Let The Healing Begin

Things have been rough the pat few weeks, it's been a little tense around the house and apparently people have noticed (which is fine, I wasn't exactly trying to hide the struggles). Well, today my daughter Hannah decided to do something to help with the healing. While she was having some "room time" she apparently came across a naked Barbie. Upon closer inspection (or maybe through her budding womanly intution) she determined that Barbie was hurting. Hannah decided to take action and she found some 'healing salve' to apply to Barbie's bottom - as you can see.

I have to say it brought some needed comic relief into my day and when I just got home and saw the pictures, I couldn't resist sharing them with you. Then I asked myself, "Self, what lesson can you take away from this?" My answer - even when things seem to have hit "bottom," help and healing may come from the people you'd least expect. It may be messy, butt if anyone does something it's better than everyone doing nothing. Agreed?

Where's My Easy Button

I guess I was naive when I said yes to planting a leading a church. I had no idea how hard it would be and how much it would hurt. I'm writing this before everything actually happens, but if you're reading this it means I've already had to do one of the hardest things I've ever had to do as a pastor. If you don't know what I'm talking about that's fine...that's not what matters. And if you do know what I'm talking about, understand this: Life is filled with difficult choices and the beauty of it all is that they are actually YOUR choices. You get to choose how you respond. Remember....your response is your responsibility (regardless of the circumstances)

I had a choice to make and decided that dealing directly, honestly and Biblically with stuff was the best way. I'm convinced of that. Don't think for a second that myself and others didn't look and even desperately search for an "easy button." It's just nowhere to be found. People may disagree, but it doesn't matter. Are things gonna be different? To some degree. Is everything going to be all right? Depends on the choices YOU make. Is God bigger than our problems? Absolutely!

When stuff happens, and you don't know what to do, you can never go wrong by praying, asking God for wisdom, insight, direction, peace comfort or anything else you feel you need. He's there and He cares - whether you've made the right choices or the wrong ones. Thanks God.

Death Sentence

So it's Friday, been a long and trying week, I'm behind on stuff and have a PARTnership Class to teach tomorrow so books need to be printed, notesheets and programs for Sunday need to be printed still and a few other things. Well the printer that is possessed and decides where and when to print has decided not to even accept paper anymore. So nothing gets printed.

Therefore, by the power vested in me, I'm tempted to the point of most likely making this a reality. The printer is hereby sentenced to Death by Dropping from at least the 7th story (seven being a nice Biblical sounding number and all). Unless someone wants to try to intervene and file a petition or seek a stay, the sentence is most likely to be carried out in short order. I'll keep you posted and make the video available here for those with voyeuristic tendencies. Of course we only video to make sure proper procedures are followed and the printer does not suffer in any cruel or unusual way (yeah right!)

The guilty printer that has been sentenced to death
(I'm actually looking forward to it.
Does that make me a bad person?
How about a bad Pastor?)

Dealing With Disappointment

What do you do when people let you down? I think too often, we turn around and do the same thing by letting them down, instead of praying for them and working with them to make sure "whatever" doesn't happen again. Think I'm wrong, then answer this....

• When somebody we know gets caught breaking the law, how often do we distance ourselves from them (at least until things get 'back to normal')?
• When somebody makes a very serious public mistake and embarrasses or harms us or our reputation, how often do people try to stay away from them because "it just hurts too much"?
• When someone cheats on their spouse, how often do we pick sides and how often are we on the "side" of the one who messed up?
• When you are counting on someone to follow through on a promise to do something and they don't, how often do we give them the silent treatment and swear to never ask them again.
• When we tell someone a secret and they share it, how often do we start censoring ourselves around them?

The point is, we all have a tendency for self-preservation and our own comfort and that's completely natural. But when people let us down or don't live up to our expectations of them, we also have an opportunity - an opportunity to show love, grace and model Christ. And not just an opportunity. For those who are followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to restore them and help relieve the burden. We should never take away or diminish the consequences, but we should never kick our friends to the curb for messing up either. If everyone did that, I wouldn't have any friends, and neither would you.

