Sometimes, somedays, the Lord is just all over it.
A few things conspired to make me realize that I had to totally give the day up to God or it was going to get bad. I didn't fast yesterday--I forgot, and I can tell you when I don't fast things can get rough.
After squaring away schedule stuff, I went to visit a parishioner who does not get to come very much. I found out that this person is sick, days are shorter than longer; doesn't have much money-- making it, but... And then these words that blessed and convicted me: "All I have is the Lord."
Early this morning someone had posted to Twitter that you don't know how much you need Jesus until He is all you have.
So this was going through my mind: here is a person that, really, by the world's standards, is not someone to spend any time on, not someone who adds anything. But isn't it amazing that this person feels the presence of the Lord more than ever? How amazing! The Lord gives His presence and love in powerful and extravagant ways to the very ones we overlook.
I wonder what it would be like if we related like that, like God does?
Then I had an impromptu meeting with the Program Director at the Morehead Inspiration Center, a residential treatment center for drug and alcohol addiction. That is going to be a great relationship for our church. We already do a lot with them in terms of giving them space for classes, but I hope we can do more and really look to the spiritual care of the guys.
I had a great meeting at a nursing home that turned out a number of folks from the church are there, so it was like a mini-service!
And capped it off tonight with a meeting for a couple about to get married and it turned into a great time of prayer!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
First Day of School
Last night, I was with each boy privately as they both told me of their worries about starting school in a new place.
They had been at Arlington Elementary in Lexington, a very special school with a staff that really came around the boys when they were in the toughest times I hope they ever have to face. So it's not just that we moved to a new school--we left a school that was a great space for the boys, not just in terms of the building, but in a kind of emotional landscape.
I went to five elementary schools in 4 states and Germany, 2 high schools. So i've been the new kid a lot. Came to terms with the fact that all my friends were going to be strangers. So last night, I could tell the boys that it's ok to be the new kid.
But this morning, to see the boys sitting there awkwardly, off to the sides, not knowing anyone... I know how that feels... and there's this weird line between knowing it's ok.. or it will be ok, and wishing it wasn't that way. At the end of the day, I know that they will come home excited, new friends, excitement of learning and getting to know their teachers.
Whenever I am reminded of the darker mode on my peripatetic life, I'm in a California mood, so until the boys come home, it's P.O.D. and The Offspring in the iPod.
They had been at Arlington Elementary in Lexington, a very special school with a staff that really came around the boys when they were in the toughest times I hope they ever have to face. So it's not just that we moved to a new school--we left a school that was a great space for the boys, not just in terms of the building, but in a kind of emotional landscape.
I went to five elementary schools in 4 states and Germany, 2 high schools. So i've been the new kid a lot. Came to terms with the fact that all my friends were going to be strangers. So last night, I could tell the boys that it's ok to be the new kid.
But this morning, to see the boys sitting there awkwardly, off to the sides, not knowing anyone... I know how that feels... and there's this weird line between knowing it's ok.. or it will be ok, and wishing it wasn't that way. At the end of the day, I know that they will come home excited, new friends, excitement of learning and getting to know their teachers.
Whenever I am reminded of the darker mode on my peripatetic life, I'm in a California mood, so until the boys come home, it's P.O.D. and The Offspring in the iPod.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Tuesday
Taking a short break from the sermon... I know, I know, you wish you could too on Sunday! Ha ha ha. Having fun with this one-- history of the Roman sewer, old school paganism, Christian social ethics... what's not to love?
But something struck me, totally unrelated to the sermon.
It's so easy to lose sight of, track of, what's important, valuable, precious to us.
Another way to say that is: it's hard work to NOT take good stuff for granted.
You're around your family and friends all the time, and so it becomes routine. When they're not around, you really miss them.
Maybe you live in a place like Morehead, KY, and you forget to be in awe of the beauty, or take advantage of the lake (this one worries me. I can see 2 years from now no longer looking up to that mountain outside the church. It becomes a backdrop that I don't even notice.)
Or a struggle I have to revisit periodically: what about the things you do that give you life? What if they get crowded out by the everyday? Or "important" stuff that's on your plate? You have to step back sometimes and remember what it was that brings life and joy, what you're called to.
But something struck me, totally unrelated to the sermon.
It's so easy to lose sight of, track of, what's important, valuable, precious to us.
