Now for something really silly

Now I know that our culture has gone completely insane- high heels for babies! Here's their motto- "her first high heels." I'm sure they will be successful because stupid ideas like this always do well. When you combine a bored culture with too much time and money you get silly things like this. (Sorry to get on my soap box, this is just too much for me or am I simply getting too old?)

So what's the big deal? I just see so much that is really needed in our world that to waste money on this silliness just bugs me. Ok, I feel a little better now. Thanks for listening......

Monday's cartoon

Sorry I'm late with the regular Monday cartoon, but you wouldn't believe my Monday if I told you, so I will use that as my excuse. I found this cartoon and thought it was perfect.....it's like the story of the little boy who responded to his Sunday School teacher, "I know the answer is Jesus, but it sounds a lot like a squirrel."
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The difficult parts of my job

It was nearly 1 am this morning. I was finally sleeping well and then the phone rings. It was officer Scott from our local police department. Scott told me, "We have a notification of death to do tonight, will you come and help me?" And so, at 1 am this morning I get dressed, head for the police station and we get in Scott's patrol car to go to the families home. Scott said, "I have never done this before, would you tell the family that their 27 year old daughter was found dead in her apartment?" Thanks, Scott! (I thought), but I responded, "Sure, I'll be glad to talk to the family." This poor family was awake, waiting for news. They had called the city where their daughter lives to ask the police to check on their daughter....they hadn't heard from her on Father's day and that was not normal or good news. So here we were....with the news they didn't want to hear. When we arrived at their home they were waiting in the driveway. We introduced ourselves, and I turn my attention to the young ladies mother. I took her hands and softly told her the bad news. It was a ministry of presence more than anything else. Once they knew the truth their words turned to thoughts of their daughter, questions about what to do next, caring for each other and tears. These times are always sacred moments when you care for people in their deepest times of sorrow. I almost feel I shouldn't be there, or should take off my shoes as Moses did. In those minutes together we heard their daughter's whole life story. It was a great comfort to me to know that she was a Christ follower and an avid student of God's word. I know these moments happen thousands of times each day, but when I'm part of a life's odyssey from mortal to immortal it's always a life changing experience. I know you don't know this family, but I would ask that you pray for them as they grieve over the death of their young daughter. Personally, I look forward to seeing what God does in this families life in the days ahead, and am praying for them. Even these difficult times in my job are blessed opportunities to serve God simply by being there.

Who's in charge?

This morning I was reading in Jeremiah and came to these words-

Jer 27:4 "Command them to go to their masters, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters,
Jer 27:5 "I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight.

It struck me that I live in a culture that has the perception that WE decide who is in charge. In fact that's not the case at all. God says over and over in the Bible that he places the leaders in place he wants, but what frightens us is seeing WHO he places in leadership. After the words above are these-

Jer 27:6 "Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him also the wild animals of the field to serve him.

It was hard for the people of Israel to understand how God could do such a thing. Nebuchadnezzar was very violent, cruel and wicked ruler. His exploits are legendary. I know my question to Jeremiah would have been, "how can God do that?" I often forget that God has a divine plan and is bringing that plan to it's final chapter. The best news to me in our time is not that the next leader of our country is a republican or democrat, but that God is in charge. That makes me smile, even when I don't know how we will ever survive the leader of the day......God is in charge.

Oh, and in case it's not clear he's in charge of his church as well. Having a sovereign God is a very comforting thing.

What an amazing family!

It's early Saturday morning and I just got back from seeing our Mexico mission trip off. This morning, at 4:30am, 80 people gathered to go to Mexico to build homes for people who don't have a decent place to live. What an amazing family the church is! Every day there are churches around the world reaching out to help others in need. In fact hospitals, soup kitchens, universities and a hundred other helps services were all started by the church of Jesus Christ.

