Toronto Day 2 (Monday)

Sorry yesterday was a little late, my internet has been spotty…

An early day (well, every day seems earlier). Breakfast was great for me, I got to eat Shreddies for the first time in years!

Today was a shock for me. We all went to our worksites today. Groups went to homeless shelters, Salvation Army, some worked with mentally handicapped people and of course Kids Clubs (summer long VBS). I got a little bit of a shock, I ended up (totally by accident) at the same church I was at 5 years ago when we were here last (Taylor, you remember Bob, the crazy old guy? He’s still here!). For us, it was great. Luke, our Youthworks leader, told us it was the best Monday he’d had all summer (Monday’s are hard, the kids test the new leaders). Other than getting a little lost looking for where we showered, today was great!

For our evening activity we went to Lake Ontario and hung out on the beach. We didn’t swim, Lake O’s a wee bit too dirty for that (although some people were, and I felt dirty just watching them). But it was fun, people played the largest game of Ultimate Frisbee they’ve managed to scrounge up this summer. And I think Jeremy won the rock skipping contest.

After that we made our way back to our home base, had milk (in bags) and cookies. That was followed by “Mad Props” and “Yay God’s” (praise for people doing good things and praise to God for doing good things), followed by some time together talking about outside influences on what we think of ourselves/how we act and how that relates to what Jesus said at the Sermon on the Mount regarding those who are blessed (The Beatitudes), plus some time with just our church group talking about the day’s events, how we felt, how we perceived people before we worked with them and after.

But that’s enough from me, what did other people think of today?

Andy P. ~ I worked at St. Jude’s Academy today working with mentally and physically challenged adults. And I saw an almost overwhelming amount of God in the adults that I worked with, because they had less worries and less on their minds, their minds seemed an example of purity and holiness. They were laughing and singing, and when Zak and James and I got up to lead worship on our guitars, the adults didn’t know the songs, yet they were laughing, and singing, and dancing as one would thing possible. I never thought Id see as much God in a place like this.

Natalie H. ~ Today I worked at the Moss Park Kid’s Club. My group worked with about 8 to 10 different kids, all from about 7 or 8 to 15 or older. When we arrived at the site, we weren’t sure how things were going to go, because no one had worked at that site before, so we didn’t have a report to have expectations from. We were a little bit separated from the other kids at the beginning, just because of their opinions of church-goers and Christians in general. But, as we played sports and games and just spent time with the kids and their leaders, we began to break the barriers between the two groups. By the end of the day, we were all acting like best friends. I felt like I had been with these kids for a long time, and I was having so much fun with them. It was a true blessing to hear at prayer time later, that the smallest girl there (who barely talked, even when she was confronted) spoke up to say that she was thankful for our group; that we were able to come and get to know them. We were so touched by this group of kids, and I saw God just opening their hearts and minds to why we were there.

Bobby H. ~ Alright, it’s kind of hard to start. Well, you were at the same YouthWorks Kids Club as me, Troy. As you may have noticed, it was a little bit of a slow start to actually get the kids involved. That was quickly remedied as we jumped into games and other activities, however. I believe that God was working His magic today in the fact that none of the kids were problematic in the least, in spite of rumors/facts spread about past occurrences (no fights, the first day was smooth for the first-time group leaders). All of the kids were engaged in the activities going on. If the kids did become disinterested, they quickly rebounded in finding other things to do. The fact that everything went so perfectly was His doing. I feel like I actually became friends with all of the kids I played with; it was as though they appreciated the fact that everyone there to spend time with them. The part of the day that touched me the most dealt with a little boy named Kaleb. He apparently was one of the children who had had problems with family and fighting in past occurrences. It made me so happy that he got along with all of the kids so well, as if he still retained all of the child-like qualities that could be lost in various sorts of strife. His brother dropped him off at Kid’s Club and ran off somewhere, even though he was at an ideal age to be involved with the whole Kid’s Club jazz. When Kaleb’s brother picked him up, Kaleb explained how much fun he had to his older brother. From this, the older brother informed me that he would be attending tomorrow as well! This was the most obvious workings of God for me for the day.

Taegan E. ~ I am working with a group of churches. They have started a program called Refresh they paint the interior of houses in a community of low income families that can’t afford the paint. Pastor Bill is the man in charge when we first got there after a very long car ride he gave us the background behind the program. Two years earlier there were three people having combined birthday parties. It was one of those parties where the music is blasting and attracts more people then was invited. There was an 11 year old boy who was at his cousin’s party. Two rival gangs showed up at the party there were shots fired the little boy was shot and killed. Pastor Bill went to open the church the next day and saw all the police and yellow tape he went over and asked what happen and that is the story he got. At the end of his sermon that day the congregation went out and prayed across the street the neighbor hood came a joined in. this was right in front of our sight. They started this program so that this wouldn’t happen again. We don’t just go in and paint the family is there to help us and they talk with us. It is a lot of fun and is a great program. We were cleaning up the mess that another group made. Like paint on the ceiling and on the light switches we ended up redoing the bathroom because it was done so poorly. But we were happy to be there our morning started off rough. We were being led to our site by a staff member and we got lost we were almost two hours late to our site. We finally got to the church and they told us that we had to go some place else. We got there no one was there after walking around and parking three times we found Pastor Bill. We got our supplies which included a jug of paint that weighed about 25 lbs. Matt and my other leader Randy passed off carrying it Jordan helped too. We went a few blocks until we got to the house we were going to paint. To make a long story short the mother wasn’t home and they didn’t want to let us in. We eventually got permission to enter the house and we started making the house look better. Unfortunately we didn’t finish but we did leave the house looking better than when we got there. But I think that crew #5( Matt S., Randy, Christian, Taegan E. , Kate T., Jordan H., Landon K. and Emily W.) all saw God in what we were doing after we heard Pastor Bills story. We all worked hard because we see God in the idea of the program.

Toronto Day 1 (Sunday)

Well, we made it. After leaving on time(!) we managed to get out of Fishers and all the way to Canada with no problems. Even at the border, we made it quick. The look on the immigration officers face was priceless when she had interviewed two people and realized she had 47 more to go. She literally yelled out, “Everyone hold out your papers” and went through everyone in 30 seconds, “Good, good, good, good…” all the way down the line. I hope going back to America is that easy!

Because of that we managed to be ahead of schedule, meaning we took a long lunch at White Oaks Mall in London (which meant I got to see my sister and her family, yay). It also meant I got to eat poutine for lunch (also yay).

Toronto was a little bit of a chore because our wonderful Rand McNally directions had us on Shore Road Boulevard for 1.6 miles, which was really more like 16 miles. The good part is everyone got to see a nice piece of Toronto, CNE, Skydome (Rogers Field), CN Tower, Air Canada Center, Ontario Place, etc. But then in a few short blocks the lovely painted condos turned into a more run-down area.

Everyone is settled and about to head to bed. We had Club earlier (our mini church service) where we talked about Freedom, and how we generally view freedom as our own personal ability to do what we want, not the idea in Galatians 5 where Paul talks about us being free not for ourselves but to use that freedom to help others.

We’re heading to bed, hearing about proper conduct and appropriate behavior before bed (there is no better bedtime story). Hope to be back filling you in with more tomorrow.

T

Do What God Made You To Do

Today I was reading the story of a couple that lived a few years ago (it was actually about the son, but let's focus on the parents for now). True story, the son wrote it as an introduction to his book.

Anyway, his parents met while they were studying at Yale. Obviously smart cookies. Were married and worked for the government in communication with the first lady quite often. Smart and in a power position. But things weren't quite what they thought they would be so they made a change.

They became farmers, and part-time drama teachers at an all girl's school near-by.

I love that! Not because of what they did necessarily, but because it is in direct contrast to what society would say is good. Can you imagine they conversation they would have had with their parents? "Thanks for sending us to Yale, but this incredibly hard, intelligent, and well-paying government job, it's just not for us. So we're going to be farmers. Come visit and you can have some beets on the house."

It just doesn't make sense in our society. We go after money, fame or power (or any combination of the three). But if you were created by God to be an artist, teaching biology will kill your soul no matter how much you're paid. I'm lucky enough that I love what I do (there are days, but all in all, it's great) and this week I get to go be with 50 people serving God in ways that will stretch them like never before. And I get to be a part of that! Thank you God for making me :)

And now to get ready for Toronto. I'm planning on blogging each day (but it really depends on Internet access...)

T

Can't Take It Back

I was reading Nicole's blog on the staff blogs of our church (www.fishersumc.org) and she talked a little about how we can't get time back. How even when set-backs happen, we can choose to be angry about it or we can choose to make the best of it.

I don't know, this one is a tough one for me. She is 100% right, but man, I love to dwell on the past. She made me think about how I need to let things go and make the best of it. Even today, I was thinking about something I preached a long time ago (at least 6 months) and I was thinking of what I should have said. Really? Six months ago? A little past due there Richards.

So help me, but do it with me. Let things in the past go. It doesn't change anything to think about what should have/could have/would have happened. All we can do is move forward.

T

What Does Your TV Say About You?

Growing up, my father loved to watch a certain television show. It was a great show, made by a great man. This guy was an inspiration to many, my dad and myself included. And what's funny is what this guy thought about his medium...

"Television is teaching you whether you want it or not." ~ Jim Henson

It's a good lesson. Television teaches us what is really important to us, what we really want. Kind of like how Oprah felt when she talked about how people told her they wanted programming with more substance to it, but at the same time Jerry Springer was beating her in the ratings.