Another way to say that is: it's hard work to NOT take good stuff for granted.
You're around your family and friends all the time, and so it becomes routine. When they're not around, you really miss them.
Maybe you live in a place like Morehead, KY, and you forget to be in awe of the beauty, or take advantage of the lake (this one worries me. I can see 2 years from now no longer looking up to that mountain outside the church. It becomes a backdrop that I don't even notice.)
Or a struggle I have to revisit periodically: what about the things you do that give you life? What if they get crowded out by the everyday? Or "important" stuff that's on your plate? You have to step back sometimes and remember what it was that brings life and joy, what you're called to.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Monday
A very productive Monday!
The guy I needed to see came into the office... nice. Thanks, Wes! We got a killer confirmation plan for the youth.
Flowed out a new members' class that I will offer a few times each year.
Set the hymns for the projected sermons until Advent.
Got a document ready on the preaching schedule for the next 15 weeks so people can have something specific to invite their friends, family and co-workers to!
Working on getting a set of inserts ready for this Fall's Keyword Sermons so people can follow along and take notes. We're going to be going deep into Hebrew and Greek, and letting the Bible define its terms for us. So often we come to the Bible, read a verse and then think we say whatever we feel like... but this is God's book, so we want to let it speak for itself, so that when we say words like "sin," grace," and "forgiveness" we actually know what we're talking about!
2 more things on the punch list and then the rest of the week is for the sermon and visits in the community.
The guy I needed to see came into the office... nice. Thanks, Wes! We got a killer confirmation plan for the youth.
Flowed out a new members' class that I will offer a few times each year.
Set the hymns for the projected sermons until Advent.
Got a document ready on the preaching schedule for the next 15 weeks so people can have something specific to invite their friends, family and co-workers to!
Working on getting a set of inserts ready for this Fall's Keyword Sermons so people can follow along and take notes. We're going to be going deep into Hebrew and Greek, and letting the Bible define its terms for us. So often we come to the Bible, read a verse and then think we say whatever we feel like... but this is God's book, so we want to let it speak for itself, so that when we say words like "sin," grace," and "forgiveness" we actually know what we're talking about!
2 more things on the punch list and then the rest of the week is for the sermon and visits in the community.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
9 Years
This weekend, we celebrated Joseph's 9th birthday. It seems like yesterday we had his eighth birthday, like yesterday that he was just born. I can still remember holding him right after he was born, showing him to family. What a precious boy! What a wonderful blessing! A big strong boy (half inch shy of 5 feet tall!) who will still sit with me, curled up under a blanket in the La-Z-Boy.
Jessie's mom came down, and that really made his day! I told him we'd have a special guest when he woke up, as Grandma was coming in late. When he saw her, he told me that he was so happy. He said, "I thought maybe it was somebody from Lexington!" It meant a lot to him to see her, all the way from Illinois.
I think back to that strange time after Melissa died, and we were at a birthday party for this person we did not know, Jessie. In pictures from that party there was Joseph and John everywhere Jessie's mother was. We joke that they wanted Jessie because of her mom.
I think of my little man and all that he has been through. I tell him all the time how much God has blessed me through him.
Jessie's mom came down, and that really made his day! I told him we'd have a special guest when he woke up, as Grandma was coming in late. When he saw her, he told me that he was so happy. He said, "I thought maybe it was somebody from Lexington!" It meant a lot to him to see her, all the way from Illinois.
I think back to that strange time after Melissa died, and we were at a birthday party for this person we did not know, Jessie. In pictures from that party there was Joseph and John everywhere Jessie's mother was. We joke that they wanted Jessie because of her mom.
I think of my little man and all that he has been through. I tell him all the time how much God has blessed me through him.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Good Things
So, Tom Fossett, a member at Morehead got us a pass to the National Park facilities around Cave Run Lake. tuesday, we loaded up the family and I worked on the sermon while Jess and the kiddos swam and played. It was a great day under some pines. I like to be outside when I work on my sermon, used to like a place on the Palisades in Jessamine County. Of course, the week I got to spend on sermon prep on the Baltic was pretty nice. I guess the highlight for me was hearing the pages of my Bibles turn when a breeze blew. I love it on sunday morning when people are turning the pages and following along in the Bible with the sermon.
