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For those that don't know, I've been away for two weeks. The first in NYC doing missions work, for pics and stories about that visit the youth website (pictures and discussion pages). Although everyone had a great experience, very few were lucky enough to be up to their knees in poop. Ah, memories...

The next week I was far away from the internet on a lake where it is nice and peaceful. Lorie and I went fishing. She caught "Bob" (so she named him). I caught mosquito bites. But I did get to play way too much golf.

I'll be back in the routine of writing on here soon. I'm just trying to play catch-up for all the stuff I missed. FYI newsletters will be out tomorrow :)

T

When People Let You Down

An honest confession, my heart has been really heavy today. I didn't have a bad day, although I wasn't that productive. I didn't do anything really bad or wrong today, no more than usual, which is too much but that's another story. Instead, I talked to someone I haven't seen in years.

Now, that's a good thing. I'm glad to talk to this person, it's great. Love them, miss them, they were fun to be with. But they told me something today. Something that pained me and really made me think.

They used to go to church where we had a mutual friend. This person, great. I didn't know them all that well but they did visit my town and my church every once in a while. They seemed called to minister to God's people, actually, I take that back. They were called to minister to God's people. But then they messed up. For reasons I won't go into, this person is now serving their sentence in jail.

And it pained me. First for this person, someone who was in ministry. Someone who I had led worship for, someone who had joked with me about being single (I had no prospects for dating let alone marriage at this point) and had said if I ever got married they would play guitar at my wedding. Someone who had talked to me about things in my past to try and help me get through them. I keep thinking, "What happened?" "How could someone screw up like that?" and many other things I won't write here. But it just hurts. All I can think is how and why.

Then this friend who told me. I think how much they must have been hurt by this person going to the church where it happened. All the people in the congregation that felt the effects of this. All the people that were hurt, were taken advantage of, whose trust was totally violated. How their view of Jesus is now warped or worse because of one tiny, insignificant person on all of planet earth.

This led me to think of all the hurt Christians all over the place (yeah, I've been thinking a lot today). People that put their trust in someone who said they represent Christ only to have that trust destroyed. Who have looked at someone and said, "That's what Jesus is like? No Thanks!" I have so many friends, family even who will never, ever enter a church again because of what one, maybe two people have done to them, all in the name of Jesus. It just hurts.

But then it hurts more. I think about me. I make no false pretenses, I am a faulty version of Jesus. I am a cracked vessel. I am a royal screw-up that has no idea what God wants me in a church telling people about Him. I feel completely unworthy and wonder how many people I've hurt like that. How many I will. Wonder if that person I knew could fall that fast and that hard, what's saving me? What if I do something so horrific that it hurts my wife, my family, my church, people I don't even know turning them off of Jesus and His love forever because instead of seeing His love they see how I warped it.

One more (I know this is long, sorry). Last night we had our "Vicis Per Deus" or prayer night at Drink Deep (our Sunday night student activity). We had all these prayer stations. One had a video playing, up on the screens were verses. There were two that keep replaying over and over in my head. At the video there was one section where Jesus writes in the sand, convincing the religious people of the day not to stone a prostitute, showing her love and helping her up (you can read about it in John 8). The other is a verse that was up on the screen from Ps. 51. To give you background, David was a king of Judah who is described as "A Man after God's own heart". Then he committed adultery, had the woman's husband killed and married her to try and keep it secret. When the truth came out, he wrote Ps. 51, one of my favorite Psalms even though it's so hard to read. God' loves us and wants to help us up, to restore us. I just wish we never had to fall, and we never had to take anyone else down with us...

Ps. 145:14 ~ The Lord helps the fallen, and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

(sorry it was so long).

T

Most Popular Sign

Do you know why Churches have steeples? It started hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Basically, the church steeple was the highest point in any town, the cross above all other buildings so that any traveller (or person who lived there) would be able to find the church easily. By simply looking up, they knew that the cross meant Christ.

