Hi
everybody!
I'm
sitting here writing the first of my newsletters
that I'll be sending out semi-bi-annually (that's
French for 'whenever I get around to it'). I
used to have a hard copy newsletter. It was
called reMarks. But the mailing and
printing became so expensive, I stopped it.
(People just weren't paying their 'postage due'
like they were supposed to!) So, since we're
in the 90s and it's an e-mail world, I thought
I'd fire up reMarks (The Mark Lowry Internet
Newsletter).
NOTE:
If you get this and don't want to receive it,
just hit 'reply' and then type in, "Kindly
remove me from this stupid newsletter e-mailing
list. I get enough junk mail and this is the
worst piece of trash I've received since I got
my computer in 1971! So, take my name off your
cotton-pickin' list!" and we'll happily
remove you (after we sell your name to the Democratic
Fundraising committee).
But,
if you'd like to continue receiving these tidbits
of wisdom every now and then... do nothing...
and they'll just keep coming... and coming...
and coming...
Now,
for my news - I just got home from California
and Arizona. I was with The Gaither Vocal
Band. It's a great gig. All I have to
do is try to sing on pitch, and make fun of
Bill Gaither all night, AND HE PAYS ME TO DO
IT!
I
love America! We have about four specials a
year on The Nashville Net work (TNN). If you've
been to a recent Vocal Band concert, you know
we have a Who's Who of Gospel music on stage.
It's unbelievably fun. Some of the heroes from
my childhood are there...Howard and Vestal Goodman
(I used to hear them sing on TV every Sunday
morning when I was getting my whipping before
church), The Martins (a new young group that
is incredible...you might have read about them
in the latest CCM magazine), The Nelons,
The Florida Boys, Sue Dodge, Candy Hemphill
Christmas (yes, that really is her name), and
on and on.
We
all flew home together. Candy Christmas and
I were standing at the ticket counter, and the
lady checking us in recognized me. She said,
"Why don't you tell us a joke!" I
told her I'd love to but I'm "off the clock."
Candy
said, "If you bump him up to first class,
he'll tell you one." The lady kind of chuckled
(as if she was saying, "Yeah, fat chance,
his jokes aren't that good.") Then, when
Jake Hess walked up the lady automatically bumped
him up to first class. But, you know, I don't
really like first class. Those seats are too
big. The food is too fattening. I'd rather have
the seat they gave me. Back row, middle seat,
between two people who had been eating too much
of that fattening food in first class. They
took up their seat and half of mine. They already
had the arm rests up (so they could expand a
little) by the time I showed up. The back row
seats do not recline. There's a wall that stops
you from reclining. But the seat in front of
me reclined like a La-Z-Boy! So there I was,
squeezed between two overly-fed people, with
the guy in front of me in my lap... for three
hours!
I
got bored... so I checked out his dental work.
I think his dentist did a good job.
Some
of you may know I've decided not to do a 'Mark
Lowry Tour' this year. I've been traveling for
17 years (I can't believe it's been that long),
and it's been fun. But, I'm tired! I'm taking
a year off to decide what I want to do with
the rest of my life. I want to write some more
songs, travel with The Vocal Band, and do some
TV stuff (like the TNN Gaither specials.)
And,
I want to hear from God. You know that's the
coolest thing - to have time to hear from God.
Sometimes I get so busy, and I'm surrounded
by so many people, that it's hard to hear God
in all that noise. He doesn't holler... unless
He has to. And, by the time you got Him hollering,
you're already in a mess. He talks to us in
a still small voice. Still, small voices are
hard to hear when you're whizzing by them. They're
still... you're whizzing... you gotta be still
and put your ear right next to their mouth to
hear them.
Sometimes
God gets my attention by showing off. I just
looked out my window and He's doing it right
now! I'm looking at a full moon. It's bright,
it's clear, and it's right between the window
frame and the blind - the perfect spot. If you
don't think God's a show-off, then you've never
seen a sunset over an ocean. I was down in Panama
City Beach a couple of weeks ago. I watched
about a hundred sunsets in one night. Just about
the time I thought that was the most beautiful
sunset, God blew the clouds a little and revealed
an even more spectacular one. I just stood there
quietly bragging on God. I told him how creative,
incredible and magnificent He was. And I did
say, "Go on Lord. Show off. I'm watching!"
Some people might find that prayer a little
unorthodox but I have a limited vocabulary.
And
just right now, as I'm wrapping up this newsletter,
I looked out the window again and caught the
last eclipse of the moon of the century. I hear
a comet is supposed to be visible later tonight,
too.
You
know, it's hard to be impressed with your own
talent after you've seen what God can do. It's
hard to believe people when they tell you how
creative you are after you've seen His creativity
in a sunset, a full moon or a passing comet.
We should never be overly impressed with our
own talents.
God
isn't. He invented talents. Psalm 51 (in The
Message) says, "a flawless performance
is nothing to You."
Trying
to impress God with your talent is like trying
to impress Edison with a pen light. The guy
thought up the original light bulb. He's NOT
going to be impressed!
God
thought up talents and passed them out to everybody.
There are singers who will never sing a song
praising the Lord, who can out-sing those who
do.
God
gave them THEIR talent, too! No, He's not impressed
with talent. He didn't die for talent. He died
for US! He wants US! He wants me, and He wants
you.
But,
He won't scream at you. He calls in a still
small voice. You gotta get still and listen.
And, if you watch... He will show off!
Cya,
Mark
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