The simple fact is what people say they want and what they really want are usually two different things. And television helps us see that. We say we don't want swearing, violence or sex on TV, but what sells best?

So what are you watching? And what does it say about how you really feel about what you want...?

T

Where Is The Church 2000 Years Later?

Today I was reading a parable Jesus told. Now, it's a little different than most. Jesus was nice enough to tell His disciples what a lot of the parables meant. But this one He kept the meaning to Himself.

Matthew 13:31-32 ~ Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”

So, since it was not explained by Jesus, I read a few commentaries about the meaning (I know, I'm a fun guy on a Saturday night, Lorie was working...). They all talked about how the seed represents the Christian movement. It started small, a few guys following Jesus in an area in the middle of nowhere, then over time it has grown and become huge, a world-wide faith with billions of followers.

But then the commentaries started to differ. Some believe the section about the birds nesting in the branches are signs of a good healthy church. The birds come in, they can find shelter, they can find food, they can grow and raise their young. Like we want the church to be today. Other commentaries show the birds in a different light. In other parables birds were a sign of satan (like the parable of the seeds, the birds eating the seed represents satan stealing people away). Those commentaries said Jesus was saying what would start as a small movement would become huge, but so big and tangled that satan would find his way in and nest there and cause the church to lose focus.

Two very different ideas. No one knows the right answer. So I came up with one. I figured I would just look at our church today, the one that started as a seed but is now full-grown, 2000 years old, and by looking at it now I can tell which way Jesus meant for the parable to go. And you know what I came up with?

I really don't know.

I mean, on one hand, tomorrow there are going to millions of churches with people in them worshipping God. Because the church has grown we are able to reach so many people and educate them in God's love, give them opportunities to serve. But at the same time, what have we done with our responsibilities? How much time do we spend going out rather than focusing in? How much money do we spend on our million dollar children's wings, all the while if every church in America (just the US) chipped in a little under $50,000 (the bigger churches would give more, the smaller ones less, it could work out) there would be no world hunger, world thirst, etc. As we've gotten bigger has our priorities gotten out of whack, how we spend our time and money followed what we should be doing?

It saddens me, being a part of the church and not knowing the answer to that. But I know I want to do my best to make sure we are the church Christ wants us to be...

T

Hard Work

Today I was reading the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den. Popular story, heard it since I was five, yada yada yada.

Anyway, today I was reading it and noticed something at the beginning I don't remember from before. Daniel was about to be promoted and the other guys in line for the promotion wanted him dead. I knew that, but why dead? You can read it at the start of Daniel 6. Daniel was going to get the promotion not because he was the king's favorite, but because...

Daniel 6:3 ~ Daniel showed that he could do the work better than the other supervisors and governors, so the king planned to put Daniel in charge of the whole kingdom.

All Daniel did was work hard. And the guys that didn't work hard didn't get the promotion. But instead of working harder to try and get the promotion, they immediately go to "let's kill the guy."

I don't know what it is, but I've noticed that we've lost a lot of our work ethic. The old stories of America's history are full of people doing the hard things, building houses with their own two hands, working the ground, building cities, working to create something of value. And now, it seems to me that there are a lot of people who think they are entitled to their jobs. They don't work hard at it, they just kinda do it, but they feel they shouldn't be fired because they deserve that job. Since when do we deserve something we don't work hard at?

Don't be scared of hard work. Do your best. It's the way God intended it to be.

Proverbs 20:13 ~ If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Stay awake, work hard, and there will be plenty to eat! (LB)

Proverbs 13:4 ~ Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper. (NLT)

T

Are You Shutting People Out?

This morning I rad the story of the paralyzed man that was lowered through the roof. If you don't know the story (Mark 2), Jesus is staying at this house, people find out He's there and crowd in to hear His teaching (He can't even get a day off). Then this guy who is paralyzed is brought by his four friends to let Jesus heal him. They can't get in so they cut a hole in the roof and lower the guy down in front of Jesus. Jesus heals him, they leave happy, it's all good.

I've heard that story so many times growing up. It's always the same, the faith of the paralyzed man and the persistence of his friends is the story. But I think there's so much more to it than that. One thing I want to know, why did no one let the guy through?

All the people there, they were listening to Jesus' teachings. This is pretty much like a Home Bible Study gone big. Maybe even a church service. So why would these people not let in someone who obviously needs help (he's on a stretcher, that should have been a hint)?

I wonder if the church today has people who need help but we are shutting them out. We don't want to step out of routine, we are so focused on making ourselves holy or our teaching or our spiritual growth we aren't seeing others who need the same, I earned my spot at this church, you haven't earned yours (if you don't think that's true, sit in a different pew at church and see what happens...).

The last thing in the world anyone should feel is neglected or like they don't belong, like they are unwelcome, especially when surrounded by people who say they are full of love and follow the God who is love. Let's not be so focused on our needs, our wants, what we would like God to do for us that we can't step aside and help others discover who God is. Start parting the crowd.

T

Coins In A Fountain

This has so little to do with anything, but I sometimes see how people behave and go, "Why? Just... why?"

One for today that I was just reminded of, why is it wherever there's water people throw money? I know there are wishing wells, and with that if you see one you are supposed to get a coin, make a wish, and throw the coin in the fountain. Got it. But since when are all bodies of water wishing wells?

Think about it. The fountain at the mall. The ponds in the gardens at the zoo. Even the occasional river. Look in them, there's almost always money. Do we do so many things out of habit in our society that we simply are trained and brainwashed that if we see water we need to throw money in it?

I've been thinking about putting a pond in my front yard just to see how much money I'd get...

T

Where's The "Sanctuary"?

Nicole and I were talking this morning (Nicole is in charge of the great 11:00 blended service in our sanctuary) and she said something that I was wondering about earlier in the day. She mentioned about NewSong (the modern service I'm in charge of, at the same time...) is not in the Sanctuary.

But for me, it is. A sanctuary is defined as a sacred or holy place. For many, that is the room we've named the "sanctuary" because we have planned holy events that happen there every Sunday and at other times throughout the year. For the people who take part in them, that space is holy. But here's something true for me that a lot of people won't like.

The room that is labeled "sanctuary" on our blueprints... it's not holy to me (gasp!)

It's true. If I had to pick a holy place at the church, it's not on my list. For most people in our church, the gym is just a room where we eat and play sports. Although that's true, it's where the bulk of ministry happens for me (along with the youth room). I have Sunday morning worship there. Our youth services are in there. We have events like the 30 Hour Famine where students physically do something to show love to people they haven't met. We transform the room into a prayer room where I have sat and watched teenagers pray for over an hour and a half (some of our adults couldn't do that). I have seen God more in that room than any other in one of God's houses we call Fishers United Methodist Church.

And when it comes to the room dubbed "the sanctuary", that room is not holy for me. I don't get to see the Sunday morning services. In fact, 98% of the time I'm in there, it's not holy at all. It's to fix a sound problem, a video problem, run something because someone didn't show up. Most of the time I'm in there the issue(s) I'm told to fix aren't real but we don't want to talk about the real problems. It's a room that involves frustration and sometimes half-truths for me (because whenever something doesn't work, I never hear someone say, "Oh, that was my fault" but I hear a lot of reasons why it wasn't their fault). In reality, that room is not holy to me. It is not my sanctuary, despite what the sign on the door says.

A good example of this; the holy place of Bethel. In Genesis 28 Jacob is running for his life. Then he rests and has a dream from God. Since he had an encounter with God there, that place was deemed holy (notice, the person who drew out the map of the land didn't say it was holy, then God showed up, it was the other way around). After Jacob met with God he pronounced that place his "sanctuary".

Genesis 28:18-19 ~ Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it. He christened the place Bethel (God’s House). The name of the town had been Luz until then. (MSG)

So if you're talking to someone about church, realize their sanctuary may not be your sanctuary, and that's okay. They aren't any less holy than you because you don't see the same rooms as "where God lives". Coach Bill with Campus Life was talking to me a little while ago about his church. An arsonist broke in and burned their sanctuary down. He said it was the best thing to happen to his church family. Suddenly they had to worship God somewhere different. All the stereo-types that went with worship that aren't necessary (we don't have any of those, of course) were broken down because they could not rely on past memories for moves of God, they had to look to God directly. And believe it or not, they met in a gym, had more holy experiences and even spent time with God there.

Open your mind a little. Visit someone else's holy place. Ask them why it's holy to them. You may be surprised at what you learn... (and so you know, Nicole thinks this way too, she wasn't bashing the gym. She had come down to spend time with God while worshipping during NewSong's practice).

The Lengths People Will Go Not To Believe In Jesus

It's something I've been thinking about today. I was reading this morning the story of the Resurrection, Jesus rising again. Wonderful story (I'm so glad it's there, the crucifixion always makes me sad). And in that story, you would think everyone would be excited. Even those that did not believe Jesus was the Son of God before. Here, He just rose from the dead like He said He would. We were there. We saw it. But instead of accepting that truth, let's pay the guards off to say the disciples stole their body.

Take a second to think about that. These people are living at the time of Christ, they have undeniable proof that He is alive, and they bribe the guards to say they were asleep on the job (a crime punishable by death). Why?! Because they will do anything, anything to say Jesus is not God. Because in admitting Jesus is God they have to also admit they are not following God as they should be, and that would mean changing their faith and lives. Which is easier, to change for the truth or maintain the lie?