Now fast forward to today. As of a recent world study, the cross is not the most recognized symbol in the world anymore. There are people who do not know the cross means Jesus. But, they know the Golden Arches means hamburgers. So that means one of two things. Either we've taken the cross out of our message of Jesus, or we're more willing to share where to find a good greasy meal over where to find eternal love and salvation.

How did two all beef patties become more important than Christ?

T

Favorite American

Okay, so Independence Day is a week away and people around here are gearing up for it, showing their American pride, etc. But then I read this today, which makes me shudder.

There was a poll of people in the U.S. asking who the greatest American is/was. Reagan won, good choice. Elvis made the list, not my favorite choice. But near the bottom was someone who I like but who should not have been there.

Jesus.

That's right. 1% of Americans voted Jesus as the greatest American. Now seriously, that's too much. Do people even know who Jesus was? Think, if 1% of people said that, and that's a representation of the U.S. as a whole, then 3 million people think Jesus was the greatest American. And that means even more could think Jesus was a great American, He just wasn't the greatest.

Now I've been in the U.S. a few years and I know there are a lot of people who take "One Nation Under God" too far and believe God is an American, but 3 000 000 people? Is it possible?

I really question how many people truly know God and how many simply make it up as they go, naming their new imaginary friend "God"...

T

The Isle Of Man

Pictures of the parade are on the website under the pictures section (www.fumcfireandwater.com). But this is about something completely different. Something I read and had to write, it was just great.

I am slowly working through a lot of old Irish folktales and came upon the story of Mac Cuill, one of the Children of Danu, or a god of years gone by. Being a god, his soul was immortal and would be reborn in people. His last rebirth was as one of a thief, a great thief who did so well at stealing it caught the king's attention and it took the king to capture him. Showing no remorse for his actions, but also being a Child of Danu, the king came up with this punishment. He put Mac Cuill in handcuffs and flung the key into the sea. He then put Mac Cuill in a boat saying "he will have the judgement of the sea."

So Mac Cuill floats for a few days and ends up on an island where he meets two wise men, Conindri and Romuil. Now here's where I was floored. The two wise men had "heard the words of the Son of God, and preached the new religion of love and forgiveness." Should sound familiar...

So these two guys take in Mac Cuill but cannot release him from his bonds. Instead, though, they tell him about the Creator, His Son, and the religion of love and brotherhood. But Mac Cuill thinks it is a waste. They tell how the poor in spirit are blessed, but Mac Cuill has no wish to be poor. They tell how if someone strikes one cheek, to turn the other and how if someone steals your cloak, to offer your coat also (all teachings of Jesus if you aren't following). So Mac Cuill decides to stay thinking that he can make a killing from these people, since if he steals from them, they'll do nothing to stop him.

But this fails on his first attempt. He meets Blaanid who offers him jewels and fine stones. Mac Cuill is disappointed, he doesn't want people to give him things, he wants to steal them. So he gets upset realizing that he can never truly steal again. That is when Blaanid takes him down to the depths of the ocean, where he sees other Children of Danu that hate this new religion and want to live as thieves too. They live at the ocean's depths, stealing from ships that sink. It is then and there Mac Cuill sees that this is the future of his life as a thief, and it is then and there he decides to become a member of the new religion of the Son of God. He goes back to Conindri and Romuil to learn more "about your God and His Son." It is there they catch a fish to eat for dinner and in the belly of the fish, Mac Cuill finds the keys to his chains and he is set free.

The very next day, Mac Cuill dedicates his life to telling everyone about this new religion, a loving God and His Son. He taught this to everyone, even the Druids. But this angers one of the old gods since they believe that once you stop believing in a god, he cease to exist. Yet Mac Cuill explains how this new philosophy "is the destiny of the world" and he cannot stop, so he makes a deal with this old god, the god of the sea. Mac Cuill will still teach the new thinking, but he will rename their home after this god so he will be remembered. The land was renamed the Island of Manannan Mac Lir, or for short, the Isle of Man.