Here's what's amazing to me about our trip this morning-

-each person raised their own support (which included part of the building cost)

-each of them took a week of their own time to go to a dusty, dry part of Mexico and work to help someone else

-all of them were at the church at 4:30 this morning to ride for 12 hours to serve others

-they will be sleeping in tents all week to build a house for someone else

-most of these people have done this trip before and love it

-they are all excited when they return because they were able to help someone else

-did I mention that most of the people on this trip are teenagers?

What an amazing family the church of Jesus Christ is! Having been on many mission trips it's always amazing to see that on every trip people are sacrificing of their time and money to help someone else. There is no other group of people on planet earth like the church of Jesus Christ. The church, reaching out in love as Christ commanded, has made a tremendous difference in the lives of millions. Today I'm excited to be part of such an amazing family- the Church of Jesus Christ!

The results of bad food

You've heard the expression, "sicker than a dog?" That was me. I found myself suffering from food poisoning. The food induced illness triggered other problems, and I was miserable. I'm feeling better today, but things like these are always opportunities for object lessons to me. I really trusted the restaurant I went to on that day, and enjoyed the meal little knowing that it would make me miserably ill for the next 3 days. I trusted the restaurant to give me good food, and because they failed I suffered. (I'm still a little ill today, but getting better.)

Many of you have had food poisoning, so I don't need to go into details on the results, but it's not fun.

So let me use this horrible experience to make a spiritual application- what you "eat" spiritually does matter. You may trust the source, but it might make you ill. There's a lot of "food" (ideas, truths, teachings) being offered that are good for you and will make you grow, but there is much being offered that will make you sick spiritually. You take in the nourishment with great enjoyment only to find soon afterward that you have been made ill by it. The problem with spiritual food poisoning is that you may not know how sick you are from the "food" (ideas, teaching) you have consumed. It's easy to eat from a dumpster thinking it's great stuff if you don't know any better. But when you get good food then the "bad stuff" becomes evident. There needs to be a reliable food source that we can measure the rest by, and there is...the bible is the one food supply that always offers good food for the hungry soul. It's also a great measuring stick to evaluate all other food offered to you. If the "meal" being offered doesn't line up with what the word of God offers then there is a real good chance it will make you sick. So be careful where you go for your nourishment. There is wonderful food available, but there is also much that will make you miserable. Be careful where you go for your "spiritual meals." It will affect you for good or for ill.

Today I find myself at home, ill, trying to rest and recover. I'm also aware that my mental gas tank is quite empty. I am constantly pouring fuel in- time in the bible, reading several great books, but I find that I feel very empty headed....out of gas. I have several things I am working on, thoughts I'm developing, personal issues I'm working through and should be back at full speed soon, so thanks for your patience.

Amazing missionaries

When you have time read Jenny's blog entry about a possible new member of their family. Missionaries find their mission fields in unusual places, just as we do here at home, but I think this post will really inspire you, and I hope challenge you to pray for Brandon and Jenny.

We're back!!

We're back!! It was a whirlwind trip across Arkansas, but we got home safely last night. Thanks for your comments last week while we were gone. It was hard to find a place to get online, so I didn't post as I normally have, but will get back to work this week. It was great to be back home in our little house again. I know our poor dog was glad to be back. He had to stay with the kids for a week and it wasn't a good fit for anyone. He's just getting too old to travel. We did see a lot of Arkansas, and loved the scenery. It is a beautiful state to travel through, but miles in Arkansas are much harder and slower than they are here. My brother-in-law, Scott, called them "mountain miles." Anyway, it's great to be back!

Monday's cartoon

(If you've seen my office wall this would be funny. Have a great Monday!)

One more trip update

Here is one more photo from our Arkansas adventure. Our purpose for the trip was to see Joye's parents and brothers. Here is a great photo of Joye and her dad. He had just gotten back from a double radiation treatment the day before for thyroid cancer and we weren't supposed to be within 6 feet of him, but we ignored the rules for a moment here and there to get a hug or a photo. (Although he did seem to have a funny glow about him.) Joye's dad and his wife have built a great mountain retreat near Mountain Home, Arkansas and we took a long day to drive through the Arkansas mountains to see them. (He's doing great by the way.)