This also hit me when I was reading about genetics yesterday. There are still many scientists that hold to the idea of Darwinian evolution. A theory (not proven) that has been falling apart steadily in the last 50 years with new discoveries, the Cambrian explosion, the human genome project, modern genetic research, etc. As scientist Stephen Meyer put it (director of the Discovery Institutes's Center for Science and Culture), "We've learned a lot about biology since the Civil War. Evolutionists are still trying to apply Darwin's nineteenth-century thinking to a twenty-first century reality, and it's not working. Explanations from the era of the steamboat are no longer adequate to explain the biological world of the information age." And yet people still chase after Darwinian evolution. Why? Well, what's the alternative? Which is easier, to change for the truth or maintain the lie?

I honestly believe that most people like the idea of Jesus. They like the idea of a loving God whose Son came to earth to offer forgiveness. What they don't like is the idea of then taking themselves out of the center of their universe and putting God there, changing how they live, even their purpose in life. It's a scary thing. It's kind of like I was reading yesterday about talking with volunteers. Most people you ask to volunteer have reasons they can't do it, like I don't have time. Realistically, they do have the time, and realistically, they want to volunteer, but they are worried about what it really means to minister to high school students. They don't say "there's no time" because there really isn't, they say it because the realization they do have time and they could help means changing some things in their lives and that scares them.

So where do we sit? Are we willing to change for truth or maintain the lie? And I know Christians that do this too. Yes, they believe in Jesus, but then they read sections like "take up your cross" or "be a servant of all" and that doesn't fit with their "it's all about me, Jesus saved me, the church meets my needs" mentality so instead of knowing more about Jesus, they resign themselves to know less and stay where they are comfortable. But since when do comfortable people grow...?

T

Fishers Freedom Festival Parade

Thanks to all who worked on the float, it seemed like people really enjoyed it, they liked the seeds, and some people were even singing along with the praise songs! Thanks to everyone who helped out, I hope to have some pics up by the end of the week.

Although, since we sing those songs Sunday morning at NewSong, and one we even sang that morning, they are completely stuck in my head. No matter what I do, all I can hear in the back of my mind is "Oh Oh O-oh, Oh Oh O-oh"...

Necessities

Today we set up a good chunk of the float for the Fishers Freedom Festival Parade. Thanks to everyone who helped out, and I hope to see you tomorrow during the parade.

But as we were finishing up Liz and I were talking about an article she was reading. It was about a book saying how we don't really need all we think we do, a book idea that was pitched over 20 years ago, but the author was told no one would buy a book about buying less or living smaller (it was the 80's).

But really, ow much do we need? The number one suggestion in the article to live simply, watch less TV. After all, every seven minutes you have a set of commercials explaining how much you need their product. I experienced it last night. I was watching TV and suddenly got hungry, no idea why, until I realized I had just seen about five ads for fast food. I had eaten only an hour before!

So start thinking about it. We're going to be talking about it at FUMC (www.fishersumc.org) during our "In God We Trust" series the first three weeks of July. How much do you really need?

Matthew 6:25 ~ “So my counsel is: Don’t worry about things—food, drink, and clothes. For you already have life and a body—and they are far more important than what to eat and wear." (LB, spoken by Jesus)

T

The Good Ol' Days

This morning I was thinking about all the things we do simply because we don't want to learn a new/better way. Call it "old dog new tricks" or simply being lazy, but we as a society don't like to learn new things or change what we're doing to be better. A few general examples would be our QWERTY keyboard (the way we type was intentionally used to slow fingers down to stop typewriter keys from sticking, but we still use it) or the metric system (America finally joined the rest of the world by officially using metric in 1993, but we don't actually use it, it's too much to learn, even though it's easier and people still don't know the system we have now, Lorie still asks me how many ounces are in a pound...)

So I started thinking about the ministry I'm involved in. This summer marks 10 years of full-time ministry for me. What if I still did things the way I did a decade ago...

~if I wanted to reach everyone in the youth group, it meant calling and leaving a message at each house or mailing a letter. No cell phones, no text messaging and only nerds had email (like me...)
~to mail something, like a newsletter, if I wanted art I would have to photocopy the art from a book, cut it out, tape it to the letter I was making, and photocopy it again. Programs like publisher were expensive and since my top of the line computer had a hard drive of 3 (yes 3!) gig, saving pictures was not an option (and that was my home computer, my church computer way worse).
~to do anything with video it required careful planning and recording everything on a camera in order or painstakingly plugging two VCR's in together and play/pause/record/pause/play/stop. But seeing how no one could afford a projector, the only way to watch a video was for me to carry a TV and VCR downstairs to the youth room. It happened seldom.
~without projectors, Sunday morning worship was the almighty overhead, black letters on a shining white backdrop. And after singing a verse a giant black hand would swoop in from the side, all the lyrics would blur to the right and new ones would appear then need to be adjusted, centered, flipped over and/or turned right side up. For every verse of every song for every service...
~recording a service was done on tape. If someone wanted a copy, it meant plugging two tape recorders into each other and waiting through the entire sermon again (unless you had an awesome tape duplicator like my college which could do a tape in 1/4th the time!)
~all pictures of youth events were done on film. You could get digital copies made so you could print more than one for your group, but that would require finishing the roll and waiting the four days for it to go out of town and come back on a Kodak CD.
~no video illustrations, no youtube.
~there were no online or offline Bible programs. All lessons, sermons, etc. were done with the lesson book, a Strong's Concordance and pure Bible knowledge.

And that's just off the top of my head in a little under a decade. And I know what the purists, those that don't like change, are going to say, none of this changes the gospel message. And that's true. But it's changed how I present the gospel. It's changed how I get that message to people. It hurts to think of all the time I "wasted" (there was no other way) when I could have been working more on my sermon or with students. Even this blog, wouldn't have happened a decade ago. Instead of spending most of my time preparing for a Sunday morning photocopying overheads, putting them in order, then having half my sermon prep be cross-referencing or trying to find that verse I know is in Romans somewhere, I can spend more time on the content and presenting that message.

Don't be an old dog. I just had to pause a second ago because Julie came in with a newsletter question, trying to get a photo where it should be for our church newsletter "Rooted". Man, that would have never happened a decade ago...

T

But What Happened To Them?

If you've ever read the Bible, you've probably noticed that it's not always heavy on the details. Ancient Jewish writing is different from today's style. Back then you didn't have printing presses and much of what is written was actually passed on verbally, so you didn't focus on all the details like we do today. You tell only the pieces that are necessary for the story or point.

But I like the details. And I really like it when I know more to the story. Like in what I was reading today. Ezekiel 37:1-14, it's a story where God tells Ezekiel to prophecy to a bone yard and as he prophecies the bones come together, flesh and skin cover them and they become people. Then God tells Ezekiel to prophecy to the wind to breathe life into them and it does. Then God explains that these people are like the people of Israel, they feel dead and in pieces, but God will bring them back together and breathe life into them.

Great story. Incredible illustration. But what happened to those people? The story ends there and Ezekiel's on to something else. What happened to these dead people? Did they die again instantly? Did they go home and yell, "Surprise" (they would have been dead a while if they were nothing but a pile of bones)? Did they become some sort of zombie army ravaging the land until they were killed... again?

I understand that we will never know, and that thinking this way completely misses the point that God will take care of His destitute people and give them new life (or live more abundantly, John 10:10), but it's part of who I am, I just wish I knew what happened next...

I still wonder what they looked like. Did they look like when they died? The same age? I'm guessing they looked pretty good, God didn't put them together with scars and zits or anything. Did they know what was going on? So many questions...

T

Great Adults

Tonight we had an adult meeting for our summer mission trip. Seven adults who are willing to give up an evening to spend it with me (and each other) talking about what we will be doing in a few weeks.

And after they left (although I knew it before), I started thinking about how great these guys and girls are. Something I've said for a long time is if you want to see what's important to someone, watch how they spend their time and their money. And tonight, I looked at that. We have seven people who are giving up their summer vacation, a week they have worked hard to earn, and possibly even a week's pay to spend that time with our students. Obviously, they care about our students and God's plan for them.

Thank you guys, for all you do!

T

Hallelujah

There's a song by Leonard Cohen called "Hallelujah". It's a nice song. Slow, melodic, and obviously means a lot by the title.

I don't know what it is, but I have heard that song everywhere lately. Commercials. TV Shows. It seems to be in the background of everything. And all of them have something in common. They all seem to be at some point where someone is on the brink of despair and manages to come back. A time that's very emotional. Not necessarily "happy", but emotional.

And I started to think today as it was playing on my iPod, isn't it funny how the word that was used to be an ultimate praise to God is being sung by people whenever things are hard and wrong and they're just crying out for a change, for a helping hand from heaven. When at their lowest point, all they can do is actually praise God, singing "Hallelujah"...

T

Pruning

In our backyard we have a rosebush that is really, really blooming this year. A few weeks ago it was bright red with tons of flowers. It was very pretty, But, it also needed work.

Anyone who has grown their own produce or worked with flowers knows you need to do the occasional pruning. As beautiful as the rose bush was, there were maybe 40 flowers on it. But when I started pruning I noticed two things. One, some of the flowers were wilting or dying, but they were still taking nutrients from the bush. The other thing, there were buds waiting to come out. Over 90! (I counted). And those buds couldn't get sun because of the flowers over them. The bush needed to be pruned to allow growth.

Sometimes I think we need to do this to grow spiritually. We have areas that are dying or wilting, but from afar they look great or they just seem like a part of the plant. We even have healthy parts, but they are draining the overall plant. It really hurts to prune those parts, they seem vital and alive. Although they're alive, they're not vital and need to go so other parts can grow.

What in your life needs to be pruned? Look at what you spend time on, money on, effort on. What needs to be set aside? It may even be something that seems good, but is blocking / sucking the life out of something more important...

