Good afternoon!
What a beautiful day God has created for us to enjoy today. The sun is shining, my family is healthy, and my spirit is good.
Have you ever had one of those days where it just seems nothing could go wrong? Your spirit just smiles through the day? Well, today is one of those days and I am going to enjoy it because I know that these days don't last forever. Maybe that is why they are so special. I want to drink in the feeling, absorb the moment into my soul, so that when my days aren't going as well I can be reminded of this time.
I sometimes wonder why we experience these ethereal moments in life. I wonder, "why today?". But, my spirit responds in a way that reminds me to allow myself to be in awe of the moment and to be in awe of God.
As I think through my day, it is nothing different than any other day. I got up. Went to the bank. Went to the grocery store. Went to work. Lunch plans were changed. Had an unscheduled meeting. Did some paperwork. Now I'm writing this blog. Nothing different - on the outside.
Internally though, it's like I've been living in a sense of awe all day. Awe of what God has done, is doing, and will do.
In awe that our puppy didn't have an accident last night - Praise the Lord!
In awe that my son is doing well after oral surgery - Praise the Lord!
In awe that our friend mows our lawn for us (because I'm lazy) - Praise the Lord!
In awe of God's provision - Praise the Lord!
In awe that I have a family that loves me, in spite of me - Praise the Lord!
In awe that God has called someone like me to tell people about Him - Praise the Lord!
In awe of God's creation and how His Son continues to shine in my life - Praise the Lord!
In awe of how God is working in another man's life (thanks for sharing your story with me Darryl) - Praise the Lord!
In awe that the little squirrel made it to the other side of the road, even after being knicked by a car - Praise the Lord for His protection!
In awe that God has blessed me with so many friends that I got to reconnect with while on vacation last week - Praise the Lord!
In awe of the staff I work with and their dedication to our Lord - Praise the Lord!
In awe of GRACE, LOVE, and HOPE that comes from our AWEsome God!
Whether you are struggling today, or going through the humdrum of life, or you are having a good day - take some time to say "Awe" and take in the wonders of our incredible Creator.
"Most awesome God, thank You for all that You have blessed me with - great and small. Thank You that I do not have to walk through this life alone. Even when all have seemed to abandon me, You are with me. When all seems lost, You remind me of the victory You had over death. When I am weak, You make me strong again. I am in awe of You - my Mighty Savior, my Dependable Deliverer, my AWEsome God! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."
Take Care & God Bless,
Pastor Don
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Dogged Faith
Good Afternoon!
Have you ever done something you didn't want to do? Yesterday, I did. You see, for a while now, my two kids have been annoyingly consistent in voicing their desire to get a new dog. Our beloved Charlee died almost one year ago. Over the last couple of months, the kids have felt a need to get another dog to be a companion to our other dog, Radar. I had many reasons for not wanting to get another dog, but I won't go into those here. Suffice it to say, I was able to effectively deflect the barrages of "Dad, please!" What I didn't know is that my children were created with an innate ability to effectively practice the ambush tactic, known to be effective in warfare. Between you and me, I think they got if from their mother (she was in on the whole thing!) : )
Anyway, while I was away at a staff retreat on Monday, the plan went into action. My wife thought it would be a good idea to take my children to the Humane Society..."just to look". Yeah, right. They knew what they were doing, they had done it before (when we got Charlee). I should have known. My love for my family blinded me. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. The ambush was in full operation!
Without going into all of the details, we got the dog they fell in love with. A cute, 11-week old, Old English Sheepdog/Australian Shepherd mix. She is almost pure white. Since my children actually paid for her, they got the naming rights and named her...are you ready for this...Snowball. Original.
I must confess, she is a cute little dog and reminds all of us of some of the qualities that Charlee had. She is a little odd in her looks. One eye has a black patch around it while the other eye has pink around it. She looks like a little misfit. But, her story was heart-wrenching as well. In her 11 weeks of life, we are her 4th-5th family. She has been moved from one home to another. She is a bit timid and appeared at first to be depressed. Can't say I blame her. Lost, with no one place to call home. A misfit dog, not able to find a place that would accept her and help her fit in.
In the middle of the night, I remembered one of the reasons why I didn't want another dog, especially a puppy. She would wimper and cry. My son and I would take her out to the back yard so that she could go to the bathroom. One time it was for real, the other time was just a ruse. It takes a lot of time and investment to welcome someone new into the home. Thanks to the dogged determination of my children (pun intended), we now are a two dog family. Pray for me.
I liken this experience to the church. In many ways we want to keep the family as it is. It is comfortable that way. We know what we can depend on. We can get to know the people. Once we are a part of the family, it takes less investment on our part to keep it all going.