I'd encourage you to listen to the message I shared this week....it's only by God's grace I was able to make it through it. You can listen HERE. You can listen to any part of the whole series HERE.

When The Lost Are Found

Had something thrown in my face over the last 24 hours or so.  In case you don't follow my Twitter feed (you can do that over on the side of this blog or HERE) Tyler has a Ball Python that got when we moved here and it got lost yesterday.  Someone left it out when everyone went to the library in the morning and they couldn't find him when they got back.  Lora found out first and called me to tell me to pray.

Let's stop right there.  In the grand scheme of things it's a dumb snake so why pray for a snake?  Well, in my house it's a beloved pet that even my wife likes and prayers weren't so much for the snake as for the snake to be found and for my son who lost it.  I hurt for my son.  He could have lost a book, favorite stuffed animal or lucky underwear and I still would have prayed - because something he loved was lost.

Can you see where I'm going?  I spent more time and more focus in the past 24 hours praying for my son and his lost snake than I have (I'm ashamed to admit this) in the last week spent praying for God's lost children here in Greenville.  Ouch.  God certainly doesn't love his people any less then my son loves his snake.  The consequences of people being lost isn't any less than the consequences of a lost snake.  The only difference?  I wasn't as concerned for people in danger of hell as I was for a snake in danger of missing dinner or a boy in danger of disappointment. 

The good news is, the lost snake was found.  Could it be the result of diligent effort and fervent prayer?  I think so.  So, imagine what might happen when I get back to praying for people like that.  Care to join me?

Things I'm Not Good At

Occasionally I'll have an epiphany of sorts where I realize that there are yet more things I'm not good at. It's happened before and I'm sure it will happen again - maybe even later today. I'm not sad, upset or lonely. I'm actually ok with these truths and I've come to grip with them. Some may change, some may be sentenced to haunt me until I die. Either way, I'm taking to my blog to confess...

• I am not good at administrative stuff. I know this because it is now Wednesday (not Monday) and after 4 hours of sitting at the computer I'm finally done entering and updating people and info from the weekend. I also totally didn't follow through on something I started almost 2 weeks ago (BTW - starting is not good enough) and if you've ever seen my desk you KNOW that I am not good at administrative stuff. Hate it.
• I'm not good at keeping things going. This kinda goes with my administrative short-comings, but I'll work to get something going and implemented, and then if I don't drive it, it falls to the wayside. I hate that. Either I need to raise up a leader to take it over or figure out a way to make it keep going. I guess I get bored with stuff too soon.
• I'm not good at having a regular datenight. Shame on me right?! Lately I've been terrible about this and I'll take all the blame. My wife would go out with me in a minute if I had this scheduled (who wouldn't though? I'm just THAT fun to be around). Putting some effort into making this work though.
• I'm not good at housework. Not only do I not really like it, my wife is waaaay better at it and since I work at home a lot, I really don't like to work around the house. In fact, if it ever stops raining I still need to fix the stupid pool so it won't rot over the winter now that I've finally got the replacement part I need. I've also got bushes to trim, pressure washing to do, gutters to hang, railings to repair, and that's just outside.
• I'm not good at planning ahead. I force myself to do it, but more often then not, things "sneak up" on me and I hate that. At the same time, I'm a "go with the flow" kinda guy so I don't get all bent out of shape when plans change. Unfortunately, not everybody is like that so my short-coming is somebody else's source of frustration usually.

I'm not good at plenty of other things too. So, like me, you might be asking "what the heck is this guy good for then anyway?" Well, I've got my own thoughts on that, but I'll let you decide for yourself. After all, this is a post about things I'm NOT good at. On to more enjoyable stuff (now that I'm done being "not good" at database management)

Unsolved Mysteries

Just need to vent and share some frustrations we're having with our program that we print up each Sunday. We have a Ricoh printer that is supposed to be able to print both sides in one go. Great deal right? Wrong. See it only prints the parts it wants to. I can try to print the same document three different times and I get three different results. It's like the printer just decides "Nope - not gonna print there." So - if you can figure it out, I'll either buy you a new printer or give you this piece a crap printer. Oh, and I love when the tech support you call and spend a good three days with comes up with this solution......"I've never seen that before....that's just baffling.....if it were under warranty I'd send you a new one." Wow, thanks. I feel better now.