T

Discipleship

Sorry it's been a few days. I was at Ichthus last weekend and along with VBS set-up, I've been a little sleep deprived (I think I preached in the middle of that...)

Anyway, Ichthus was good. There were two things that really stood out to me. One was a little personal. Deleriou5? played what may be the last concert I will ever see of them (they are retiring as a band, it's only been 17 years). Even though I don't know every single song of theirs, it was good to see some people who are pioneers in the modern worship movement and hear them speak from their heart.

The other was discipleship. It's funny how God seems to be driving some points home in people around here. For the last almost year we've been talking at Drink Deep about reaching out with the gospel, but how that's not just saying, "Believe in Jesus, well, see you later." It takes work and discipleship. This weekend Justin Lookadoo said exactly the same thing. We as the church may be missing it. We seem to like the idea of people knowing there is a God. "Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Good, then you're in."

The problem is I can believe in someone, but not follow them. Not serve them. Not worship them. I had a teacher at college who was a great friend. I believe in him. I know him. But that didn't make me a fellow teacher. When it comes to Jesus, just knowing who He is or believing He exists isn't enough. As Justin reminded the crowd, even demons believe in Jesus. So you're about as strong a Christian as a demon, good job (that's found in James 2, it's a good section about serving). We need to move from personal head knowledge to a life of dedication and service and love to our God.

After all, as we've been talking about in Fire & Water, we're not called to make converts, to help people simply believe there is a Jesus.

Matthew 28:19-20 ~ Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this—that I am with you always, even to the end of the world." (italics added)

T

Compassion Offering

Every time we meet at Fire & Water we take an offering that goes directly to three students we sponsor through Compassion. We have been kind of wondering if we need to let one go. It hurts my head to think of doing that, but it's somewhat a reality...

Until last Sunday. We deposited the offering and there was $222.73!! One offering from Jr. and Sr. High school students! Good job guys! And thanks for supporting people who are less fortunate.

But on another note, if that's what a couple of teenagers can do, what can you do...?

T

Gardening

Tonight I did a little gardening while Lorie worked on VBS stuff (we still need volunteers to help out!) Usually that's her job, she loves to do it, but I helped out and planted (and disturbed way too many worms, I think they're going to revolt against me).

And as I was doing it I was thinking about how many people there are who don't like plants )or animals for that matter). I'm not saying everyone should be a tree-hugger, but I know this. Almost everything I do, make, say, create, even the bad stuff, Lorie still can find something positive to say. Why? Because she loves me. And part of loving me is that she loves what I do (for the most part).

I have a hard time seeing someone who is a friend of David Crowder saying, "He's a nice guy but I hate all his music, it's trash." Why? Because if you care for someone you care for what they do. And I don't know, but I think that as Christians, we should like what our Best Friend made.

Just a thought...

T

The Good And The Bad Of Tonight's Hockey Game

I just finished watching the Red Wings game (I'd mention the Penguins, but I don't think they showed up), and although that was bad in itself, that's not one of the two things I noticed in the match.

First the bad. I am tired of players losing their cool. Yes, sports are emotional, and yes, it stinks to lose, but you know what? You are paid millions of dollars to play a sport! Suck it up buttercup and keep your composure. Pittsburgh started to lose and suddenly the Red Wings are getting elbows to the head. Horrible. If the role models who are paid to play a sport (and play it right) can't display self-control, why are we surprised when the ten-year-olds who watch their role models act like sulking babies can't do it either?

But, there was good in the game. There is one thing I love about Detroit fans. They are loud! They sing all the time. Even after the music stops, you can hear 20,000 people still singing, loud and proud. I just wish somehow we could get people in churches to be like that. Something I personally don't get, when singing a prayer to God with other people we mouth the words and stay quiet. When at a sports event where your voice really doesn't matter, that's where we're the loudest.

Just a query and a hope...

T

Poison Ivy

Friday was our annual Promotion Lock-In, we have fun at the church celebrating the last day of school and welcome our new freshmen (although most of you stayed home, what's up with that?)

Well, late Friday night I noticed a rash starting to form on my right ear. It was a little annoying, but whatever. The next morning it was on my forehead, then my other ear. It felt familiar but there was no way. No stinking way...

Yep, poison ivy. I managed to get poison ivy on Friday afternoon without ever going outside! I caught it in the youth room (to put minds at ease, yes it is possible because you get poison ivy from the oils of the plant. If someone brings the oil with them on some clothing or something and brushes against the youth room furniture, there's your poison ivy. However, it doesn't last forever, it will dry out and the youth room has been cleaned).

The part that frustrated me (and Lorie) is that I wasn't even outside. I didn't do anything to get poison ivy. Last time I had it, yeah, I was playing in the bush crawling through it in the middle of the night. This time, nothing.

But it made me think about our spiritual lives. We are told to avoid sin at all costs, but do you ever notice how things just seem to slip in? Accidentally seeing something on the internet, flipping channels, even visiting a friend who is doing something wrong and convinces you to join. It just seems to be everywhere. And sometimes we don't even know it.

Hebrews 12:1b ~ Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. (NLT)

T

Prophecy

I've been spending some time reading the prophets and am doing so again this morning. And as I was reading I've hit a section where it's a lot of "The Lord said unto me" type things. And I started thinking, what would happen if we had people going around saying things like that today.
My first reaction is we would think they're nuts. No one would listen. No one would pay attention. We've had thousands of years of people saying "God told me" only to find out that it wasn't true nor God. We would simply think "yeah right" and continue on with our day (it even happened to me not to long ago at a Wal-Mart. No one believed this guy).

But then I started thinking, no wait. We do believe in that kind of prophecy still. Just with one rule: It has to be good. If people are praying at church and someone tells another "God just spoke to me, He said you're going to be rich", we are all over that. Blessings upon you. Name it and claim it. We have no problem believing someone was spoken to by God if they have something good to say, but if it's bad, it can't be God.

And then I realized. That is exactly what is going on with the prophets in the Old Testament. A majority of them are saying things the people don't want to hear. And yet Jeremiah talks about how there are other prophets and they are not speaking the Word of God, they are just saying good things. And the kings and the people are eating it up and ignoring what they don't want to hear. They think something is from God if it's good. If it's bad, the "prophet" must be wrong.

Even in churches today, three thousand years later, are we different? Forget prophecy, if a pastor stands up on Sunday morning and says something the congregation doesn't want to hear, do they realize they should change or do they write it off as the pastor was wrong today? I even remember talking with a youth pastor in town about the idea of internet churches, you go online and pick the sermon you want to hear and he started to laugh. "We'd never hear about sin again. Give me grace every time!"

So really, how far have we come with God in three thousand years? And if we want to go further, what do we need to do?

T

Circle Of Life

Sorry it's been a few days, Lorie and I were in Chicago for the weekend visiting the in-laws (or as Todd calls them, the out-laws).

But while we were there we received a gift from Lorie's sister and husband, a bag of squirrel food. (They didn't want it anymore, and they were trying to give us something we didn't want inside the bag, but that's a different story). This was good because we have some thieving squirrels. They take the feed from our bird feeder and empty it out all over the ground.

So we put out a little squirrel feed for them today (we were trying to coax the baby chipmunk from our flowers) and wouldn't you know it, they never got any. Why? Because the birds started stealing their food. That's right, the birds got back at them by taking their food.

Wouldn't life be so much simpler if animals (and people) took what they needed from where they are supposed to? Novel idea...

T

"God Bless"

Tonight I was flipping around watching TV (I know, surprising), but I happened to come upon a concert that was playing. I stopped for a second. It was a little crazy, singing about anarchy with people spewing fire (did I give it away?). Lots of lights, at least in the 30 seconds I saw.

I was about to change it when they did a huge finale, fun to watch, then the singer says this. "God bless you."

Now I'm not trying to judge here, but I know about the band, they don't believe in God, they're singing a song about anarchy and definitely not promoting "Godly" values in the few seconds I saw, but they still said "God bless you" to the fans at the end of the concert.

How does that work? Do they believe in God? Do they believe but not follow, because that doesn't make sense to me? Do they understand it is a prayer they're offering? Does God see it as that? Is He happy He's mentioned or saddened He's associated with this?

So many questions...

T

Impulse Christianity

Earlier this week Pastor Mike and I went to a one-day conference in which the speaker said something that stuck with me.

Many people give, serve, do whatever it is to feel good. They want to have a sense of fulfillment. The problem is that the everyday steps of discipleship don't feel "spiritual" some days. Instead, the out of the ordinary things seem more spiritual or impactful. What this means (according to the speaker) is people typically wait and do things spur of the moment or impulsively because that feels better, it feels more spiritual in a sense.

But that's not the way it is. Discipleship is an everyday devotion, it is continually doing what you need to do for Christ, giving, serving, worshipping, whatever it may be.

Luke 9:23 ~ Then He said to all, "Anyone who wants to follow Me must put aside his own desires and conveniences and carry his cross with him every day and keep close to Me!

So let's not be impulse Christians. Let's be disciples.

T

Art Is Too Easy

I was online looking for a piece of art that I can't remember the name of (that makes it hard). It depicts Jesus talking with His disciples.

And here's what I found. So many different pictures of Jesus. The classic looks, Him teaching, even Him holding a gun and showing a child how to shoot. And I was thinking who would bother to take the time and do that?

But that's when it hit me, it doesn't take anytime at all. Thanks to Photoshop and other computer programs, it takes a few minutes. Thanks to the internet in seconds millions have access to it. Five hundred years ago a work of art would take hours and years of someone's life, then there would be just the one. No one would make such mocking pictures as we do because quite simply it would be beyond their time.

