3 kinds of churches

To begin with...  Happy Birthday Tyler!!!

Now on to today's post...

My friend Bill Carpenter has always said that there are three kinds of churches:  Growing, Stagnant and Declining.  Each has their own unique set of problems.  

Which set of problems do you want to have at your church?

Well I am so excited for the Fort Pierce First United Methodist Church.  Yesterday we received 12 new members.  That is amazing!  That is huge!

In the 8 years that I have been attending, nothing like this has happened.  Good things are happening all around.  Pastor Tim Barton is doing a fabulous job.  

It is exciting to be a part of a church that is doing a lot of things right.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

How soon we forget

My eight year old grand niece, the daughter of my niece was here to visit for a week.  Oh my how she loved the sunshine, the palm trees and the beach!!!

She is from Kansas City, so she doesn't get to see those things so much.  

We tend to enjoy the things that seem new to us.  

And this is a bit of an insult to the amazing things that we get used to.  We get used to the beach, to the sunlight and to the palm trees...

We should always see the things around us as amazing.  My niece found her visit to be wonderful and amazing.  May we pay enough attention that we are always grateful for whatever is around us.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

not my way

That thing did not go my way. I was perturbed. I was upset.

Thank God that we usually feel better after we get some time to process things.  That is why it is almost always better to say nothing when you are having your first reaction to something.

I must remind myself: "Sometimes in life you get what you want and sometimes in life you get what you get."

And I also remind myself of this quote:

This is the true joy in life,

the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one;

the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap…

and being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod

of ailments and grievance,

complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

George Bernard Shaw

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

It's closer than you think

In order to see the good, sometimes you have to look really hard.  Sometimes you have to look at the microscopic.  Sometimes you have to see what is commonly overlooked.

And sometimes seeing the good is just perched on your front door step.  It is right there if we just open our eyes.

This is what was hanging out on our front porch the other day, mid day...  front porch security.

two sand hill cranes

protected by Brink's sand hill cranes

Right there for the seeing if anyone was looking.  What beauty is hanging out very close to you?

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

feel good about being you

 

So I was watching the Netflix series "Adolescence."  I found it to be very good and also very painful.  Here is a quote from the series... "All kids really need is one thing that makes them feel okay about themselves."

Great.  True.  And let me add to that... All most anyone needs is one thing that helps them to feel good about themselves.

May we do all that we can to help others feel good about themselves.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

If I want something from you...

Anthony Demello was a Catholic priest who died in 1986 at the age of 56. His ideas challenge me to be a more faithful Christian.

One of the things that he said was, “if I want something from you, it’s not love.” I have been stuck on this idea for years. It runs so contrary to everything we were taught, but it also explains so much.

It explains why selfish “love” only ends up hurting people. I love you because you do something for me. I love you because you fill the aching gap in my heart. I love you because I don’t want to be alone. I love you because you make me feel good. All of this is selfish love.

Do you hear the “me” in all of that? How can love be like that? All centered around me? It isn’t. True love is self-giving. True love invests in others. True love is more interested in your joy that in my own. True love finds its joy in your joy. True love hugs you because you matter, not because I need the hug. True love gives people room to grow. It does not push them too hard. It does not force them into a square hole. True love wants to bless others. It divests itself of it’s stuff for the benefit of others. Those who love are in love with love, not in love with stuff.

Gosh, talking about love is so cool. Why is that? Why is it, that when I write or think about love, I am happy? I am full. Why? Because God is love.

If you find yourself loving people in ways that wants to take from them, try a different approach. See yourself as full, able and caring. Receive the gift of the spirit of love. Then just go and care about others. Anyone, anywhere, anytime.

That’s why we are here. God is love, and we really are the happiest when we are about his business.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

bad things happen part 2

Yesterday's post reminded me of this story.

This is an old story, told in many versions, in many books about life and it's difficulties.

The story is about a little boy walking along the bank of a river. He sees a crocodile who is trapped in a net. The crocodile says, "Would you have pity on me and release me? I may look ugly, but it isn't my fault, you know. I was made this way. But whatever my external appearance, I have a mother's heart. I came this morning in search of food for my young ones and got caught in this trap!"