Here's what it looks like before printing.
and it's what should be printed onto our pre-printed paper.
It's also exactly how it looks when I print to plain white paper.

But here's what prints out - notice Claude's blog is missing


And if we turn the paper or try to rotate it
(just in case that works) this is what prints out.
Notice Randy's blog is missing and the series
image is now just a faded yellow line. Impressive huh?

Things I'm Looking Forward To

Whenever I get bogged down in details and start to feel like I need a break, I always look ahead and find something coming up that I'm excited about.  It helps make the days go by a little faster and things get done.  It might not be your thing, but I'd say it's definitely worth a try - might make you work a little harder.  If not, oh well - here's my list anyway

Within hours...

• Lunch
  
• Poker night
  
• The weekend
• Bedtime
  

Within days....

• Second Saturday Service
  
• The boys first football game of the season
  
• Notre Dame and Michigan
  
• Sunday morning
  
• My Outlet (small group)
  
• Family Friday
  

Within weeks...

• Speaking at BCM
  
• UFC night
• ICC planning retreat
  
• PARTnership class
  
• Catalyst!!
  

Within months....

• Family camping
  
• Lord's Supper
  
• Marriage series
  
• Marriage conference
  
• Annual PARTnership party
  
• Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar
• Thanksgiving - going to FL
  
• Christmas!
  

So what are you looking forward to?

Remember...

Seven years ago now, I remember pulling into the parking lot for a staff meeting at the church where I was working. It was almost 9AM and I heard on the radio a report of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. An hour later, as more news came and the grim reality of what had happened started to sink in, I thought about my brother and his wife who worked in Manhattan and often went through there. I tried calling but couldn't get through. He ended up being ok and his wife ended up not going to the meeting she had scheduled there.

When I finally saw the footage - the crash, the collapse, the Pentagon, Shanksville, the people - I remember how I felt. I felt anger, powerless, hopeful and committed all at the same time. Angry that anyone would even consider something like this, powerless to do anything from hundreds of miles away, hopeful in the fact that despite what I was watching, God was not surprised and committed to my family and ministry. I hugged my wife and kids and we prayed for the people there and the ones left behind.

Three thousand people lost their lives - people from 90 different countries - moms, dads, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives. The nation came together and for a while we were friends. Some things have changed since then, but one thing still hasn't. There are still people, radicals, who want to see us dead and defeated. Call it what you want, but from where I stand, I see Satan involved. Not just in war with bullets and bombs, but in the war of words and empty philosophies and worldviews.

On September 11th, we saw a picture of how strong the enemy's hate is for us - and we came together, as a country and many as Christians, to stand up, pray and fight. The war against evil is still being waged. Remember. Keep praying. Keep fighting.

Hurricane Hannah Knocks Out Power 1 Week Later

Just when we thought hurricane Hannah was an about-to-be-forgotten after thought, she struck again. Hurricane Hannah knocked out power in upstate Ebeling-land. Hannah roared ashore sometime yesterday and knocked out power and caused some minor flooding. The good news is that there were limited reports of damage and no injuries or deaths have been reported.

Apparently Hannah has decided that she likes to play with the mini-fridge that stores soda and water for small group. She's particularly fond of the temperature control knob as she can turn it, and turn she did - all the way to "Off" When we got up this morning, one of the boys noticed a water spot on the ceiling in our bedroom. Recognizance "aircraft" were dispatched to survey the cause of damage and it was discovered that the fridge was off and the ice that was built up in the mini freezer was melting, pooling on the floor and soaking through to the ceiling below. So now we have an attractive brown spot on our bedroom ceiling - a perfect romantic focal point. Thanks Hannah.