Isn't it great how technology has made our lives better? And look at how we use it...

T

Happy Birthday Lorie

Sorry I wasn't on lately. Yesterday was Lorie's birthday so we were out having fun :)

New posts soon.

T

Why Can't We Just Give?

Sorry, a short one, but it was on my mind.

Yesterday I was at a Christian Bookstore (getting Grad gifts, what are they? Find out at the Senior Brunch...) and at the counter they have the ever popular impulse buying things. And to the side was something you could buy, a bell or whatever, and for each one bought the company would send a Bible overseas.

What I don't understand is when did we hit the point that we only give if we get something in return? If you want someone to get a Bible overseas, just give to an organization that gives Bible overseas. How much of that giving do you think is used for the stuff you get to keep, promotion, packaging, etc. Even the 30 Hour Famine, this week we give out the "prizes" for those who gave certain amounts to the cause. Wouldn't the cause have gotten more if everyone just gave not expecting something in return?

But the sad part is, that's where we're at. Ask any fundraiser, if you want to raise money you have to be willing to give money, to spend money, to have something to give away as prizes (why auctions do so well).

Why don't we just give to give?

T

"Standards"

Last night Danny won the "Hell's Kitchen" competition. I was really happy, since I told Lorie around the second week in that he would win. Good job Danny.

This morning he was on "Live with Regis and Kelly" doing a cooking segment and Lorie turned it on for me (she knew about it and I didn't, isn't she the best?!). During their time cooking, Regis asked Danny what he learned from Chef Gordon Ramsey (the host / judge of Hell's Kitchen). Without pausing Danny said "Standards". He then went on to explain how the most important lesson he could learn from Chef Ramsey was to make sure your standards are high, to make sure that every dish that comes out of the kitchen is perfect, not even one grain of salt too much or you redo it and do it right.

It amazes me how people will do this for food, or for someone else's approval, but when it comes to God or Sunday morning service or a Bible Study or whatever, I feel like the average Christian's expectation isn't to do their best, it's to aim just get it done, sometimes even mediocre is good as long as it's done.

Where did that come from?! What's sad is I don't think this is a new development. Back in Exodus God tells Moses that the sin sacrifice must be a one year-old lamb without defect. Now why would God have to be that specific? My guess is because if He wasn't, people would give God the cruddiest, crippled lamb that was one year old, barely fulfilling what they felt was the bare minimum of the Law.

We need to aim higher.

II Timothy 2:15a ~ Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of. (MSG)

I think we need to start doing our best at church, giving our best to God. Now before you all get mad at me, I didn't say it needed to be perfect. We should get as close as we can to perfect, but none of us are there (not even me believe it or not). BUT, from personal experience I've found that people are all too willing to give God the least amount of effort and call it their best just to get out of more work (yet, when someone special is in the pew, they somehow manage to find more effort, it's really strange...)

So let's do it, let's give God what really is our best, in all we do. Let's represent our Holy God right!

Colossians 3:17 ~ And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (NLT)

T

Good Deeds Are Rare

Every once in a while people turn into the church parking lot or the road in front of my house with car problems (you need to get off 116th, trust me). Well, same thing yesterday. This guy was out of gas in front of my house.

So I helped. It didn't seem like I did that much. I gave him a ride to BP and back to his car. That's it. Then, he tried to pay me. And I remember thinking, "Why?" All I did was drive him to the gas station and back, woo.

But it's occurred to me since then, we pay for things that are rare. It is so rare that someone would just help another human being, it's in our mind here that they need to be paid for their services. It's just kind of sad. Are good deeds becoming extinct?

Galatians 6:10a ~ Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone. (NLT)

T

Do The Right Thing

For those that don't know, our church staff has a blog.

http://fishersumc.blogspot.com/

But anyway, on Sunday Kim wrote about how we need to be living with integrity. How that integrity adds to our message of who Christ is.

Now, the hard part about integrity is not what others see. Integrity is started when you can do the right things when no one is looking. I admit, I'm not perfect in this, but even yesterday I had a chance to get stuff for free. The person helping me at Wal-Mart misread my receipt and almost gave me $50 worth of free stuff. No one would have known, even Lorie wasn't around (although she probably would have figured it out when she looked in the back of the car...) but I did what I was supposed to do.

I'm not saying that to say I'm perfect or better. I screw up enough, trust me. But Kim just reminded me that we have to work that much harder on making sure we live out what we say we believe when no one is looking. It's almost like training. When I played baseball, no one saw the work we did in the outfield on Tuesday night, but when the game came on Saturday night, the training was evident. I think it's the same way here. No one will see the right decisions you make in secret, but they will see what you do in public, and it will be easier to live for Christ then if you've done your training before.

Just something to think about. Oh, and thanks to whoever left the note in my mailbox this weekend :)

T

Let Your Yes Be Yes

It's a verse from the Bible (James 5:12, and Jesus said it in Matt. 5:37).

It was in my head because of something I read. This is one of my personal pet peeves. People who say they will do something but then don't do it. When I was in college our music professor had a friend who was moving his music studio, so he asked the choir for help. Everybody raised their hands and said they would. After, I went and talked to the professor, I felt bad that I couldn't make it (since I was the only one), but he didn't worry about it and was appreciative that I told him.

Wouldn't you know the night of the move, out of the 40 who volunteered, 2 showed up. That's right, two! Now I felt really bad because they could have used my help, but that's when he said he would rather have five people, but know all five are going to show up than have forty but only two show up.

And it makes sense. I bug the students about it all the time. Everyone wants to volunteer and feel good. But sometimes we volunteer to feel good and then can't make it. As someone that's now in charge of things like that, I would much rather have people I know I can count on than people who are simply going to say they will do something then not.

Here's how this all got in my head.

(Jesus speaking) “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.
“Which of the two obeyed his father?”
They replied, “The first.” ~ Matthew 21:28-31

To me it just makes sense...

T

Fuel To The Fire

Today Lorie and I watched waaaay too much TV (it was one of those days where your brain realizes you don't have to keep up so it just shuts down) and we ended up watching a show where the people in it were in the Bahamas eating barbecue chicken. And of course only one thing went through my mind. Caribbean Jerk Chicken. Mmmm...

We went shopping and since Lorie didn't want any (she doesn't quite like the spicy) I was all excited to cook this for myself. So I fired up the grill and started the potatoes (they take way longer but taste so good out there) and waited to do the chicken. I got it all spiced perfectly, ready to go. Took it out when it was ready and... no fire. Of all the times, the propane on the grill had run out.

And it got me thinking. How often do we have (or say we have) the fire, the excitement, the whatever it is at our churches but we've forgotten the fuel, prayer, Jesus. You can't have fire without gas. You can't have a place where people can come to meet with God if God isn't there and you haven't invited Him. This was a verse I memorized a long time ago (because it's so short):

I Thessalonians 5:17 ~ Never stop praying. (NLT)

T

It's All Okay If You Do What's Right

Now, don't be fooled by the title. It is not always easy to do the right thing, but it will always be okay (in a sense).

Here's where I'm getting it from. Reading the prophets has reminded me of all the stories of things they went through. Jeremiah was thrown in a well basically because a jail would be too nice for him. Ezekiel had to do all sorts of crazy things like lie on his side for over a year. Daniel was a prisoner who was thrown in with lions while his friends were almost burned to death. All this crazy stuff. But there are two verses in Ezekiel that helped it make sense. One comes after God tells Ezekiel he has to tell the people about funerals and death and things of that nature. The other is after God says the people won't like what Ezekiel has to say.

Ezekiel 3:1-3 ~ Then the Lord said to me, “Human, eat what you find; eat this scroll. Then go and speak to the people of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He gave me the scroll to eat. He said to me, “Human, eat this scroll which I am giving you, and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. (NCV)

Ezekiel 3:7-9 ~ "But the people of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, because they are not willing to listen to Me. Yes, all the people of Israel are stubborn and will not obey. See, I now make you as stubborn and as hard as they are. I am making you as hard as a diamond, harder than stone. Don’t be afraid of them or be frightened by them, though they are a people who turn against Me." (NCV)

Both times God is saying this will be rough, but both times He reassures Ezekiel that he can do it. The words that need be told to someone else, they taste like honey to the one following God. The thing you have to do that you know will hurt, God makes you hard as diamond to do it.

It's funny how God gives you the right thing at the right time. I've been thinking about someone I should talk to, but how it's not my place or what not. And then I read this. And now I'm nervous because I think it's a hint, and who would I rather tick off, this other person, or God for not doing what I should..? (I hope the words are sweet and I'm hard as diamond...)

T

Magically Know

This seemed to be my theme for the day. That people think others around them magically know what's going on. I won't get into details because I might offend someone (I know, I must be in a nice mood) but I think there's a lot of people in the world that need to understand that just because something is in their head does not mean it's in the heads of those around them.

And even if you think the other person knows what you do, so what? Sometimes you need to ask even if you are sure they already know the question. I mean, really, that's kind of what prayer is. God still wants us to ask. There's a commitment in the asking, an acknowledgement that you are asking for something, not just expecting it.

So here's my challenge. Ask. Talk. Communicate. If you want something from somebody, don't take them or their situation (or your friendship, or their job, or their time, etc.) for granted. Don't treat them like you are entitled to them. Be nice.

T

Fastest Border Crossing Ever

Yes, believe it or not. Lorie and I took longer to get into Canada than to get into the United States. True story. When we got to the American border yesterday we were the second car in line, they looked at our paperwork and said "have a nice day". It was awesome!


