I felt like an ant gazing up at a gigantic airplane, one with the greatest wingspan of any aircraft ever made. I felt nine years old gawking at the scorched underside of an Apollo capsule plucked from the sea after orbiting the moon. I felt queasy and aghast touching a black ten foot nosecone built to deliver a nuclear bomb. I stood amazed in front of a restored B17 Flying Fortress bomber, with its tiny, fragile bubbles bristling with machine guns. Does that tiny airplane that I could fit in my dining room really fly? I AM TOUCHING A BLACKBIRD. And the lunar landing module looked larger and sturdier than it did on T.V. from the moon as Neil Armstrong set first human foot there. I chuckled reading Buz Adlrin's comment about Armstrong's famous words -- something like, "That may have been a small step for Neil, but it's a long step for me, he is taller than I am." I passed up the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum many times on the way to the beach. I think it is very worth a few steps off the main road to see. I've been to the Smithsonian, it's wonderful. But for me EASM outdid it for accessibility and a feeling of wonder.

I keep thinking about this part of Sunday’s lesson, James 1:22-25: “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.” I’ve read, and found it plausible to believe, that the very act of moving from one place to another effects short term memory loss. Often I resolve to get or do something in one room, walk into another, and immediately find that I have forgotten what I came in for. If someone is in the room I enter, I usually stare at the person blankly for a moment, then confess I have, in a small way, just lost my mind. Some researchers believe they have demonstrated that the act of passing through a doorway is what triggers forgetfulness. No wonder many people of faith put reminders of God, and themselves, on the doors of their homes. James knows human nature. We all want to know what we look like. Poking at my vanity, he seems to say “If you would pay attention, you would only need to look once.” Or better, perhaps, why worry so much about how I look, when it matters more what I do when I am on the move? I’m about to go for a walk; I hope I remember this.

So, I'm finishing an ambitious 5 plus run, and feeling good on the home stretch into Forest Grove. The road slopes just slightly downhill, and I'm feeling gooood. A city police officer is parked at an intersection I am about to pass. I wave at the officer. As I pass I see he is pointing his radar gun my direction. My first silly thought is that he is checking to make sure I am not exceeding the speed limit. I strut inwardly for a microsecond. Then my soul blushes. You could not have seen it, but it happened. What is my message for the coming Sunday? Let no one think more highly of himself than he ought. Nailed. Thank you, God.

Hello, and welcome to my blog! Thanks for checking it out. You'll find my occasional short devotional thoughts, miscellaneous comments, and observations from the paths I walk, run, and cycle. Even if you never come back - consider yourself prayed for. I believe God who knows and loves you is right beside you.