Then, all of a sudden, some misfit comes in with a history, a past, and even a present that makes us uncomfortable. They have been wandering from one place to the next, lost in their lives, with no place to call home. They have baggage. Their theology isn't sound. Their language isn't Christian. Their clothing isn't clean. Their body is a walking collage of different pictures and piercings. Their music isn't holy. They wear a hat in the sanctuary. They think they can even drink coffee while they worship. They don't know the rules. They don't know the way "it should be".
Maybe if we saw them outside of the church, it would be different. We'd be able to not engage them. We could walk right by them. Or, we could have a quick conversation, and go on our merry way...leaving them to their wanderings and us to our righteousness.
If they are in the church, we may feel a spiritual obligation to engage them - even if we don't want to. "Maybe another church would be a better fit?" we ask ourselves.
Maybe you don't think these things, but today more than ever, the Church needs to remember that there are billions of people lost and wandering. They are looking for a place to call home. If we are always focused on what it takes to be a member of the family of God (right doctrine, proper style of worship, keeping tradition for tradition's sake, going to meetings, etc.) then the homeless wanderer will never be able to fit in - because he/she is looking for a home, not an institution.
It takes time and investment when we welcome a new person to the family of God. It takes our patience. It takes walking with them at odd times and in uncomfortable places. It takes a willingness to see the world from their perspective. It takes an authentic love for them as God's children and the willingness to create opportunities for them to see Jesus and have a transforming experience with Him. It takes dogged faith in God to provide us the boldness, courage, and direction in reaching out. That faith is unrelenting and it will not rest until the mission is accomplished - making disciples in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord!
Are you willing to invest the time in those who are wandering and lost? Or, is it enough for you to pat them on the head, love on them a little, and send them on their way?
One will build the Kingdom. The other will be its demise.
"Almighty God, forgive me for my biases and prejudices of those who do not know You. Forgive me that my thoughts, my words, and my actions have not made it possible for wandering souls to find a pathway to You. Allow my life to reflect the fullness of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Give me a dogged faith to pursue the wandering soul and love him as you love him and serve her as you serve her. I want to invest my life and my faith in You, so that others may find a home in Your Body, the Church. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."
Take Care & God Bless,
Pastor Don
Have you ever done something you didn't want to do? Yesterday, I did. You see, for a while now, my two kids have been annoyingly consistent in voicing their desire to get a new dog. Our beloved Charlee died almost one year ago. Over the last couple of months, the kids have felt a need to get another dog to be a companion to our other dog, Radar. I had many reasons for not wanting to get another dog, but I won't go into those here. Suffice it to say, I was able to effectively deflect the barrages of "Dad, please!" What I didn't know is that my children were created with an innate ability to effectively practice the ambush tactic, known to be effective in warfare. Between you and me, I think they got if from their mother (she was in on the whole thing!) : )
Anyway, while I was away at a staff retreat on Monday, the plan went into action. My wife thought it would be a good idea to take my children to the Humane Society..."just to look". Yeah, right. They knew what they were doing, they had done it before (when we got Charlee). I should have known. My love for my family blinded me. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. The ambush was in full operation!
Without going into all of the details, we got the dog they fell in love with. A cute, 11-week old, Old English Sheepdog/Australian Shepherd mix. She is almost pure white. Since my children actually paid for her, they got the naming rights and named her...are you ready for this...Snowball. Original.
I must confess, she is a cute little dog and reminds all of us of some of the qualities that Charlee had. She is a little odd in her looks. One eye has a black patch around it while the other eye has pink around it. She looks like a little misfit. But, her story was heart-wrenching as well. In her 11 weeks of life, we are her 4th-5th family. She has been moved from one home to another. She is a bit timid and appeared at first to be depressed. Can't say I blame her. Lost, with no one place to call home. A misfit dog, not able to find a place that would accept her and help her fit in.
In the middle of the night, I remembered one of the reasons why I didn't want another dog, especially a puppy. She would wimper and cry. My son and I would take her out to the back yard so that she could go to the bathroom. One time it was for real, the other time was just a ruse. It takes a lot of time and investment to welcome someone new into the home. Thanks to the dogged determination of my children (pun intended), we now are a two dog family. Pray for me.
I liken this experience to the church. In many ways we want to keep the family as it is. It is comfortable that way. We know what we can depend on. We can get to know the people. Once we are a part of the family, it takes less investment on our part to keep it all going.