But, of course, the reason for the visit was my nephew Travis' baptism, so here he is :)


T

"Only Troy"

Apparently this is a common theme that people talk about when mentioning me in Canada. These sorts of things only happen to Troy. And last night was no exception.

Lorie and I drove to London, Ontario. Nothing. The border took about 5 minutes (including waiting in line). Getting to Emily and Brian's, no problem. But then the excitement. The chipmunk.

Apparently on Thursday Brian brought a rug out of the garage and put it in the basement. When he dropped it he saw a chipmunk come shooting out and hide under furniture. After trying to catch him, Brian decided to close him in and try later.

So I showed up later. Last night we went downstairs and could not find him at all (which fostered Emily's fear that he had escaped the basement and was in the house somewhere). Then, after a few minutes, we found him sitting in a pot for a fake tree. Just sitting there, eyes almost closed. So tired, so hungry, so thirsty. I reached down and pet him and he didn't move at all (chipmunks are soft). I gently picked him up and started toward the door... when after a few steps he freaked out and either bit or scratched me (or both) and went flying. Well, a few minutes later we had him caught, but Emily and Lorie are now freaking out that I have rabies (thank you Internet once again).

After talking to a nurse on the phone they were convinced I probably did not have rabies, but I would need a tetanus shot. So this morning, guess what I had to go do? (We don't remember my last one, and you can get that shot over and over).

So yeah, I've been in Canada less than a day and already enjoyed the wildlife :)

T

The Little Things

I don't know what it is, but lately I've seen things that could (or do) go wrong in such a big way, but it all traces back to doing something little, just doing it right.

Kind of like the architect who built a library but didn't account for the weight of the books. Sadly, I've heard the story has happened in more than one place (you think they'd learn from one person's mistakes) but the story is the same every time. Someone designs a building. Beautiful. Then they build it. Also beautiful. But then they put the books in the library, and if you're like me and have moved a lot and read a lot, you know that books are heavy. And the story goes that each time the library had to be shut down or its purpose changed because it could not handle the weight of all the books. A little detail that changed the whole design.

If we simply do well with the little things first, the big things work themselves out. After all, there really is nothing big in our world, just big piles of little. The biggest pyramid is nothing but a lot of little bricks (but you need them all and they all need to be in the right place).

Even God thinks this way. From Jesus:

Luke 16:10a ~ “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones." (NLT)

So start taking the little things seriously, at work, at home, wherever. It makes a big difference.

T

A Year And A Half Siege?

Sorry, but I am finishing reading Jeremiah (a good book by the way) and in the story there's this little addition:

Jeremiah 52:4-5 ~ Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. They made a camp around the city and built devices all around the city walls to attack it. This happened on Zedekiah’s ninth year, tenth month, and tenth day as king. And the city was under attack until Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king. (NCV)

Can you even imagine, a year and a half siege on your town?! I mean, I know this happened a lot in history. In fact, my namesake, the city of Troy, the reason it was so powerful was because of two things, it had a thick wall no one could break through and it had an underground water supply, so all the Trojans had to do once attacked was bring the food in and close their doors.

But I think movies have kind of ruined this (they can't show a year and half siege, that's boring). But yes, people would live locked in their city walls every day hearing the thundering sounds of armies outside trying to get in.

Can you even imagine?

T

Lilacs

In our backyard and our front yard (and in the neighbor's yard) we have lilac bushes. They are awesome! Our yard smells beau-ti-ful. I love it.

Last night Lorie and I went out and harvested a few lilac flowers. We put them in the kitchen, in our bedroom, in the bathroom, etc. and now our house smells great. It's amazing how this little bush can make such a strong smell.

But you and I are no different.

II Corinthians 2:14-15 ~ In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, He brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. (MSG)

We are supposed to be a sweet smell to those around us, one that points people to the reason we live, the reason we smell so nice, Jesus. Just a thought, but how do you smell to those around you?

T

What Does Spell Checker Say About Our Society?

In my last post I accidentally typed the word "thngs". It was supposed to be "things", but when I hit the spellchecker in this program, the word "thongs" came up first ("things" was third, after "thongs" then "thong's"). How sad is that?

T

Change Comes When You Want It

This is my new revelation that seems to be everywhere I look. If you really want something to change, no matter how big, how audacious, how long it seems to take, there's really only one factor that matters.

That you want it.

If you really want something to change, really, what can stand in your way? It may not be the most desired outcome, or it may take some work, things that people use as excuses for change, but when you finally hit that point where it matters to you and you want it bad enough, things will change.

I've been reading Jeremiah lately and God even has that point of needing change. The people of Judah were not living for Him, they were sacrificing to other idols, they were basically all out living against God, then God says this:

Jeremiah 44:21b-22a ~ Don’t you think God noticed? He noticed, all right. And He got fed up. Finally, He couldn’t take your evil behavior and your disgusting acts any longer. (MSG)

Even God hits that point where it's time for change. The question is do you merely want things to change, or do you need them to change? And if you need change, what are you willing to do about it?

T

Beauty Is What We Can't Have?

Last night at Downpour (our Bible Study) we started going through the Beatitudes and we somehow came on the topic of food. How we are not poor at all in our society, how we have way too much food, how the many people in other parts of the world view America as fat.

And for some reason it got me thinking. Three hundred years ago, look at the art. Almost all women were painted to be overweight. Not crazy obese, but by today's standards they would be overweight. And there was a reason. It was rare. This was a time when a majority of people were poor and hungry, everyone was thin. If you were overweight, that meant you were rich. You were special. So overweight became associated with beauty, it was something to be aspired to.

Then everything changed. Now, here in America at least. We have too much food. How many starving people do you think we could feed with the food that is thrown away by restaurants each night? (If only there was a way to preserve it and get it on a plane). We have so much food that according to our newspaper 4 out of 10 children in our schools is overweight. So it's actually harder to say no to food, and even harder to eat proper foods. That makes being thin hard, which then makes being thin the new goal.

Here's a whole new idea. Why don't we go for something even harder to find?

I Peter 3:3-5a ~ Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. (NLT)

Imagine how "beautiful" our society would be if we worked hard to make our inner person beautiful? What if we worked as hard as we work to make our outside beautiful? But then again, no paparazzi is going to chase you down to get a picture of your inner beauty and sell it on the Internet for thousands of dollars, so what's the point right? (and for everyone who's thinking that's wrong, how many pictures of celebrities do you see in a day through magazine, TV, Internet, etc.?)

Let's aim for something that's hard to have, inner beauty.

T

You Are Who You Hang Around With

Today I learned a little story about a sheep named Rolo. He's a nice little sheep, sad story. His mommy died when he was young so his owner put Rolo in with the sheep dogs. Now wouldn't you know it, the sheep thinks he's a dog. he herds ducks, he does tricks, I bet he even plays fetch. (I'm not making it up, check it out here).

This story happens quite often. You hear about animals that lost a parent or both and end up being adopted and acting like a completely different animal. Heck, after a tsunami a hippo and turtle became friends. So how does that happen? It's simple, you become whatever / whoever you hang around with. The Greek poet Menander said it years ago, and it was so true that Paul quoted it and put it in the Bible.

I Corinthians 15:33b ~ “Bad company corrupts good character.” (NLT)

Realize the opposite is true too. If you hang around good people, you're likely to become a good person. If you hang around dogs, you're likely to become a dog. If you don't like things in your life or where it's headed (or you like it and wonder why), try taking a look at who you invest your time with.

As someone once said, "Show me your friends and I'll show you your future." Just something to think about...

T

Great Proverb

But this one's not from the Bible, it's an old Chinese proverb I read the other day that stuck with me.

The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.

That is awesome. I don't know why but I was reading a little about all these people who did amazing things and there was only one reason, they wanted it to happen. Everything was impossible once. No one thought we could fly, no one thought we could carry computers in our pocket, etc., etc. The only reason those people succeeded is because they did not think of it as impossible. They knew there had to be a way.

So whatever you're struggling with, there is a way. I don't know what it is, you might be on the right path, you might not, but rest assured, there is a way.

T

We Love Our TV

Today I was reading about the first cable systems in the US, interesting stuff, guys wiring cable to high powered antenna's, all that fun stuff.

Anyway, there are some statistics about current cable TV usage in there. In America we spend $75 billion on cable a year. $75 billion! Think about that for a second, if we took that money and put it towards feeding the hungry, water shortages, etc, we would solve all water, food, shelter, etc. issues in the world in about 4 months!

Yet, who would make that sacrifice? I don't know, I used to live in the small mining town of Grande Cache about ten years ago when the mine shut down. It hit the town hard (in about a month the population dropped from 5000 to 3500). Crime went up. People went to the food bank. House payments were not made. But cable bills, not a problem. No one sold their 48" TV's. Food we could go without, shelter we would just not pay, but TV, that we kept.

I don't know. I like TV and all, but I think I spend too much time watching it, but if the average is 6-8 hours a day, what's too much? Imagine what we could do in just one year to help our world with $75 billion...

T

Can't Please Everyone

I was going to write something completely different, but was reading the Bible earlier (it's a good book, I've heard good things) and was reading a section in Matthew in which Jesus is talking about John the Baptist.

Matthew 11:18-19 ~ "For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man, [Jesus] on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”

How true it is. If you do one thing, people get mad, if you do the opposite, people get mad. I learned this so early on doing sound at church. Turn it up, people tell you it's too loud. Turn it down, people tell you it's not loud enough. No matter what, you can't please everyone. Someone will find fault in what you do.