Sorry, it was really long, but it was too great of a story. Everybody says that God changes lives, but so few people today seem to act like it, and here, in the old Irish history and folklore, is a story about God doing just that to such a degree that the island is renamed and it still holds Mac Cuill as the patron saint except under a new Christian name St. Maughold. Did God change your life? Does anyone know about it? Mac Cuill's was changed and it will be forever remembered...

T

Fishers Freedom Festival

We're in the parade tomorrow. Come out and cheer us on and get a free pen! Pics will be up next week.

T

Opaque

For all of you that complain that your life is just a little too hard, check out this place.

It's a restaurant in California that serves you food only in pitch black surroundings. That's right, you're blind. All the waiters are blind so they don't walk into tables, etc. (they're used to it).

In exchange for you losing a sense, the restaurant boasts that your other senses heighten (which is true), so your sense of taste gets better making the food taste more amazing. But is that a trade you'd want to make permanently? As I was reading about it I kept thinking about how thousands of rich, upper-class LA type people will go, experience blindness for a night, then come out and complain about the color of their car (I can get you a video on that one too if you like.) It's amazing what we take for granted.

Colossians 4:2 ~ Continue praying, keeping alert, and always thanking God.

T

Do You Need Forgiveness?

I know, lots of questions lately, but this one hit me today while watching a movie. One of the characters had seen something violent on TV, and I don't mean bloody slasher violent, I mean like WWE Wrestling violent. He asked someone what they thought of this and the other person said, "You should pray for forgiveness."

And I remember thinking why. What's the big deal? He just watched something stupid. Why ask forgiveness? Why pray?

That's when I realized I'm screwed up. Um, shouldn't we be asking God to forgive everything we do wrong, no matter how big or how little? When did I decide what was worth forgiving? When did I get the power to decide what's bad and what's really bad? Then I started wondering how many "insignificant" sins have I piled up?

Maybe we should be praying for every little thing...

Jeremiah 16:17 ~ I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me.

I John 1:7b ~ Then the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin.

T

How Much Is Enough?

Yeah, it's been a while, I'm sorry.

So last week at Drink Deep we talked about tithing and money, and this week we had some people mention how hard it is. I've always wondered about this because it's a percentage, it all comes to budgeting. I have two examples.

I was talking to someone last week who gambles. He was mentioning how the family was taking a road trip and they didn't want to stop for a hotel because it would cost $160. But then he said, "It's funny how throwing away $300 on a horse is okay, but $160 for a hotel, that's an unnecessary expense." Yeah, funny isn't it.

Then I read this today. In 1783, the Prince of Whales, George, was given a birthday gift equivalent to $6.2 million in today's currency. His father, King George III also set him up with an annual allowance of $5.2 million. Still, by the time he was in his mid-30's, Prince George had managed to be $70 million in debt. $70 million!!!! How does that happen?

We can blow money like that, but we can't give afford to give any to God?

Proverbs 21:20 ~ Wise people live in wealth and luxury, but stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it.

Ecclesiastes 7:7 ~ Even wise people are fools if they let money change their thinking.

T

P.S. I became an uncle today! Lacey Marcella Wood was born to my sister this evening!

So Stupid...

...I had to write it.

Apparently last year there was an American Airlines flight where people started to complain about a smell much like matches burning. Fear of a part malfunction or worse, the plane made an emergency landing in Nashville and everyone was taken of the plane. After a sweep of the plane they did find burnt matches, a pile of them under a seat. They found the woman who's seat it was and asked what it was all about. Apparently she had gas and didn't want anyone to know/smell it, so she decided to burn matches on a plane to cover the smell.

She's not allowed to fly with AA anymore...

T

What We Can Learn From Antarctica

Just wondering if people have been watching the news with the south pole. It's quite interesting.

First, science has again proven how it's assumptions can be wrong. Since the north pole was explored underwater and it was cold and desolate and no new creatures were found, people thought that the south pole would be the same. That is until someone sponsered a research team to go. Tons of new creatures were discovered, things we've never even seen anything like before. Instead of taking guesses, maybe we should look for facts.