People are important!

I'm sitting in Taco Bell in Ft. Smith, Arkansas drinking Mountain Dew and writing a quick note. We saw the "Free WIFI!" sign, so we ran over here. My brother-in-law, Scott and I are sitting at a table with our "dueling computers" so we can communicate with the "outside world." Joye and I are taking a week to visit with her family. It's the first time in over 10 years Joye has been with both of her brothers at the same time. Here's a photo of the three siblings with their mom:

Family is important, and it's been a great visit....listening to stories of their childhood, the trouble they got into, the things they did together and to each other. Over and over their mom would say, "I didn't know you did that!" It was fun.

As I think about our time here I'm also reading 1 Chronicles. It's a hard book to read for the first 11 chapters because it's the Chronicle of Israel's history. Here's a short sample:

1Ch 1:1 Adam, Seth, Enosh,
1Ch 1:2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared,
1Ch 1:3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech,
1Ch 1:4 Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth.
1Ch 1:5 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.
1Ch 1:6 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Diphath, and Togarmah.
1Ch 1:7 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim and Rodanim.
1Ch 1:8 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

It's funny how a passage of scripture will fit with a time in life. Here we are with people who are important to us, but no one else would know them if they passed them on the street. In this brief passage, which is rather boring really, is a list of people just like us who lived their lives, loved their families, told stories on each other and have now been all but forgotten except for their names written in the text of the Bible. People are important, but not for the reason most of us think. People are important because they are important to God. To God the value of each name, each person is priceless and is never forgotten. Although I will be all but forgotten to those living 100 years from now I will never be forgotten by God. He remembers every name, every life. Their stories, their sorrows and joys matter to him.

So, having written this I plan to slow down a little as I read 1 Chronicles. A list of names and lives I will never know, yes.....but lives that matter to God and have not been forgotten, absolutely! Amazingly it's reassurance to me that I am not forgotten by my creator either. I don't need to leave a memorial of my life, put my name on buildings, make sure I'm not forgotten....God will remember, and that's enough for me.

Monday's cartoon

A smile for the day

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Here's a smile to get your week started. I hope it makes your week a little brighter. This photo always makes me smile....I hope that it does the same for you. Have a great week!

10 years ago today....

Ten years ago today I started my job as a pastor here at the church. It's been an amazing 10 years! It's a strange feeling to go through 10 wonderful, but also very hard years and try to describe it to anyone else. I think I have grown in my faith through these years more than I have in any time before this. The church family here is wonderful. I love them dearly. They are a warm, loving, caring group of people that have walked through many of these years with me. For you who are part of our church family- thank you for your love and faithfulness. You are the reason this job never gets tiring. Thank you all for your friendship, love, care, prayers and support during this time. This body of believers will be a part of my life until I go home to see the Lord.

So here area few things that have happened during these 10 years-

-both of our kids have gotten married.
-our daughter and her husband have had 4 of the most beautiful children I have ever seen!
-our church grew from a few hundred to nearly 2,000.
-we went through a major "earthquake" as a church and survived it.
-a number of our church family have gone off to the mission field, that has been great to see.
-5 years ago we moved into our new church home. It's been a great facility, and is starting to feel like home.
-we have helped a number of the churches in our area grow through our earthquake time. It's something we prayed for, but didn't anticipate it happening this way.
-I have been busy helping other pastors with their ministries by encouragement and support. It's been a blessing to me to invest in their lives.
-we have a new teaching pastor. He's a great guy, and I really enjoy working with him.

There's a lot more for the list, but may I simply tell you how blessed I feel to have been part of this church family for these years. It has been a highlight of my life, and I can't wait to see what the next 10 years brings.......