So how do you decide? Jesus says it right there. Wisdom is shown to be right by it's results. In the sound thing, I always err on being too loud. Why? Too quiet and people don't hear the Word of God and don't sing. Too loud, people sing really loud and everyone hears what the pastor/speaker is trying to say. Now, I don't go to extremes and try to make eardrums hurt, but I go with which has the most desirable results.

I think there are a lot of people who have trouble trying to please everyone because they take their eyes of the goal (the results) and instead start focusing on the people around them. Our eyes have to always be on the goal. Maybe the goal needs to be more clearly defined so we can know where to go next, but we need to know what the focus should be and stay on course towards it.

After all, I work with teenagers. If my only concern was making them happy, we'd probably end up playing Wii all night and not talking about Jesus and how He wants us to live at all. But that's not my goal. That's not the results I want. I have very specific things I want students to know by the time they graduate, we have purposes that we follow and are trying to instill in all our students (Worshipping, Allying, Teaching, Equipping, Reaching). Stick to your goals, even if the path to them sometimes may change a bit, but stick to your goals, not pleasing those around you.

I Corinthians 9:25-26 ~ All those who compete in the games use self-control so they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time, but our crown will never be destroyed. So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air.

T

Great Quote

Earlier today I was reading a whole bunch of quotes about things not to do in life, from smart to stupid (like "don't follow the instructions of a guy missing three fingers" or "don't take an English course that requires you to read Beowulf"). But in the middle was this one:

You're born an original, don't die a copy. ~ John Mason

I just thought that was great. The Bible talks a lot about how we're all precious to God, how He made us each important in our own way, how we all have certain gifts to use for Him. And that's what we should be doing, living my life as me, not as someone else, but not in an egotistical way, but me for God.

Just something to think about...

T

Have We Faith?

Today I was reading in the gospels a section where Jesus heals a whole bunch of people. Dead people, blind people, etc. and each time He comments on their faith. Their faith healed them, Jesus is able to heal them because of their faith.

I wonder if we have faith in our day and age. We have an expectancy (like with electronics, we expect them to work, but is that faith?) but do we have faith in things that are out of the ordinary? I mean, we pray for someone to be healed, but do we believe they will actually be healed or that the doctor will know what surgery to give them?

I don't know, I just wonder if God is sitting back listening to our prayers for others, our churches, etc. and wanting to help, but is waiting for us to have the actual faith to back them up...

Mark 11:24 ~ So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you.

T

White Washes All

So I was going to put a pic of the youth room all fancy on here, but changed my mind. If you want to see it, go to the room and see it :)

But, yesterday Shawn made a nice discovery. If you've ever painted before you know that sometimes it takes more than one coat (in the case of our orange, like 5 and it could still use more). So when we messed up, we edged with the color we needed. Orange edging had to be done a couple of times, blue at least two, but white, white only needed one. And that's when Shawn said something to the effect of how white seems to cover all.

And there's the Easter message. The pure holiness of God covers all. All we need to do is allow ourselves to be painted...

See you at the Good Friday Service.

T

New Coat Of Paint

It's amazing the difference a new coat of paint can make. Yesterday we painted the Youth Room (we still have more to do for those who can help Wed. at 10:00am...) and it's amazing the difference. Just a little paint on the walls makes it look a thousand times better.

And then we painted some benches that are going in the Youth Room too. An hour before they looked like hacked up piece of wood, now they look like something you might actually want to sit on.

It got me thinking if my life needs a new coat of paint. I know Christians don't like to talk about how they live their lives, we're saved by grace and that's all we need, but does the way I handle myself befit Christ? Am I talking in a way that reflects my faith? As much as we hate to admit it, we judge things by their outward appearances, like benches and rooms (if you don't believe me, go to your next job interview without showering wearing a T-shirt with holes in it). Is the outward part of my faith reflecting the inward part?

T

Quote Of The Day

Heart this while Lorie was watching TV. Some guys were preparing to do the SAT's and were complaining, then the wise old grandma said this:

If it's not hard, you're not learning anything.

Man, I wish we had more people who thought like that...

T

Someone Actually Made This

Tonight Lorie and I had a night where we drive around, stop in at random stores, just hang out and have fun. It was a nice night so we had fun.

Walking around Meijer, we found this board game. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/27228. Are you kidding me? It's a game where you actually smell cards such as popcorn, skunk, manure?!

We really, really have too much time on our hands...

T

Earth Hour

So did you turn out your lights for earth hour (8:30 - 9:30)?

We did, and to be honest, it made me think a little. First, Lorie and I don't use much power anyway. I was raised if you leave a room you turn out the lights. But then again, we use more power than we need. Our computer was on, right now we have music on we don't really "need", but it is nice. And after we were done, I had to use the restroom, and was kind of glad I had lights when I did that...

But it all goes back to what do we need? I know we live in a very rich society and it seems like we have a lot of needs because of what everyone else has, but do we really? Just because someone else has it do we therefore need it?

I don't know, just thinking about how many other people in the world manage to survive with much less than we have. Mind you, I say that while I'm sitting on my comfy couch writing something on the Internet on a laptop inside a home that is heated and sheltered from the rain outside while the music is playing on our stereo with nice cold iced tea on the coffee table (the remnants of my third meal of the day).

I really have to look into that wind generator...

T

I Love Zeus

Last night the Myricks dropped of their lovable ball of fur named Zeus. He's a bundle of fun, but today. Oh today. He managed to push out a piece of the fence and wiggle through while my back was turned. Chased him across seven different yards. He just kept running, no matter how much I yelled.

Let's just say that God was having fun teaching me patience today :)

T

But It's Okay, We're At Church

Today I was reading some Old Testament passages (kickin' it old school) when I found a little section where God says if there is only one person in the entire city who follows Him He will spare the city. But of course there was no one. And I started to wonder, how, how on earth can a group of people that were so dedicated to God end up with not a single person believing in Him. Then I found this:

Jeremiah 7:3-7 ~ This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Change your lives and do what is right! Then I will let you live in this place. Don’t trust the lies of people who say, “This is the Temple of the Lord. This is the Temple of the Lord. This is the Temple of the Lord!” You must change your lives and do what is right. Be fair to each other. You must not be hard on strangers, orphans, and widows. Don’t kill innocent people in this place! Don’t follow other gods, or they will ruin your lives. If you do these things, I will let you live in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever. (NCV)

Can you imagine, giving offerings to other gods, actually murdering people in church, but then saying "But we're doing it in God's house, so we still believe in Him. It's okay." And I again I wondered, how, how could anyone possibly get to that place. A place where they think any action is okay as long as they do it at a good location, a holy place.

But do we do that? Does the church in general have people who lie, cheat, steal, but they still show up to church on Sunday morning and since they visited the "Holy Place" whatever they do in life is then okay? Yes, we're forgiven and yes, we are saved by grace but doesn't that mean we should live like it? When Lorie says she loves me no matter what I do does that mean I should go out and spend all our money on prostitutes? Or does it mean I should live up to the love that she's giving me?

Yesterday at our church staff meeting yesterday, someone said this that got me thinking along the same lines. "I wonder how many times someone is at work and they do the job in an hour, but they charge the person three hours, all the while sipping coffee from one of our church mugs..."

Maybe we should start living up to the love and mercy and grace that God has bestowed on us...

Matthew 7:20 ~ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. (NCV)

T

The Power Of Music

Today I was listening to one of my favorite online radio stations, movie soundtracks (when I'm at work, it's usually either that or nature sounds, Liz loves that one) and a song came on. Now realize, it's instrumental. It's hard to describe the song, but there's nothing in the tone at the beginning to suggest the tone or what song it is, but I immediately knew what it was. It was in a movie I haven't seen since I was 10, The Natural (it's about baseball). But when I was 10, that's all I did all summer was play/umpire/watch baseball (if I wasn't at church I was playing ball or swimming, or both).

But it's amazing how that works. I heard at most three seconds and I felt happy, I felt like dreaming, and I felt like playing outside. I knew what the song was right away. It just amazes me how music has the power to do that. That's also why I bought a CD last week and still haven't listened to it, I want to make sure everything's right when I do because forever I will be transported back to how I feel when I listen to it.

Anyway, I like music...

T

Lazy

So today, I did pretty much nothing. I was just so wiped out from the weekend I slept a lot and Lorie and I watched way too much TV (which is way better when you have more than five channels I might add).

But one of the reasons I was so tired was the comedy night, which it seems like everyone liked. So that was good. I got to talk with the comedians more than hear their act. I like them more now, they're nice guys.

Tomorrow, maybe a real blog, since I'll be back to normal life :)

T

People Always Want What They Can't Have

So today I was reading about the history of potatoes (what? You know you do too) and how they were originally considered a "dirty" food that only peasants would eat (maybe that's why I love them).

Then, in the mid 1700's, a French pharmacist named Antoine Parmentier was thrown in a German prison and fed only what? The dirt food of the poor. The problem is he came out of prison healthier than when he went in.

So he tried to convince the French King Louis XVI to get potatoes. But the king didn't want peasant food from Germany for his loyal subjects, but he made a concession. He gave Parmentier the cruddiest piece of land on the castle grounds that nothing grew on and said he could grow them there and see if potatoes would catch on.

But Parmentier was smart. First, it's potatoes, they grow anywhere. So they grew in the bad land. But he also put castle guards around the crop to protect his valuable food. He then told the guards to accept bribes secretly and let people steal the food if they tried. What happens when you tell people they can't have something? Within only a few decades so many people had stolen potatoes and planted them at home that potato farms were as numerous as wineries in France.

