Snowmaggeddon 2011

It really is pretty funny that we have taken to naming our storms. With a name like Snowmaggeddon, we have set the bar pretty high for future storm names. How do you top a storm whose name is a play on the name of a future battle which will mark the end of our age? It's like the triple dog dare of storm names. But I have faith in our national powers of hyperbolic storm naming. Anybody selling t-shirts yet?

Return His Call

I've been talking to a number of missionaries this week. I am constantly impressed by the quality of people God calls into a life of service and sacrifice. People who could certainly work at something worthwhile which would be much easier and less taxing are going "all in" in the service of the Lord. Age is no factor. Tuesday I talked to one missionary in his 20's and another one in his 60's. It's not a young person's calling, and it's not a mature person's calling. It is the call of God and He knows what He's doing in each individual call. He just needs us to answer when He calls. Have you let His call go through to voice mail with no thought of returning it?

Get Excited!

OK, I'm getting excited because I know a miracle is headed our way. I don't have any details, yet, but I know that we are in the perfect situation for a miracle to occur. We are doing some things around the church here which are being done with the proper motivation (honoring God) and we cannot complete them with our existing resources. It is the classic setup for God to do what only He can do in a way only He could make happen. It is really fun to think of ways that God will supply our need, but in reality, it will most likely happen in a way I will never think of. When it happens, I'll make sure you know about it.

The Work Continues

The work continues on the classroom area. The rough-in electrical work has been completed, the sheetrock has been hung, the painting has begun. We are moving ahead, slower than we would like, but moving ahead nonetheless. Remaining projects include the drop ceiling, door installation, HVAC work, floor coverings, and the projector/screen/sound system work. I look for the work to gain momentum, soon. We've got to have that classroom area completely finished so they can be available for the many things we have planned to do in them. I am looking forward to the day when the curtains come down permantly and that area becomes an integral part of the ministries of Living Water Church.

Sometimes...

Well I made a liar of myself on Sunday. On Saturday I sent a facebook status promising something new on Sunday and then I totally forgot to do it. I had a video illustration which was supposed to show just prior to my message. I had it down on the service order, Craig had it all cued up and at the proper time I just completely let it slip my mind. It was funny and would have been awesome. It slipped my mind so completely, I just remembered a few hours ago that it was supposed to happen and didn't. Well, I'll use it another time. If I remember to use it.

This wasn't one of my best weeks. On the way to the fellowship dinner Sunday evening I suddenly realized that I have scheduled the annual church business meeting on Super Bowl Sunday. Well, with nothing controversial to present, we should be adjourned in time to see most of the game. I'll make sure that it never happens again.

Sometimes I can be such a goober.

He Sure Makes It Easy To Trust

I am a very forward looking person. I always look forward to what the future may bring. I am always thinking about how different (translated: better) things will be or run or look a year from now. But this week I have been doing a lot of looking back. It is easier to predict what will happen by what has happened in the past. I'm not talking about always doing what you've always done, because if  you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always gotten. No, I'm talking about giving a deep, appreciative look at what has been done before, so I can have a better understanding of how it is possible for me to do what I can do today. Dorothy Watson gave me a picture she showed me several months ago. It is of a Vacation Bible School held in 1954, two years before I was born. The church was the precursor of Living Water Church. It was pastored by Rev. Shumway, who is the gentleman on the back row wearing the white hat. What is noteworthy to me about the photo is that my mom is the lady on the right side with her arms crossed, looking toward the left. My older brother, Greg, is a little 4 year old boy, seated on the front row, near the left end.

This was going on two years before I made my appearance, but the gospel that Rev. Shumway planted in my parents has come back to Guthrie, through me, to continue to sow the gospel to the community my parents were a part of so many years ago. When you think that God knew how all of that back was going to work out then, it sure makes it easy to trust Him now, doesn't it?

The Lost Funeral Procession

Last week I did a funeral for a really nice lady I used to go to church with. She lived to be a ripe, old age and I had no doubt about her spiritual condition. She had three grown children who all serve the Lord, and I had done the funeral for her husband nearly a year ago. So, as funerals go, this one promised no drama. Sure enough, the service went smoothly enough and we went to the cars to proceed to the cemetary. I was told to fall in immediately behind the hearse and I did so. We headed out on a direct route to the cemetary, which was about 4 miles from the funeral home. We had the obligatory police escort, and since I was near the front, I watched the interaction and strategy employed as one would stop traffic while the other  would lead the procession. When the procession passed, the policeman in the intersection would then zoom past the procession in time to do it all again at the next intersection. It was all quite ordinary until we turned north on  County Line Road. There was a flashing sign telling us that the road was closed ahead and to take a different route. I thought to myself, "We have a police escort. They must already have this all figured out." I began to suspect that something was up when one of the policemen pulled alongside the guy driving the hearse and the guy on the hearse suddenly got on his phone. We reached the end of the block and sure enough the road ended. We made a right turn into Rambling Acres neighborhood. All eleven cars in the procession. We slowed nearly to a stop as high school students were walking home from school and didn't know the protocol involving funeral processions wandering through neighborhoods. We made a turn into what I was sure was a cul de sac but it did turn us back south (away from the cemetary.) We circled the block then finally found a neigbhorhood street which would eventually take us to Britton Rd. Of course, Britton Road is under a massive amount of construction as it was the reason the road was closed back at the beginning. We made our way through the narrow labyrinth of orange barrels, made a left turn onto Council and then another left onto Northwest Highway. Finally we made it to the cemetary. The police escort bid their adieu to the guy from the funeral home and made their exit, leaving him to explain to everyone what had just happened. He handled it very well and the family was very gracious and got a good chuckle at getting lost on the way to the graveyard. You never know when a day begins just how it will end.

How will it turn out?

I am working on the church calender for 2011. As I look through the months ahead, it seems to compress the year. Even though the year hasn't even started, I am mentally already at Easter. I have taken note that Cinco de Mayo will be on May 5th this year and that Independence Day will be on July 4th. I think Thanksgiving will be on a Thursday. (I have a firm grasp of the obvious.) I am already counting the weeks until we reintroduce the completely revamped Sunday School department (only 36). It is energizing to look at the year ahead and plan. It is exciting to think of how many different ways that the living and active God we serve can completely obliterate those plans when He chooses to do so. Which week will be the one when I get to announce the sale of the south campus building? What other exciting announcements will there be? That's for God to know and for us to find out!

On Any Given Day

We are coming quickly to the end of another year. Each year has its own story, but the big story for me for 2010 is the new chapter that began for Carole and I by becoming pastors in October. This exciting and daunting calling has easily eclipsed my Inca Trail adventure as my top story of the year.

Pastoring is never dull. I noticed Sunday that the sink in the men's bathroom was draining much too slowly and I made a mental note to check on that later. This morning I was reminded of the slow sink again, so I immediately began to disassemble the p-trap to see where the clog was. When I removed the tailpipe extention I saw something dark and slimey looking. I grabbed it and gave a yank. Imagine my surprise when I pulled a dead frog out. Apparently it had come through the drain system and was looking for a place of  escape. When it made it to the end of the line, I guess it gave up or didn't like the soapy water. It couldn't have been there for more than a couple of days, but it had already begun to stink pretty badly. I gave it a proper burial in the dumpster, reassembled the drain and now the sink drains fine. The bathroom smells better, too.

You never know what opportunities await on any given day. It was better to be the plumber than the frog.

Will Blog for Books

I have once again scored a free book. Mark Batterson, who wrote Wild Goose Chase, (and who benefitted greatly from my cashews and jerky on the Inca Trail) has finished a new book, "Soulprint". And once again I have signed up for a free copy of his newest by agreeing to read it upon receiving it and then posting a review of it on my blog. That is like the best deal ever. I get to read new books. I don't have to pay for them. I get to talk about them on my blog. What's not to love about a deal like that?

Challenges

Yesterday I went to the gym for the first time in several months. A year ago I went several times a week as I prepared for both a 5k run and my Inca Trail hike. I developed a pretty good level of endurance and completed both goals. After my return from Peru, however, I didn't have any goals ahead of me. And as a result, the whole motivation to continue the workouts kinda slipped away. The fact that I felt really good and had a lot of energy didn't seem to be enough to cause me to continue the physical discipline of regular workouts. Now, I am again soft, my energy level is much lower, and it is more difficult to concentrate than it was when I was fit. It would appear that I need another challenge ahead to motivate me toward improvement.

Spiritual fitness is just like physical fitness. If we are just going along in life with no goals or challenges, we will not maintain the disciplines of prayer and Bible study that we do when we are facing something that appears to be daunting or beyond our capability. As a new pastor, I have plenty of spiritual challenge to keep me on my knees and in the Word. But as a soft middle aged guy I need to find a new physical challenge. I'll keep you posted.

Rejoice, Rejoice!

Sunday night our worship team did a breathtakingly beautiful rendition of the Christmas hymn, "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel". I have heard that song many times; even sang choir arrangements several times in Christmas programs, but I had never really paid attention to the words of this verse-

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

In this day of confusion, uncertainty and disappointment, it comes as a great comfort to rest in these lines. When we realize that the events of the world are not random and not haphazard but are ordered by Him who is ultimate wisdom, and ultimate love, then our natural response should be to ask God to lead us to the path of knowledge of Him and to teach us to follow that path. Then we can truly and honestly rejoice that God is with us, and that in Him we find protection, provision, and power.
I love the deep and powerful theology of those ancient hymns.