Random Thoughts

It's late and I couldn't sleep and I actually do realize that I have been lacking (severely some might say) in my blog posting.  So, here's the stuff rolling through my mind

• It's been a little over a week since I preached my shortest message ever - about 4.5 minutes
  
• People loved it - not because it was short, but because it impacted them and made the point (we talked about planning and preparing to Rest or take a Sabbath and that day was about practicing so no sense talking.....go rest)
  
• Taking a Sabbath break is actually hard work.......but soooo worth it.  Ask the tons of people that have started doing it since we did the series!
  
• The Vikings didn't look too good tonight (and I still hate Green Bay)
  
• I don't know anyone who doesn't have problems...but I think I found out about a few of the bigger ones today
  
• I'm looking forward to fall and winter - tired of sweating
  
• I'm also tired of sin - particularly sins of a sexual nature- WAAAAY too many people have a bad habit of these
  
• Planning tomorrow (today now) for a fun series in November.....Cabbage (you'll have to wait to find out more, but I hear commercials will start playing pretty soon)
  
• There are so many changes that I'd like to make around Discovery - little improvements, but we just don't have the cash to do them all or even the majority of them.  Praying for wisdom
  
• Been seeing a lot of people making changes and "getting right" with Christ but not nearly enough (in my opinion) who are "getting started" - got some work to do on that 'cause I think we should have both
  
• Love the staff I get to work with - even if they do pick on me (read this post but DON'T click the link)
  
• We gave away all our Price Is Right stuff to another church today - I love working with other churches that are trying to make a difference
  
• Second Saturday Service is this weekend....it's an easy project, but might be hard for some people 'cause it's a little out of their comfort zones - too bad (it's good for you)
  
• Why did some of you go to the link up above and click the stinking link?!!  Traitors.
  
• My fantasy team got trounced by my 11 year old son's team - and he named his team the Bald Rats.  How did I lose to the Bald Rats?
  
• Very cool moment the other day when one of our kids got a spanking and afterwards, came and said to Lora - "Thank you for being the kind of parent that disciplines me when I need it" and then followed that up with "Do you know how hard that was for me to say?"  Uh, yeah.  I still probably haven't told my parents thanks for stuff they did that I hated.
  
• I'm finally getting tired.
  
• We might be able to rearrange and use all the rooms at the Boys and Girls Club that are on the same side....that would really open things up and allow us to grow a little more - but we'll have to find parking!
  
• PARTnership class coming up at the end of September.
  
• PARTnership appreciation dinner coming up the end of October (25th) so make sure to mark your calendars and plan on being there
  
• Marriage series is coming up in October too - "Why Do?"
  
• I wish my odometer worked on my truck.  I haven't submitted mileage reimbursement since Feb - and haven't even tracked it for a while (except for big stuff)  I could get $1000 or more back.  Maybe I should do that huh?
  
• Tanner got a Leatherman - now I want one.  You can get it for me for my birthday coming up on Oct 20th.  I really like this one
  
• Should have the pool clean and clear again - just in time to close it. (My new $200 stupid part came today)
  
• Catalyst is only a month away!!!!
  
• My brother's birthday is today.  Why don't you send him a birthday greeting [click here]
  
• ECU is ranked in the top 25!  That's crazy but I'm happy for 'em.  Good job Pirates!
  
• I need a date night with Lora in a bad way.  Anybody want to babysit all five kids on Friday? 
  
• Speaking of my wife, she is the greatest support a guy could ever ask for and an amazing "pastor's wife" (whatever that means to you, I know what it means to me)
  
• OK, I'm done unloading.  Mind is a little more clear and I'm ready for bed.  Out.
  

Unknown Leaders

Sitting here waiting to hear from this unknown VP candidate - Sarah Palin.  I don't know much about her, but am interested to hear what she has to say.  And it's got me thinking, how many "unknown leaders" do have quietly serving and doing their thing in our churches?  I mean, there is no way she's a 'do-nothing' - she had to demonstrate some kind of leadership ability to ever make the short list and perhaps even more to get the nod as VP.  So again, I ask - who do you have in your circle that is quietly getting things done and might just deserve both another look, and more responsibility?