So basically, it's still true. People only want what they can't have...

T

Too Many Favorite Things

I got to combine a lot of my favorite things today. I was working outside while planning ahead (one of my new favorite things, believe it or not). It was great. It's kind of scary to think where technology has taken us, I worked outside with Internet (and had classical/soundtrack music going) while enjoying the sun and that one bird that keeps squawking just above my head. Add in the iced tea I had in my frosty mug and it was a good day.

And on an even better note, I'm still ahead of schedule on my collar bone. I have 100% mobility back, my strength is ahead of schedule, the only thing they're concerned about is my calcium deposits don't seem to be that big, so I still have to go back, over spring break, but that's okay!

T

What's Your Motivation?

So my lovely wife is making the screens for our Sunday morning services today, one of her many talents and jobs. And we briefly talked about all the names she has to put on the screens this week.

In our traditional services it is our Celtic Sunday so there's a little bit of special music, and for each song/group, Lorie makes a screen to let people know who's playing. Always nice.

But the reason we were talking about it is we remembered back to a while ago when Lorie for a sermon series did not put anyone's name on the screens. And for weeks, no one said anything. That is until someone realized their name wasn't up on the screen when they played. And boy did they complain.

It just makes me wonder why we need to put people's names in the bulletin, on the screens, etc. Yes, it's nice to recognize someone for giving back to God, but if that is the primary reason they give, so their name is "in lights" so to speak, is that really the right reason to be playing/singing for God?

If you're going to give something to God, just give it to God and don't worry about all the other stuff. This is from our Bible Study discussion tonight (see you there at 7:00!)

Matthew 6:1 ~ Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. (MSG)

Do Not Attempt

Sorry, but I was watching TV a few minutes ago and sometimes, the stupid just gets to me.

It was a Maytag commercial, maybe you've seen it. They tell about the features of the washing machines, then they show a monster truck drive over two rows of machines. And in small print at the bottom:

Do Not Attempt

Really, I'll have to do my best. Because if I had enough money to buy a monster truck and thirty odd washing machines, you better believe I would use that money to drive over the machines just to make sure they were sturdy enough. Where am I going to find thirty Maytag washing machines? Drive to seventeen Sears?

Thank you, guy who makes the fine print, you may have saved my life...

T

Goals While Fasting

As most people know, Ash Wednesday (last week) kicked of a forty day period of fasting in the Church known as Lent.

During Downpour (our weekly Bible Study) last week we went to or church's Ash Wednesday service and then came back to the youth room to talk about what Ash Wednesday is, how it started, why we do it, etc. (it always amazes me a little how many people are willing to go through weird church rituals with next to no idea of what they are doing in and why). We talked about how it's really about your heart, not what you do. We talked about how instead of just giving something up you can take something else on, things like that.

So in the spirit of people fasting or giving something up without knowing why or focusing on the heart, I want to share something I was reading today. It's from a group of people who were fasting to God and they prayed to God, telling Him how they did all this fasting but it didn't help, how God seemed to have not cared about their act of suffering for Him. And here's what God said:

But the Lord says, “You do what pleases yourselves on these special days,
and you are unfair to your workers.
On these special days when you fast, you argue and fight
and hit each other with your fists.
You cannot do these things as you do now
and believe your prayers are heard in heaven.
This kind of special day is not what I want.
This is not the way I want people to be sorry for what they have done.
I don’t want people just to bow their heads like a plant
and wear rough cloth and lie in ashes to show their sadness.
This is what you do on your special days when you fast,
but do you think this is what the Lord wants?
“I will tell you the kind of fast I want:
Free the people you have put in prison unfairly
and undo their chains.
Free those to whom you are unfair
and stop their hard labor.
Share your food with the hungry
and bring poor, homeless people into your own homes.
When you see someone who has no clothes, give him yours,
and don’t refuse to help your own relatives.
Then your light will shine like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your God will walk before you,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
Then you will call out, and the Lord will answer.
You will cry out, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ ~ Isaiah 58:3b-9a

So if you're fasting for Lent, may I ask why? And are you not just giving something up, but are you also living better, doing more, helping those God loves while fasting?

T

Almost Mucas Free And Able To Go To Canada

Sorry it's been a while. Last week both Lorie and I were out for days. 101+ fevers, aches, congestion, coughing, we share everything.

I will say that today I missed Canada a bit. I got a call at 8:00am (a great time to call when I'm sick by the way) and found out that again they want more forms with my passport. The only fun part, I think Canada is the only place in the world where you can get a call from the deepest French part of the country and have the person on the phone be Indian. I love diversity :)

I'll be blogging more, but to add to Liz's blog, the Sr. missions trip is almost full. If you still want to go or have a chance at the waiting list, you better sign up soon...

T

Does This Sound Like America?

Today I was reading a story about Hezekiah in the book of Isaiah. I've read it before, but with all the financial problems in America right now, it kind of had a new twist to me.

The back story, Hezekiah is the king of Judah and is about to die. He prays for God to heal him, so God does, giving him fifteen more years to live. Hezekiah happy.

Now the king of Babylon (right now starting out, one day super-power that will enslave Judah) hears about King Hezekiah's miraculous discovery and sends the king a gift. Nice gesture. So King Hezekiah in his thanks and ego for being healed shows the envoys (the guys who brought the gifts) around the entire palace, including the royal storehouses of gold and silver, all the expensive gifts given to God in the temple, etc.

Why did he flaunt his wealth? He's an idiot. But that's not the worst part. Isaiah comes to visit and tells the king that because he did this, one day in the future all of this wealth will be carried away. Even chldren born to the king will be taken as slaves. And after hearing this doomsday prophecy, here's Hezekiah's reaction:


Hezekiah told Isaiah, “These words from the Lord are good.” He said this because he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.” ~ Isaiah 39:8

He thought "no problem" because it doesn't directly affect him. Now does that sound like America?

"There's not enough oil to sustain the way you live."
"But there's enough for me now, right? So I can still drive my H3, right?"

Something to think about...

Another Perspective

Today we had a group of people come into the church who are building a Family Life Center kind of like ours (its' the same architect, slightly different design). I just happened to be in the gym and was able to talk to them for a few minutes, to answer questions, etc. Nice people.

It just kind of reiterated to me how important it is to get outside input on things, how hearing what someone else sees, even if you don't always follow it, at least knowing and maybe getting ideas from them is a good thing. Like these guys, we talked about our projection system in the Life Center, which is really bad (you can't be close to the stage and still see the screens), and no one would have told them that until I was there. And they even saw some things in our room I hadn't noticed, like the acoustics work (I'm just so used to it).

So whatever you're doing, get an outside opinion. It helps :)

Prov. 15:22 ~ Plans fail without good advice, but they succeed with the advice of many others. (NCV)

T

Two Hands!

My arm is finally out of the sling and I can type again (although I'm sucking at it)! I'm ahead of schedule according to my x-ray, but now I'm doing all sorts of physical therapy exercises (and they don't hurt at all, there's no excruciating pain when I lift my arm, no, none... maybe a little...)

Now I just need to have interesting things to day and I can blog again :)

T

No Blogging For A While

Sorry, but typing is not that easy anymore. See if you can figure out why. Liz saw it right away (hint, it's the collar bone).

T

Winter Retreat

Sorry I haven't been blogging all. Every moment I'm at my computer lately has been doing the Winter Retreat. It's funny how you can have everything done, then more appears.

Either way, I'm gearing up for this weekend. I hope you all are ready for some outdoor fun. We had lots of snow last night!!

T

Crosses Done... Kinda...

I'm almost done the crosses. One is completely done and standing in the Sanctuary, the one for NewSong, I ran out of nails so I will finish it tomorrow.

But a few more things that hit me today (literally).

The first one was while I was doing the first cross. I was working and had some worship songs on and then the old hymn "How Marvelous, How Wonderful" came on. Now, that hymn is always powerful with me, but when you're actually making a cross and it comes on, not to sound girly but I was trying my best not to cry. It was just crazy to think that this was the instrument used for my freedom.

Then Lorie and I put the nails in. If you want to know why the crosses are pre-nailed, come to church on Sunday, but yes, they both have small headed nails in them. Lorie left to go to the Sanctuary as I finished the nails myself (she said I was better at hammering) and I was going to move it. I realized I couldn't lift it because it was too tall to get through the door and still a little wet from the stain so I got the bright idea to use a dolly/cart. I put the cross on no problem. But then, the nice circular base started to twist, I had one hand on the cart, the other on the cross trying to make sure they didn't fall. There was only one thing I had to balance the cross, my head. Now for those of you keeping score, there are over a hundred tiny, small-headed nails in the front of the cross that were now pushing the weight of the cross into the side of my forehead. And it freaking hurt. I managed to stand it back up alright but I was thinking about how much that hurt then almost slapped myself again for being a woosie (see last post). I had the dull side of the nails, and not into my forehead like Jesus would have had. Again, realizing a little more what Jesus went through for me.

But then the clincher. This one's a little nicer. One cross done and in the Sanctuary, working on the second one and cleaning it up, making it look kinda pretty (which Arlene Reynolds said I shouldn't do, the real cross would have looked gnarly, and I agree but this is for the church so I wanted it to look somewhat decent). And I was doing it, songs like "Everything Glorious" and "Everlasting God" and "The Stand" came on and I realized hos God used the cross to make us pretty. How we are cleaned up and "made glorious" because of the cross.

Anyway, it's been a weird experience. What will be key is in seeing them used Sunday morning in church and Sunday night at our prayer night with the students. Maybe more on that later.

T