Then, all of a sudden, some misfit comes in with a history, a past, and even a present that makes us uncomfortable. They have been wandering from one place to the next, lost in their lives, with no place to call home. They have baggage. Their theology isn't sound. Their language isn't Christian. Their clothing isn't clean. Their body is a walking collage of different pictures and piercings. Their music isn't holy. They wear a hat in the sanctuary. They think they can even drink coffee while they worship. They don't know the rules. They don't know the way "it should be".
Maybe if we saw them outside of the church, it would be different. We'd be able to not engage them. We could walk right by them. Or, we could have a quick conversation, and go on our merry way...leaving them to their wanderings and us to our righteousness.
If they are in the church, we may feel a spiritual obligation to engage them - even if we don't want to. "Maybe another church would be a better fit?" we ask ourselves.
Maybe you don't think these things, but today more than ever, the Church needs to remember that there are billions of people lost and wandering. They are looking for a place to call home. If we are always focused on what it takes to be a member of the family of God (right doctrine, proper style of worship, keeping tradition for tradition's sake, going to meetings, etc.) then the homeless wanderer will never be able to fit in - because he/she is looking for a home, not an institution.
It takes time and investment when we welcome a new person to the family of God. It takes our patience. It takes walking with them at odd times and in uncomfortable places. It takes a willingness to see the world from their perspective. It takes an authentic love for them as God's children and the willingness to create opportunities for them to see Jesus and have a transforming experience with Him. It takes dogged faith in God to provide us the boldness, courage, and direction in reaching out. That faith is unrelenting and it will not rest until the mission is accomplished - making disciples in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord!
Are you willing to invest the time in those who are wandering and lost? Or, is it enough for you to pat them on the head, love on them a little, and send them on their way?
One will build the Kingdom. The other will be its demise.
"Almighty God, forgive me for my biases and prejudices of those who do not know You. Forgive me that my thoughts, my words, and my actions have not made it possible for wandering souls to find a pathway to You. Allow my life to reflect the fullness of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Give me a dogged faith to pursue the wandering soul and love him as you love him and serve her as you serve her. I want to invest my life and my faith in You, so that others may find a home in Your Body, the Church. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."
Take Care & God Bless,
Pastor Don
Thursday, August 5, 2010
A New Chapter
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
I pray that you have been able to experience the power of Christ in your life this week.
This week I have had the wonderful pleasure to delight in one of my daughter's accomplishments. My daughter is 9 years old and she loves to read and write. She has a very creative side to her. In late January of this year, some 6 1/2 months ago, she decided that she wanted to write a book. A lofty goal and one that, quite honestly, I thought was too lofty. My daughter has the habit of starting many things and not finishing them.
As with most goals, she started off strong and with great gusto. She would write a paragraph or two and have to read it aloud to the family. We encouraged her and recognized some latent talent that was starting to come out. After a while, she wasn't picking up the computer as often and the writing of the book was put on the shelf, so to speak. At least, that is what I thought.
From time to time, my daughter would start the project back up and focus on her book. Over the last month she has been really determined until earlier this week she looked up from the computer and said, "My book is done!" I was excited for her and proud of her, as she accomplished a very large goal.
When you think of a 9 year old writing a book, you may think, as I did, that the "book" would be only a few pages long. After printing it out today, her book is 39 pages (roughly)! Not only that, she has a "book cover" with pictures and title, along with 9 chapters, each with their own title. It is really impressive! I printed out the pages and formatted it in book form for her and when I brought it home she shouted, with giddiness in her voice, "My first published book!" How can you not smile?
So, to make it really official, I would like to be the first person to quote from my daughter's book, "Fighters: Newcomer", from the 6th chapter titled "The Grouping". (by the way, this book is about a pack of dogs as they establish their pack and the other packs they encounter) "'Snowfight, do you promise to train as hard as you can, and protect the pack even at the cost of your life?' Samuel asked. Snowfight replied firmly, 'Yes, I do.'" Samuel then asks another dog named Wolfmix, "'do you promise to train your apprentice to be a noble fighter and a dog I can trust?'...'Yes sir, I promise.'"
If that little snippet doesn't impress you, I don't know what will! If you'd like to read the book, I'd be happy to get you a copy. Let me know! I think Birdhouse Publishing has just been established : )
This is a great story, and even more fun to tell, but why did I share that particular quote? Why did it catch my eye?
Recently, the leadership of our church has been talking about what it is going to take to reach a generation of people that we struggle to reach. The question the wise leader above asks, can be a question for us as we strive to fully live behind our mission and vision. Do we promise to train hard (read our Bibles, pray hard, love well, meet together on a regular basis) and are we willing to protect the truth of the gospel, even at the cost of our lives? (we sacrifice our time, we sacrifice our agendas, we sacrifice our power and position, and yes, even sacrifice our lives)
Do we promise to train and equip others to become trustworthy disciples of Jesus Christ...no matter the cost? Are these promises we can make to God in order to keep the church pack strong and healthy?