The other one, for those that don't know, the Southern Ocean absorbs a lot of the excess carbon dioxide in the air, right now holding about 1/4 of the earth's CO2. Problem is though we've managed to fill it. The water cannot hold anymore since apparently in the last few hundred years we've managed to pump an extra 50 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the air through pollution (think that's more pounds of pollution than Bill Gates has dollars.) The sad part is, what are you as an individual doing to rectify that problem? America is one of the biggest contributors, we use 40% of the world's resources for less than 5% of the world's population.

So take some lessons from the land of penguins. We don't know all we think we do and we can't guess truth, and if we don't start changing some of our habits soon, it won't matter anyway...

T

Traffic Solution

In the interest of our time travel discussion and Rich Clark's question about Sumerians or Romans, I found this that I found funny.

So we all hate traffic, of course. Apparently during 200-250 AD, the city of Rome was over 1 million people and had the same problem. So Julius Caesar came up with a solution. No wheeled vehicles were allowed in Rome during daylight hours.

Can you imagine that flying today? Actually, what I realized would stink is that poor idiot who left home for a two hour ride to Rome, then had to wait until dark to bring his chariot into the city, or park it outside the wall where he'll be nowhere near it and hope no one steals it, outside the city, behind the wall...

Be happy you get to drive where you need to go!

T

When Would You Go?

This morning I was reading about real people who have claimed they have time travelled. Quite interesting. A high up Catholic that had a magic box (like a TV set) that allowed him to only look and hear other times (like a TV set) and was worked with two magical dials to pick the time you wished to visit (like a TV set). There was another guy who claims to have come back from 2036 to find a piece of technology needed in the future that was wiped out by a nuclear bomb in 2015. All sorts of stories of people who "really travelled through time."

Then I started thinking about our fascination with time travel. HG Wells, Michael Crichton, Back To The Future, even Einstein mentioned not the ability to travel across time, but the ability to slow time down to you when you reach the speed of light so when you returned to normal speed, you would have aged a day while the world around you aged a century. Interesting...

So here's my question to those who discuss this on bulletin boards (believe it or not, some do!), where and when would you go? Leave comments here, or go to the discussion boards, but please, no Eloi or Morlocks.

T

Huh?

The last few days a revelation has come to me. It's one of those ones that kind of hits you, but then over the next few days it becomes more and more apparent and possibly even easier to understand. It's not really a mystery, I should have seen it coming, I just never thought about it until the other night. And then again Wed. And then again tonight.

I enjoy being confused.

I know, that doesn't sound like it makes much sense (which adds to the confusion), but trust me, it's true. I like not knowing. I like trying to "figure it out." Then I like that moment, that all encompassing fleeting moment when comprehension suddenly kicks you in the back of the head and you do all you can to stop from shouting, "OH!"

I think part of the reason I like this feeling is because it reminds me I'm not in control. I don't know it all. I don't have it all figured out. Then, suddenly, this burst of intelligence sweeps in and for a small, tiny, insignificant microsecond, I feel as if I totally understand. Then something else happens and I'm back to square one.

And we admit it too. Well, most people. There's always that person that claims they saw the end of the movie coming (and I know, sometimes it's so Hollywood predictable I do too, but some people claim to know it every single time.) There are the people that know everything, even the answer to the question before it's posed. And somehow they enjoy that. But where's the adventure? Where's the mystery? Where's the excitement of life if you always know what's coming next?

And yet, for some incredibly strange reason, we can admit we didn't see the end of a movie coming, but we think we have God all figured out. Maybe that's why I love the end of Job (ch.36 on.) Read it today if you can, I love it. Especially one little verse at the start of the section...

Job 36:26a ~ "Look, God is greater than we can understand." (from a wise young man named Elihu)

T

The Six Gifts Of Womanhood

Okay, this was just too funny, so I had to include it. At the end of Proverbs there is a list of things that men would be good to look for in a woman. Well, the ancient Celts had their own list of six desirable traits in a woman, finding one with all six was a blessing. Ladies, how do you measure up?