_________________
John said tonight, "I can't wait til I am a Daddy." I got a chance to tell the boys that of all the things I have done in life, being a Daddy is the best.
________________
And it's easy to be happy to be a Daddy to John, Joe, and Nadia.
________________
Nadochka may be the cutest thing I have ever seen. She has this smile where she throws her head back and leans forward and shows her teeth. Why am I so blessed?
She says Amen now pretty regularly. If you start to pray, she says it. If you say the words "Jesus" or "heavenly Father," she says, "maymen."
________________
Blast from the past. a few days ago, Jessie asked, "Do you know John Mynhier?" Yes, I do! He friended her on facebook looking for me. He was a youth in my church in Winchester. We had a lot of good times together, especially doing evangelism on the back roads of Clark County. We called a few sinners to repentance. And one day, we were way out there, and we got to a long driveway that we drove up only to find and abandoned house. But, we alos found something else: blackberries! Now, we were so far out in the woods you'da had to go back towards town to hunt, and so not even the birds had found these blackberries! Our faces and fingers were purple. I remember telling John we needed some ice cream, but he said they were pretty good as is.
I think this is one of my favorite memories.
The list of people who wanted to kick my butt was shorter. [don't worry, the list of people who want to and CAN is very short. And if you think you're on that list, forget about it. you're not]
Simpler times.
We did not fully appreciate the battle with the enemy, and that there might be fewer of us.
But then, John Mynhier's family got the whole garden madness going!
_________________
John said tonight, "I can't wait til I am a Daddy." I got a chance to tell the boys that of all the things I have done in life, being a Daddy is the best.
________________
And it's easy to be happy to be a Daddy to John, Joe, and Nadia.
________________
Nadochka may be the cutest thing I have ever seen. She has this smile where she throws her head back and leans forward and shows her teeth. Why am I so blessed?
She says Amen now pretty regularly. If you start to pray, she says it. If you say the words "Jesus" or "heavenly Father," she says, "maymen."
________________
Blast from the past. a few days ago, Jessie asked, "Do you know John Mynhier?" Yes, I do! He friended her on facebook looking for me. He was a youth in my church in Winchester. We had a lot of good times together, especially doing evangelism on the back roads of Clark County. We called a few sinners to repentance. And one day, we were way out there, and we got to a long driveway that we drove up only to find and abandoned house. But, we alos found something else: blackberries! Now, we were so far out in the woods you'da had to go back towards town to hunt, and so not even the birds had found these blackberries! Our faces and fingers were purple. I remember telling John we needed some ice cream, but he said they were pretty good as is.
I think this is one of my favorite memories.
The list of people who wanted to kick my butt was shorter. [don't worry, the list of people who want to and CAN is very short. And if you think you're on that list, forget about it. you're not]
Simpler times.
We did not fully appreciate the battle with the enemy, and that there might be fewer of us.
But then, John Mynhier's family got the whole garden madness going!
Monday, August 1, 2011
This Sunday at Morehead UMC
This Sunday at Morehead United Methodist Church, we'll be looking at the Nature and Use of the Ten Commandments. In short, the commandments exist for one reason: to make us despair of of our own righteousness. No matter how hard we try, we have all broken several if not all of the commandments. But there they are, so simple, so plain, so common sense!
When we knuckle under and realize that all our best thinking and good intentions got us to the place where Jesus had to die on the Cross to save us from our sins, then we know that there has to be a righteousness that comes from God, not from us. And we learn that this righteousness comes by faith in Jesus. It is His righteousness we need.
And when we believe in Him, repent of our sins, and turn our hearts and minds to live a godly lives, then we find that, indeed, His righteousness lives in us. And we can fully obey the Ten Commandments not because we decided to, but because Christ lives in us.
This is a mystical reality, not a mechanical process. It is by faith from first to last.
When we knuckle under and realize that all our best thinking and good intentions got us to the place where Jesus had to die on the Cross to save us from our sins, then we know that there has to be a righteousness that comes from God, not from us. And we learn that this righteousness comes by faith in Jesus. It is His righteousness we need.
And when we believe in Him, repent of our sins, and turn our hearts and minds to live a godly lives, then we find that, indeed, His righteousness lives in us. And we can fully obey the Ten Commandments not because we decided to, but because Christ lives in us.
This is a mystical reality, not a mechanical process. It is by faith from first to last.
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