So the boy says, "Ah, if I were to help you out of that trap, you'd grab me and kill me."

The crocodile asks, "Do you think I would do that to my benefactor and liberator?"

So the boy is persuaded to take the net off and the crocodile grabs him.

As he is being forced between the jaws of the crocodile, he says, "So this is what I get for my good actions." And the crocodile says, "Well, don't take it personally, son, this is the way the world is, this is the law of life."

The boy disputes this, so the crocodile says, "Do you want to ask someone if it isn't so?"

The boy sees a bird sitting on a branch and says, "Bird, is what the crocodile says right?" The bird says, "The crocodile is right. Look at me. I was coming home one day with food for my fledglings. Imagine my horror to see a snake crawling up the tree, making straight for my nest. I was totally helpless. It kept devouring my young ones, one after the other. I kept screaming and shouting, but it was useless. The crocodile is right, this is the law of life, this is the way the world is."

"See," says the crocodile. But the boy says, "Let me ask someone else." So the crocodile says, "Well, all right, go ahead."

There was an old donkey passing by on the bank of the river. "Donkey," says the boy, "this is what the crocodile says. Is the crocodile right?"

The donkey says, "The crocodile is quite right. Look at me. I've worked and slaved for my master all my life and he barely gave me enough to eat. Now that I'm old and useless, he has turned me loose, and here I am wandering in the jungle, waiting for some wild beast to pounce on me and put an end to my life. The crocodile is right, this is the law of life, this is the way the world is."

"See," says the crocodile. "Let's go!"

The boy says, "Give me one more chance, one last chance. Let me ask one other being. Remember how good I was to you?" So the crocodile says, "All right, your last chance."

The boy sees a rabbit passing by, and he says, "Rabbit, is the crocodile right?"

The rabbit sits on his haunches and says to the crocodile, "Did you say that to that boy? The crocodile says, "Yes, I did." "Wait a minute," says the rabbit. "We've got to discuss this." "Yes," says the crocodile. But the rabbit says, "How can we discuss it when you've got that boy in your mouth? Release him; he's got to take part in the discussion, too." The crocodile says, "You're a clever one, you are. The moment I release him, he'll run away." The rabbit says, "I thought you had more sense than that. If he attempted to run away, one slash of your tail would kill him."

"Fair enough," says the crocodile, and he released the boy. The moment the boy is released, the rabbit says, "Run!" And the boy runs and escapes. Then the rabbit says to the boy, "Don't you enjoy crocodile flesh? Wouldn't the people in your village like a good meal? You didn't really release that crocodile; most of his body is still caught in that net. Why don't you go to the village and bring everybody and have a banquet."

That's exactly what the boy does. He goes to the village and calls all the men folk. They come with their axes and staves and spears and kill the crocodile. The boy's dog comes, too, and when the dog sees the rabbit, he gives chase, catches hold of the rabbit, and throttles him. The boy comes on the scene too late, and as he watches the rabbit die, he says, "The crocodile was right, this is the way the world is, this is the law of life."

There is no explanation you can give that would explain away all the sufferings and evil and torture and destruction and hunger in the world! You'll never explain it. You can try gamely with your formulas, religious and otherwise, but you'll never explain it. Because life is a mystery, which means your thinking mind cannot make sense out of it.

We want to resist a story like this because we prefer certainty over ambiguity. We want a God that makes sense instead of a God that we have to trust. We want a God that we can control instead of a God that is in control. We want circumstances to go our way. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. It is the way of the world. Trust God anyway.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

Murder

A murder took place in our front yard a couple of nights ago.  These are the before pictures:

I won't show you the after pictures.  But let's just say that you cannot lose that many feathers and that much plumage and still be amongst the living.

It's kind of sad, because we get used to the ducks being in the front yard.  My neighbor actually feeds them in his garage.  Well, he feeds one less than he used to.

Bobcat?  Coyote?  Fox?  We don't know. But if you come to visit, don't let your ducks or your small pets out of your sight.

The way of the world can be very brutal.  Sometimes bad things happen.  That is just how it is.  And yet with all of the struggle....