I wonder, sometimes, if we know what it really takes to provide ministry that will impact our current and future generations. I am not saying that we compromise the message or water it down - the gospel does not change. Our approach to ministry changes. Our worship changes. Our communication changes. Our perspective changes. It is not that we are trying to write a completely different book. We are just needing to start a new chapter.
Are we up for it? These are things we need to explore...together. I look forward to the journey. If you have insights of what the church can do to reach the new generations of people, comment on this blog or email me - donbird@canonumc.org. I'd love to hear from you!
Precious Lord, we seek Your guidance and direction as we strive to tell others about your love and grace in new and exciting ways. We know that you have called us to protect the integrity of the church while at the same time making it relevant for the world we live in. Give us courage to see with Your eyes, love with Your heart, and proclaim with Your voice. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Take Care & God Bless,
Pastor Don
I pray that you have been able to experience the power of Christ in your life this week.
This week I have had the wonderful pleasure to delight in one of my daughter's accomplishments. My daughter is 9 years old and she loves to read and write. She has a very creative side to her. In late January of this year, some 6 1/2 months ago, she decided that she wanted to write a book. A lofty goal and one that, quite honestly, I thought was too lofty. My daughter has the habit of starting many things and not finishing them.
As with most goals, she started off strong and with great gusto. She would write a paragraph or two and have to read it aloud to the family. We encouraged her and recognized some latent talent that was starting to come out. After a while, she wasn't picking up the computer as often and the writing of the book was put on the shelf, so to speak. At least, that is what I thought.
From time to time, my daughter would start the project back up and focus on her book. Over the last month she has been really determined until earlier this week she looked up from the computer and said, "My book is done!" I was excited for her and proud of her, as she accomplished a very large goal.
When you think of a 9 year old writing a book, you may think, as I did, that the "book" would be only a few pages long. After printing it out today, her book is 39 pages (roughly)! Not only that, she has a "book cover" with pictures and title, along with 9 chapters, each with their own title. It is really impressive! I printed out the pages and formatted it in book form for her and when I brought it home she shouted, with giddiness in her voice, "My first published book!" How can you not smile?
So, to make it really official, I would like to be the first person to quote from my daughter's book, "Fighters: Newcomer", from the 6th chapter titled "The Grouping". (by the way, this book is about a pack of dogs as they establish their pack and the other packs they encounter) "'Snowfight, do you promise to train as hard as you can, and protect the pack even at the cost of your life?' Samuel asked. Snowfight replied firmly, 'Yes, I do.'" Samuel then asks another dog named Wolfmix, "'do you promise to train your apprentice to be a noble fighter and a dog I can trust?'...'Yes sir, I promise.'"
If that little snippet doesn't impress you, I don't know what will! If you'd like to read the book, I'd be happy to get you a copy. Let me know! I think Birdhouse Publishing has just been established : )
This is a great story, and even more fun to tell, but why did I share that particular quote? Why did it catch my eye?
Recently, the leadership of our church has been talking about what it is going to take to reach a generation of people that we struggle to reach. The question the wise leader above asks, can be a question for us as we strive to fully live behind our mission and vision. Do we promise to train hard (read our Bibles, pray hard, love well, meet together on a regular basis) and are we willing to protect the truth of the gospel, even at the cost of our lives? (we sacrifice our time, we sacrifice our agendas, we sacrifice our power and position, and yes, even sacrifice our lives)
Do we promise to train and equip others to become trustworthy disciples of Jesus Christ...no matter the cost? Are these promises we can make to God in order to keep the church pack strong and healthy?
I wonder, sometimes, if we know what it really takes to provide ministry that will impact our current and future generations. I am not saying that we compromise the message or water it down - the gospel does not change. Our approach to ministry changes. Our worship changes. Our communication changes. Our perspective changes. It is not that we are trying to write a completely different book. We are just needing to start a new chapter.
Are we up for it? These are things we need to explore...together. I look forward to the journey. If you have insights of what the church can do to reach the new generations of people, comment on this blog or email me - donbird@canonumc.org. I'd love to hear from you!
Precious Lord, we seek Your guidance and direction as we strive to tell others about your love and grace in new and exciting ways. We know that you have called us to protect the integrity of the church while at the same time making it relevant for the world we live in. Give us courage to see with Your eyes, love with Your heart, and proclaim with Your voice. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Take Care & God Bless,
Pastor Don
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