Fall

the rumor is that it is fall.  the trees look like it.  the leaves are even falling off the trees.  the days are getting shorter.  change in time due to daylight savings time is fast approaching.  homecoming events at colleges and high schools abound.  the pumpkin festival is underway.  there are costumes galore in stores.  walmart has great displays for candy for halloween.  yes, all the signs appear to be there.  but it's in the 80's.  what's with that?  it's kind of like people predicting the return of Jesus to be imminent because of this sign or that sign.  yes, it is fall.  but, no, though we know Jesus will come for the second time, we know not when, really.  the signs, they don't always tell the total truth, nor do all the signs really line up with what's happening.

Colorado

well, it was that time of year again.  the time when i and four of my friends hop airplanes, rent cars, all for the purpose of making our way back to the ymca in estes park, colorado for five days of fellowship, hiking, praying, reading, eating, and just generally hanging out.  it all starts at the safeway where we gather food - not always healthy - for the week.  it's a trip - five guys throwing stuff into a grocery basket, then venturing to our cabin and sorting through the loot we just bought.  we often find some interesting stuff.  the next day we start our routine of reading, praying, then hiking, then lunch, then smoking a cigar and discussing theology, then prayer for each other, then dinner, then back home for more discussion before bed.  a great time.  it's especially great because we are all looking forward to this place we've been coming to for years to be revived by the Lord and to hang out with good friends.  in a lot of ways its like hanging out with Jesus for a week in the midst of some of His great creation.  now, you can't go wrong with that.

Mac

well, i did it.  i entered the mac world.  it took me a while and i entered it cautiously.  first, i got an iphone a few years back, and then several months ago i got an ipad.  sooooooo, the next logical step was a mac - a macbook pro to be precise.  i like it.  i really do.  once you learn it, it's simpler to use than a pc.  one of the things i noticed about people that had note book computers was this: those that had pc's liked them and were generally happy.  however, those that had a macbook - an apple computer - well, they were down right passionate about them.  they loved them.  like some kind of cult.  no, like a follower of Jesus should be about the one that he is following - passionate.

Rain

rain.  here in missouri we are beginning to ask the question of what is rain?  where did it go?  are we entering another dust bowl era?  is this drought going to go on and on and on and on?  who knows.  we need it.  we not only need rain, we need it badly.  we are multiple inches of rain behind.  and, the truth be known, i'm getting tired of watering my three trees and 15 shrubs in my front yard.  yes, they are all green.  yes, they are all doing well.  but, we still need the rain.  i mean my grass is brown because i haven't watered that and will not because of size.  so, my cry is God send rain.  and while i'm thinking about it, send rain on Your church so that it grows and becomes what you want it to be and send rain on Your people so we become what we are suppose to be.  send it abundantly so we can be vessels as your pour the rain of Your Holy Spirit not only on us, but all those around us that we have contact with.

Heat

man, has it been hot, or what?  hundreds almost seems like it has become the latest standard for temperatures in mid-missouri.  hundreds.  hundreds?  hundreds!  i just listened to a forecaster that said it would hit the one hundred mark every day for the next seven.  that's amazing.  with no rain in site.  though there have been pop-up storms that seem to sit in one little place.  one friend told me that they got one inch where they live, but a mile away they received no rain at all.  another place a bit south received four inches over several days, while not far away the crops are burning up.  it's all sporadic.  we need the freshness and coolness of some rain.  kind of like we need the outpouring of God's grace upon us.

Independence day

two hundred and thirty six years ago we declared our independence from England and declared that we had become a free nation - because we wanted freedom from a government that was different than what we wanted - that was despotic in a number of ways.  america was set up to be a place where people had freedom and a government was set up to protect those freedoms.  but, in the wisdom of man, which is foolishness before God, government has been growing and those freedoms have been eroding.  fortunately, God's wisdom is never found to be foolish, and never erodes, and those that have a relationship with Him through Christ have freedom that will never erode.  that leaves the question, whom shall i serve.  in the words of Jesus, i will give unto Caesar what is Caesars and unto God what is Gods.  with that said, i'm glad that my ultimate citizenship lies in heaven.

Friday

hey, it's friday.  friday!  wow!  is that cool or what.  friday.  another week has been put in.  another week has come and gone.  another week of work, meetings, and all kinds of stuff.  and now it's friday.  time to play - well at least when we get off work or whatever.  the sad part is that it's another week of our life that is gone.  and quite possibly a week that we have wished away.  you know, i can't wait until friday.  well the waitings over.  but what about monday, tuesday, wednesday, and thursday.  something to think about.  personally, i enjoyed those other days and friday just kind of crept up on me.  why?  because with each day i was blessed by a relationship with God, my wife, and many other people.  which makes life worth living and definitely each day full of joy so that you don't wish your life away.

Lighthouse

one of the things i like best about going to the coast - or any of the great lakes - is that i know i will run into at least one light house, if not more.  i think they are so cool.  you find them at the end of a jetty, on top of a cliff, at the tip of a point that juts out into the water, or on top of a tall hill.  the stand in an upright, strong, and majestic way.  they have a job to do.  or, i should say, they had a job to do.  they kept ships from running aground, which could have been catastrophic for both the ship and its passengers and cargo.  sadly, their use has faded.  but, they are still beautiful, as they stand there in all their majesty.  isn't it wonderful that one lighthouse - that city on the hill - the church has not lost its usefulness.  it is still there to shine forth the light of Christ, keeping people from a catastrophic ending.

Cutting grass

several years ago we bought a house that sits on 0.97 acres.  now, at the time i thought it was really cool.  almost an acre in the city.  but i overlooked something.  that something was the 3/4 acres of grass, some of it on very steep hills that i had to use a push mower to cut as my rider wouldn't pull the hills.  then, i said, i know the answer - landscaping - flatten that thing out.  but, the landscaper had a better idea - a new mower.  a zero turn radius mower that could and would pull the hills.  and it does.  it has the power and cutting grass is fun again.  kind of reminds me of the power we have in Christ and how much fun it is to walk with Him in His power.

ipad

version 1 came and went.  version 2 came and went.  then came version 3.  i could no longer handle the temptation.  i fought.  i mean, i fought hard.  i really did.  but, i finally broke down and gave in.  i bought version 3 - or whatever it is called.  and it feels good.  i mean, it really feels good.  i love it.  it is magnificent.  and it helps me with every aspect of my life.  it's all kind of like Jesus in my life.  i fought and fought and fought against Him.  but, then came the day i took the plunge, and life has never been the same.  i love Him.  He is magnificent.  He helps me with every aspect of my life.

Memorial

today starts a very important weekend, leading to a very important day.  no, i'm not talking about this being the unofficial, official first day of summer - you know, where you get the boats out, you bbq, and you party, mainly celebrating the fact that you don't have to work on monday.  i'm talking about remember what many, many, brave women and men have done to insure that we can role the boats out, bbq, and generally have a great weekend - our soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen.  the gave of themselves so that we can give to ourselves.  but, let's stop giving to ourselves for a few moments and remember them - a moment of silence, thanking someone in uniform, or whatever.  and while you're at it, give thanks to our God that has blessed us with a country worth defending.

i'm sitting here at my desk thinking about this morning and listening to the birds chirp out side.  what beautiful music they create as they almost majestically lift up the sun from the horizon.  the robins.  the cardinals.  the doves.  the rest.  i can almost imagine that there is this heavenly conductor conducting some magnificent piece that they are all performing.  and it lifts me up.  just like the worship of the living God that i will participate in in a few short hours.

monday

it's monday.  it's monday!  man, it's monday.  i hear this over and over, like it's the end of life or something.  personally, i think mondays get a very bad rap.  it's a new day.  it's the first day of the work week.  it's the day you see friends you might not have seen for a few days.  it's a day that we often stir up our brain to start thinking again.  besides all of that, it's the day the Lord has made. so, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

rain

rain, rain, rain!  over the last eight days we have had seven inches of rain - at least according to my rain gauge.  that's a lot of water and the ground is still soggy, and i live on a hill.  but, at least the old basement stayed dry.  it came down slowly and it came down in torrents.  it was at times a quiet drizzle and at times a thunderous, lightning filled outpouring of water.  a couple of the bolts of lightning seemed to strike fairly close, one a few nights ago about 3:30 in the morning.  i won't say i came out of bed standing, but it was close at times.  of course, it was accompanied with flash floods and warnings of flooding.  i'm glad God promised that we wouldn't experience another flood like noah did.

i had the privilege of going to a faith based partnership meeting today where we learned a lot about how to properly respond to disasters.  for the most part it was very good.  they had a good mix of people that supervise volunteers and do the planning, as well as speakers that were involved as a volunteer after the joplin tornado of last may 22, 2012.  a point that came out over and over was that we needed to make plans and be organized, but at the same time be flexible because the plan will change from day to day while you are in the field.  easy to understand.  but, in the midst of it all i couldn't help but think how wonderful it is that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  we definitely need His leadership during times of disaster.

garage sales

on this bright day three of my neighbors are having a garage sale. i still remember the first one i went to. actually, i went with a friend. while he was looking at stuff i just wandered around. a bowling ball caught my eye - why, i don't know. anyway, i went over and picked it up. emblazoned on the ball just above the finger holes was my first name. i then put my right hand into the holes and it was a perfect fit. now, if you saw my hand - being somewhat small with subby fingers, you might consider that a miracle. maybe it was. maybe it wasn't. but it already had my name on it. so i bought it. kind of like Jesus having my name and buying me on the cross.

hospitals

hospitals are an amazing thing. they really are. and they have changed so much. i have been in many of them over the years - both as a patient and as a visitor. they use to be gloomy, places where two very sick people were stuffed into the same room (and sometimes many more in the same slightly larger room). now they are decorated with a modern flare and not at all gloomy - with the rooms often being single occupancy. (thank you hipaa!) even the people have changed. i just experienced one, and everyone i came in contact with was both very kind and very helpful. they all seemed to be happy to serve. kind of reminded me of Jesus, especially during this season which celebrates the greatest service ever shown to man kind.

long term insurance

today was a most interesting day - a day that i became even more confused by insurance. what type, you ask? well, i'm talking about long term care insurance. now, that is exactly what they mean - long term care. they are only interested in insuring you if you will not need long term care insurance and you die in the relatively near future without ever using them. true. not lying. anyway, i also found that when you insure two people with a significant difference in age that the price is cheaper for the two, than just for the older one. what? wait! how can that be true? well, it is, by about 10%. even the adjuster, who was figuring the price was shocked, as he started out his quote with wow, you won't believe this. the only better deal i've ever found is the one i received when i became a Christian. with that deal, you get three in one for the same cost - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Sweet!

vacation

you know, vacations are really nice. i mean think about it. you leave your home, your job, your family, and your friends and you get away. in other words, you leave your normal life and put it on hold so you can go somewhere - the mountains, the seashore, or the fruited plains. okay, i got a little carried away. the other little thing you leave are the day-to-day stresses of your normal life. that's why you need a vacation - to clear your head - and to tune into God.

thinking

i was just sitting here thinking. about what, you ask? well, let me see if i can put it into a short, succinct paragraph. the day. yes, the day. now, i am impressed that, first, i am thinking. second, that i remember what went on today. i mean, that's like walking into a grocery store without the list and expecting to remember everything that is on the list. uh, ok. which, by the way, is one of the things i did today. but, no worry, i just bought lots of extra stuff - which, somehow or another covered the list. anyway, back to thinking. is it really cracked up to be that great. i think so. after all, that's one of the reasons God gave us a brain - to think. hope we all get around to that some day.

Exciting

i have not published on my blog for some time. however, i am going to make an attempt to do so. it's not that my life has been boring. far from it. my life is rather exciting. pastoring a church is nothing short of a blessing from God. though the church is medium size - what is a megachurch anyway - i am surrounded by a group of people that love God, love each other, and love me. there is nothing like preaching to a group of people on sunday morning that want to not just know about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit - they want to know Him - i mean a real life, intimate, personal relationship. cool, huh? so, my life is not boring. again, i am going to make an attempt to publish at least two posts per week. you know, the old KISS principle - keep it simple saint.