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

just this one scripture

Tomorrow I am speaking at the Ft. Pierce First United Methodist Church.  I guess if you are reading this on Sunday, then it is today.

The scripture for the day is from Mt 5.  If you are offering your gift at the altar and remember that you have something against your brother...  

well... stop... leave the altar.  First go and make amends with your brother.  Then go offer your gift.

What if this was the only scripture passage that we had???  What would the Christian faith look like???  Go make amends before you act out in religious ways...

That is some pretty important stuff.

For far too long, we have allowed the larger church, the denominations to shape the flavor of our faith.  It is time that we start looking at the amazing scriptures that we have and allowing them to speak into our daily lives.

What if the only passage of scripture that we have instructs us to work it out with our brothers and sisters before we act out in religious ways?  Fix it with your brother before you declare doctrine???

Love comes first.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

first world problem

First world, second world, third world. We are most acquainted with the notion of the "third world." What is the first and second world?

The first world designation refers to the United States and its allies, all highly modern, developed, free countries. The second world used to refer to our opponents in the cold war, the Soviet Union and its allies of communist countries, all trying to catch up to us in some way or another.

The third world was every other country after that. Little places around the globe where there was little development and massive human problems.

So what is a first world problem? A first world problem is anything that annoys us, that the rest of the world would either laugh at or not understand at all. here are some examples:

"I had to wait 15 minutes to get my Starbucks" first world problem [the rest of the world doesn't have Starbucks]

"gas is $3.40 per gallon" first world problem [the rest of the world pays $6/gallon]

"my daughters car has another problem!" first world problem [most daughters around the world, don't have cars]

"my flight was delayed" first world problem "most of the world will never fly on a plane"

"my mom died at 62" [my mom really did by the way] first world problem [the average life span in Mozambique is 42]

My air conditioning is out. first world problem. no explanation needed.

I bought a new TV this week.  A really big one.  I got it hung on the wall and the sound didn't work.  Umm... I have to work with Amazon to get it returned and to order a new one.  First world problem.

God is a global citizen. He stands with every human being, every human being, every human being. Isaiah 66:1 "Heaven is his throne, the earth is his footstool." Do we live as if every person in the world is our brother and sister? Isn't it easy to get caught up in our problems, that really are, in the long run, very trivial by world standards? When I remember this, I get a little bit less worked up when I get a flat tire on my car, or when my new TV doesn't work.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

Patricia's habit

I have a lot of email and blog friends.  Patricia sent this to me the other day...

On the subject of praying, I have discovered a way to focus and give a brief prayer. My employer requires our work computer’s passwords to be 15 characters or more long. I pick a few words out of the Bible or a hymn, add numbers for the chapter and/or verse, and throw in a punctuation mark. When I type the password to begin a new workday, my heart sings!

I love that... what a great idea... imagine that your new password is Ephesians2.10!!!

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

From my friend Brian

From my morning devotional “Jesus’s instructions on loving one another applies not just to our friends but to us too. It’s tempting but wrongheaded to wield out-of-context lines from Scripture to bolster arguments. Better, in any relationship, is to jointly seek loving, God-honoring, rational accord.” The prayer at the end was “Lord, keep me from using-and thus abusing-Your words out of context to win arguments.” Patty Kirk, author & teacher. Couldn’t have said it better myself. In fact, I couldn’t have said it as well.

Comments from Jeff... 

It is one thing to  quote scripture in a theological debate.  It is quite another to use it in a discussion involving relationships.  To quote scripture to a spouse or a child to get them to change their behavior... well, I find it manipulative and inappropriate.  It smacks of top down, blaming and shaming in order to get things to go one's way.

Love does not treat people this way.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

A gift from her Dad

My friend Kathy shared this comic strip with me.  Her dad had given it to her over 30 years ago.  She has held it dearly.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

Thank you

Sunday I mentioned again, again, that our Christianity can be measured by how we treat people in the service industry.

A friend shared this story with me a few years ago...