~the gift of beauty
~the gift of sweet speech
~the gift of singing
~the gift of needlework
~the gift of wisdom
~the gift of loving only her husband

You gotta admit though, it's not a bad list. How's your needlework coming?

T

Family Fun Night At FUMC

A lot of you missed it, too bad. I just think it was funny that I was in charge of the movie and making popcorn, and that Liz and I had to work together on it. But it was fun. hence the name...

T

Your Sins Will Find You Out

It's an old expression, but believe it or not it actually started in the Bible *gasp*

Numbers 32:23b ~ You may be sure that your sin will find you out.

This was just too funny...

"On Thanksgiving day 2001, police were called to the Ohio home of Nandor Santho, 46. While searching the premises they found 150 marijuana plants growing in the basement. Who called the cops? Santho's dog Willie - the pointer apparently stepped on his master's cell phone in such a way that it auto-dialled 911 - twice. Dispatchers mistook Willie's whimpering for a female in distress, which is why they sent the police to the home."

Gotta love it.

T

"Religion Of The Cross"

I've started a new book this week that will keep me busy for eons to come. It's almost as thick as my copy of "War & Peace" to give you some idea. Anyway, it's a collection of Celtic myths and legends. I'll be honest, I've found the introduction incredibly interesting as it tells how the Celtic language is one of the oldest languages on earth and is a cousin of Sanskrit spoken in India. But I digress...

So I finished today the story of "The Ever-Living Ones", their story of creation and the war between the children of Danu (good guys) and the children of Domnu (bad guys). Really interesting, good guys win after all sorts of stuff happening but Domnu after the defeat of her children has a curse put on the survivors that good will fade to evil, judges will make unjust laws, trees will be without fruit, etc., etc. Then it mentions how these things took place and the religion of Mil was forgotten.

But then it says this one little line in passing that caught me, how "...the religion of the Cross replaced that of the Circle..." and it just struck me. We say all sorts of things that Christians are supposed to be and believe and act and what not. But it all boils down to the cross. All we do, all we say, all we live for should come back to the Cross of Christ and we should be recognized as that. Children of the Cross.

So as you do what you do tomorrow or the day after that or whatever, look and ask are you a part of the religion of the Cross, does what you say and do and believe point back to the Cross of Christ.

Gal. 6:14 ~ As for me, however, I will boast only about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; for by means of his cross the world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world. (italics added)

T

Happy Earth Day

It's almost over, but have a good one. What are you doing to make the world a better place? It kind of hit me while playing a computer game yesterday and having a fire here (not our apartment, one nearby) that we really pollute a lot. If everyone did just a little bit it would be so much better.

To bad most people do nothing and depend on a few to do everything...

T

Keep Your Cool

Okay, I love hockey. Those that don't, I'm sorry for whatever problem you have that makes you not like it. Anyway, today the Flames played the Red Wings. Game 5, tied 2-2, need 4 to win. Every team has won at home, and today it's in Detroit. But I like Calgary, I guess part of having been to Calgary and knowing one of their former players.

But today was not Calgary's day. They were losing 5-1 with a few minutes left and it happened. What can often happen in a physical emotional sport like hockey. Someone lost their cool. To be more precise, the backup goalie who replaced Kiprisoff. He totally swung his big honking goalie stick right into the gut of an innocent Red Wing, and yes, he did nothing to deserve the hit. The player simply lost his cool. Then the Flames leading scorer went back on the ice with 2 minutes left. Why bother, they had already lost. Nope, he had to start a fight. Got ejected (as did the goalie). A minute later, same thing, another ejection. Calgary simply lost its cool.

Why bother? Why retaliate? Why get so mad that you have to actually cause someone physical harm? The stupid part was, did it hurt the Red Wings? Nope. A little physical pain, but they still won, and after the game, all the support they had from the broadcasters at the start of the game, gone. Respect from other players, shot. They lost their cool.

There were all sorts of verses in Proverbs about controlling your temper, but I like this one from Ecclesiastes better. "Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool." (7:9) And it's true, no one's praising that goalie for his brains in all the sports reports I've heard so far...

T