But it was the final segment of every show that is primarily remembered today. That segment was titled, "Kids Say the Darndest Things." This was the purest and sincerest form of entertainment for all ages to enjoy. With paternal friendliness and an engaging smile, Art would ask questions about what they thought, wanted, and observed from their unique perspectives. Their answers made for some of the funniest replies. Art's reactions to the children's responses were just as entertaining because he had to react as an adult and let the kids know it was OK to just be a kid. In 1957, Art published his first bestseller book, appropriately titled, "Kids Say the Darndest Things." It was a great read then and still is today if you can find it. Now what made me think of Art Linkletter after so many years? Seeing other young children reminded me of the fun the kids had on the TV program. Specifically, two incidents occurred within two days here at home. The first was when I was taking our new child. Maggie, for a long walk through the woods. Eleven-week-old puppies need lots of exercise, and so does a sedentary owner. While in the woods, Maggie started noticing movement off to our side. I looked and saw a white blur, but nothing else for several moments. As the animal got closer, I could make out a small, darting white entity, and then there it was right in the middle of the walking trail – a ferret. I have since been informed that I saw an ermine. A what? I had to look it up, and sure enough, that's what it was. The specific, authoritative description is: "Ermine, (Mustela erminea), also called stoat, short-tailed weasel, or Bonaparte weasel, northern weasel species the genus Mustela, family Mustelidae. The species is called Ermine, especially during its winter white color phase." Nov 12, 2020, www.bitannica.com The Ermine was having fun playing hide-and-go-seek with Maggie and me for the remainder of our walk. The next example was Maggie herself. After all, puppies really are just canine children, right? Well, she had a case of the crazies right in the house. She had grabbed one of her toys and began a full-out run in a circle encompassing the living room, dining area, and kitchen. This went on for several minutes. Even when she wiped out on the hardwood floor, she just got up and continued on her mission. Eventually, she stopped, so pleased with herself, rolled over and went to sleep. Here we are two weeks before Christmas. The anticipation for young ones everywhere is growing exponentially as the day gets closer. The signs are readily apparent. There are the continuing commercial sale ads, mailings advertising bargains too good to pass up – supposedly. There has been the season music for the past month and the sight of trees being carted atop vehicles that never imagined they would be used as Christmas tree conveyances. Then there is the explicit declaration of the season – Christmas decorations, inside and outside homes and businesses. There is a certain amount of mystique and amazement when seeing the creativity people have in their decorating. They can almost be seen as art forms. So it is that for the past several generations, a tradition has carried on throughout communities everywhere – the Christmas lights tour. That is where we, as children, were all piled into the family vehicle and toured the different neighborhoods to see all the Christmas light decorations on the houses. When we became older, wiser, and had children of our own, we did the exact same thing. One of my fondest Christmas season memories was while stationed in North Dakota in the 1990s. We had the privilege of taking an elderly woman from our church on a Christmas lights tour of the community. Usually, it would take an hour or so, but she had such a wonderful time that we slowed down and then reversed course for a three-hour tour. She laughed and clapped her hands and told us stories of how farmers decorated during the Depression in the 1930s. She didn't talk about the apparent struggles of that time. She shared the joy of using whatever was at hand to celebrate the season. This season is an excellent opportunity to let the children be children and enjoy the season's lights and sounds, no matter what age the child is. God intended and still wants us, as his children, to celebrate the season of the birth of his son, our savior, by laughing and clapping our hands in joy. There are some great light shows in the local communities and in your community. Enjoy, Our encouragement verse for this week is: 1 John 1:5 (NIV) "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." May you be blessed by God's word. Chris Written and Shared by: Chaplain Chris Belfield
How time flies when you stop to think about all that has happened in a relatively short time. I note that the weekly encouragements have been going for two years already. By Tuesday or Wednesday, if I do not have an outline in my head, I begin to get nervous about what to write about that will encourage others. Then God reminds me to relax and rely on his inspiration. This week, I found myself on a mental "empty tank" because of the busyness of the past week and the next two weeks looking pretty much the same. The weekly encouragements started as I provided pulpit supply to a local congregation until their pastor arrived the following year. I thought it was a good idea to help church members be encouraged by God's word and observations of all that he has done and provided. Then I remembered that this was by no means a new or novel idea but rather had been instilled at a very young age. My grandparents ensured that my siblings and I attended church, and not just on Sunday morning. There was Sunday morning, and Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening, and also special youth activities. It took years to realize that Wednesday night prayer meetings and youth activities were a mid-week refresher for the soul. The anticipated refreshments at the youth meetings were an added bonus. Some of the fondest memories of childhood are associated with youth outings and adventures. At these activities, I learned to swim, took trips to the Hershey, Pennsylvania, amusement park. I also got to ride to the meetings in a really cool car – a 1968 AMC Javelin. You have to look it up on Google to appreciate it. There was also a 1970 Plymouth Duster and a 1968 Mustang. But what also stands out is that we were encouraged as youth by messages of hope during a dark time in our country's history. While you’re on Google, check out the social and political happenings in the late 60’s and early 70’s. It is 2020, and the weekly encouragements are provided to over 50 friends and acquaintances around the country. They are also now shared weekly on the local community radio station on Friday mornings. The hope and prayer are that those who read or hear these small messages will be encouraged to reflect on how good God is to us. So it is that as an encourager and exhorter, I take pause to reflect on how so many of you and others have encouraged Cathy and me – for which we are sincerely grateful. Lake County has allowed both of us to serve as volunteers for different activities and organizations. As the pandemic increased in its effect within the local community, there was a request to consider being trained as COVID-19 case investigators and contact tracers for Lake County. Cathy, another volunteer-Katie, and I are the three principal interviewers for the county. We have all interviewed dozens of local residents who have unfortunately tested positive for the virus. There is a prepared script from the Minnesota Department of Health that we read and a computer program with pre-formatted questions where we record the answers. Seems rather sterile until you factor in the human element. These are neighbors, friends, and colleagues that we are interviewing, and that's what makes each and every call so unique. The calls typically last about 20 minutes or so, and we try to be as friendly as circumstances permit. The results have been nothing less than phenomenal. One of the mandatory questions is: "Are you pregnant?" Now, in its infinite wisdom, the state of Minnesota makes no distinction as to age or gender. Imagine the response from an 80-year-old man, who says that is the best laugh he has had for the day. A 90-year-old woman replied, no, but could she volunteer? I can honestly state that I have not had one person complain about their test result or their own circumstances. I have repeatedly heard the strength and resolve that this pandemic will pass and that things will only get better. The most significant concern is for the children and for visiting older family members. Thus, these interviews and people's resolve to continue moving forward have encouraged Cathy and me. I feel like I have made so many new friends that I have never met. Now, I am encouraged that when the pandemic has passed, I will be able to actually meet my new friends. Our encouragement verse for this week is: Hebrews 13:16 (NIV) “ And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” May you be blessed by God’s word. Chris |
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