On my way to work this morning, I stopped by Starbucks for my fix. As always, my mind was on what I needed to do for the day and what I wanted to accomplish. Leaving my car, I encountered a city sanitation worker stabbing trash with a fork and bagging it up. I honestly don't know where my words came from...I usually go on about my business. But this time, I stopped and said..." thank you for your work, I really appreciate what you are doing."  I have no idea why I said that to a perfect stranger. I walked on down the sidewalk. Next, I heard.. "Hey.. come back here"  Turning around, the guy said to me..."Nobody ever said that to me before.. thanks".

Like I said.. I am usually about MY OWN business.  But at that moment, I felt like the day was worth living because maybe I made it better for someone.  But later on, I decided that the incident did much more for me than it did for the trash man.  Maybe I was about ANOTHER business and didn't even know it.  Maybe I had already accomplished what I was supposed to do for the day. Hmmmmm...

Who can you reach for and care about today?

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson.  There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

St. Patrick's Day

So on St. Patrick's Day, everyone is Irish. I have actually done the Ancestry.com testing and I am about 10% Irish and about 20% Scottish.  Before my beard turned gray, it was red.

My friend Dave will not do Ancestry.com because he does not want his children to be identified via his genetic profile in the chance that they commit a crime.

Back to St. Patrick's Day. Today is the day when I always remember that famous Irishman who invented outdoor tables and chairs. Do you remember his name???




This is a hint...




The name of the Irishman who invented outdoor tables and chairs?    Paddy O Furniture.

And don't forget his brother in law, the bullet proof Irishman...

Rick O'Shay

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

Last time

Today is my last Sunday to speak at Blue Springs First UMC.  I gave three sermons in January and today is my third and last in March.

I have enjoyed so very much the opportunity to preach.  I thank Pastor Chris Able for the invite, Pastor Colin Brown for the referral and Pastor Aaron Brown for the positive encouragement.

It is interesting to talk with a group of people "for the last time."  What do you say when you want to leave with your best message?

Tomorrows message is...

1. Wake up to life.
2. Appreciate what is around you.
3. Be grateful.
4. Enjoy/celebrate.

My we all get better at those 4 things.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson.  There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

from my friend Bruce

this says it all...  kind of sums up my out look on life...

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

3.14

My friend Joyce introduced me to Pi day March 14th... 3/14   3.14

So I guess that you can blame what comes next on her...




What do you call a snake that is 3.14159 feet long? A Pi-thon.

Why should you never start talking to pi at a party?

Because it just goes on forever.

What was Sir Isaac Newton’s favorite dessert? Apple pi.

What’s wrong with the equation 'pi r squared?'

Pi are round. Cake are square.

What did the students say about their Euclidean geometry test?

It was easy as pi.

What did pi say when someone asked if it could explain what Pi Day was again?

"I don't want to repeat myself."

Did you know? That 3.14% of sailors are Pi-rates? [my favorite]

What do you get when you divide a jack-o-lantern by its diameter?

Pumpkin pi.

How many bakers does it take to bake a pi? 3.14.

Why shouldn’t you eat too much pi?

You’ll end up with a big circumference.

What do you get when a bunch of sheep stand around in a circle?

Shepherd's pi.

What do you get when you take the sun and divide its circumference by its diameter?

Pi in the sky.

Why did pi fail its driving test? Because it didn’t know when to stop.

Happy Pi Day!!!


It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.


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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

it can be hard to share the love

When your heart and mind is filled with doubt and guilt there is no room for love there.  When your heart was taught in a repressive upbringing that you are bad and sinful, if that is what you believe in your heart, then it is hard to share the love.

It is only when we come to believe deep down that God loves us, can we really move to love others.  Guilt begets suffering.  Only love begets love.

If you want to be a person that shares love, lose the guilt and the unworthy feelings and come to believe that God loves you.  You will be glad that you did, and so will everyone else that you come into contact with.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

a great find

A pastor friend of mine, Jeff Posegate posted this on Facebook.  Handwritten by his mother, Marion Posegate on the front cover of her copy of her daily devotional book in 2018:  "We are how we treat others.  Nothing more."

I totally love that.  We are how we treat others.  Nothing more.  I am going to steal it and use it.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

- - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure