Vol. 17 No. 30 | July 28, 2015

You have searched me, Lord,

 and you know me. 

You know when I sit and when I rise;

 you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

you, Lord, know it completely. (Psalm 139:1-4, NIV)

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know that I was rude to the lady that answered the phone and did not provide me with the information I wanted.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know how irritated I was when I was sitting in that line of traffic that was not moving, and there was no apparent reason for the stoppage.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know how sad I was to read about another senseless shooting in movie theater.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know how hard it was to tell my family good-bye when the family reunion ended last week.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know that I was rude to the man trying as hard as he could to fix our air conditioning. And You know that when he called me on my sarcasm, I felt awful and apologized profusely, and thanked him for accepting my apology and for working to help me.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know when I woke up Monday morning I was expecting to a quiet and normal week. You also know how quickly that changed when I was asked to accompany our youth group on a mission trip to the City of Children in Mexico…LEAVING SATURDAY MORNING. You also know how much trouble I had shifting my thinking to accept this is obviously Your good plan for me. You also know that once I adjusted my heart to be in tune with Yours how much I am looking forward to the trip.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know all the ways I have fallen short this week in living to bring glory to Your name.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know thankful I am to be able to sit in an air conditioned coffee shop with a very light weight computer write this article.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know that even when it is a good Friday afternoon it can be a very lonely time.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know how much I miss my children and my grandchildren when I cannot be with them as often as I would like.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know how amazed and thankful I am that my wife and I are approaching our 40th anniversary.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know how appreciative I am that You trust me to speak for You and lead Your people on a regular basis even though You are familiar with all my ways.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know, and I hope understand, how extremely disappointed I am and how discouraged I become when we, Your people, allow ourselves to be distracted from the building of the Kingdom by focusing on the trivial and mundane.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know that I know that there is nothing about me that is deserving of Your love, and how that is beyond my comprehension.

Since You are familiar with all my ways, then You know that I cannot adequately express how grateful I am to be called one of Your children…especially since You are familiar with all my ways.

You, Lord, are familiar with all my ways, and yet you love me. Thank You.

Tom

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2015. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.

Vol. 17 No. 29 | July 20, 2015

The 9th annual Mangum Family Reunion (my mother’s side of our family) drew forty-two of us from Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee to my hometown of Hope, Arkansas. What was designed for and intended to be a family reunion turned out to be much more for this dependent of Floyd and Agnes Mangum.

Going back to Hope is always a nostalgic experience. There are certain sites that are always a part of visits to Hope. Visits to Hope always include a drive through Fair Park, a drive by Hope High School, a journey through downtown (what’s left of it), and of course a passing look at the old home place. The family has finally all moved away, so these days overnight visits require a stay at one of the hotels. That in itself is difficult to grasp. Staying in a really nice hotel only a mile from where I grew up is strange.

Thought different from past visits this reunion in Hope provide several familiar reminders of days gone by and days ahead.

First, I was reminded that there is no place like home and there is nothing like family. Though I have occupied several houses and claimed to be at home in many other places since I left in 1970, Hope is always a trip home.

Second, no matter what is going on in the world or how much it appears (as Willie Nelson sings) “the world is spinning hopelessly out of control,” or what is going on in my little part of the world I am grateful that I have Hope to remind me that running the world is not my responsibility. This weekend I remembered that though at times I try to make everything that happens in the world my fault, my responsibility, or to somehow revolve around me, it does not. It is not my purpose to keep the world spinning. It does not spin around me. I am on board for the ride.

Third, no matter how tired I become from trying to make sure the world keeps spinning, or just how weary I become from trying to deal with life at it comes at me, there is a place of rest and renewal. That place involves being with family and being home. Mostly it involves remembering that the Lord has always and will always be in control.

Fourth, our reunion in Hope forced me to accept that some have grown tired, weary, and some are wearing out. Some have stumbled and fallen. Some are no longer with us. This reunion in Hope also reminded me that as some grow weary and pass on new life continues to renew us, refresh us, and restore our souls and give us hope. Because our hope is in the Lord our strength is renewed and that like others who have gone on before us we will soar on wings like eagles…we will run and not grow weary.

The reunion in Hope was designed to reunite our family. It did. But for me, possibly equally important was my reunion with Hope Thank You, Father for the reunion in Hope.

Isaiah 40 (NIV)

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.

18 With whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.

21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

25  “To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.

27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Tom

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2015. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.

Vol. 17 No. 27 | July 5, 2015

There sure are a lot of different smells! Odd way to begin an article, right? Seriously, have you ever noticed all the different smells and aromas you encounter every day?

As I leave home in the morning and walk from the bathroom, through the bedroom, through the kitchen through the laundry room, through garage, outside and into my car. Each room has a different aroma. From the fresh smell of soap and shampoo and cologne in the bathroom, I pass through the bedroom where the new quilted Coverlet has a unique scent. The kitchen smells of brewed coffee and toasted English Muffin. The laundry room smells detergent and hot water. The garage reminds me that it has been raining during the night and the humidity is high. Outside the wet grass and pavement gives off a special and somewhat unpleasant smell. Inside the car I remember that we brought home leftovers from the restaurant last night.

Driving to work the aroma of Starbucks drifts through window at the drive through. The fragrance of freshly mowed grass seeps through the air vents from the fields on both sides of the road to replace the stifling exhaust from a semi. An occasional stop at the local Donut Palace offers the tempting aroma of freshly baked pastries.

Walking from my car to the office building I notice a neighbor across the street has downed a tree and the scent of cut wood floats across the parking lot. Inside the door is the familiar smell of the workplace that has no real identifiable source. Passing through the offices one may notice the fragrance of fresh flowers or candles are not uncommon.

Further down the hall one detects that meals are being prepared in the kitchen one floor below. Opening the door to my office it is obvious that the door has been closed and the air has not circulated since Friday afternoon. Turning on the fan and lighting a beach-scented candle restores a freshness to the office.

The variety of odors, aromas, fragrances, and smells on any given day seems to have no limit. The hospital. The grocery store. A restaurant. Coffee shops. Office buildings. People. Each one has its own unique aroma and fragrances. Each uniquely suited for the place or the person. Each one seems to carry a specific image or memory from another place and another time.

It is that imagery that Paul uses to describe what we are to be as followers of Jesus. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Corinthians 2:14-16, NIV)

Just as walking through a house, or by driving down the street one can experience a variety of pleasant and unpleasant aromas, how we conduct ourselves as we move through the world will produce either a pleasant or unpleasant aroma to those with whom we interact. To our God we are “the pleasing aroma of Christ.” What are we to those around us?

Tom

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2015. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.