today

Today I have some choices to make.  They are mine and mine alone.  Will I acknowledge God early and thank him for the gift of this day?  Will I be kind to those that I meet?  Will I consider their issues, their hurts, their challenges?  Will I smile?  Will I see the joy and let it go out to the world?  Will I think of our Father often during the day and look up and smile and nod my head in appreciation.  These are some of our choices for today.  Let's go give it a shot.

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

on taking up a cross

Don't read this post, you are probably not going to like it.  It's ok.  Log off and go about your day.  Stop.  Really, it's ok.  Don't read any more.

Opps.  Too late.  Here you go.  Is there really any Christianity with out a cross?  Are we living the life Jesus intends if there is no cross to take up?  Have we sought pleasure so exclusively that we are not willing to bear a cross?

How am I sacrificing for Christ?  How are you?  If we are not sacrificing something, are we really on the road that Jesus intends.

I suggest to you today that the way that leads to joy and blessing is also the road of sacrifice.  We are invited to lose our life to find it.  Kind of an oxymoron.  But it is the way of Jesus.

Take the road less travelled by.  Step out of your comfort zone.  Stretch.  Invest yourself in others.  Make a sacrifice for the sake of our Lord.  That is where the joy is.  That is where the blessing is found.

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

winter

Sometimes people ask me to pray for good weather.  They want to save a cruise or a ball game or maybe they are just tired of rain, or they want some rain.  I always tell them, "I am in sales, not management."

And so it is January 29th and we have had a very very nice winter.  I want to carefully talk to God about this. 

Dear Father, I know I don't get a vote, but I did want to take a moment to tell you that I approve of winter so far this year.  Thanks.

Today I parked in the Pastor's spot on the far end of the parking lot and made my normal Sunday morning walk in the dark, across the parking lot, to the east entrance.  Today, January 29th, I made that walk without a jacket. 

I approve of winter.  So far.  I do understand that February still lies ahead of us, and you never know.

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

thinking

been reading some good stuff and my head is spinning... how hard is it for you to acknowledge that your way of thinking is not necessarily the "way" to think....How big is Your God? Is He limitless and does He have infinite possibilities? Can He be out of the range or radar of your thinking? Think about this.....Who is your God.....If the God you believe in is nice and neat and enables you to see things "clearly" then maybe your God needs to grow....Good good stuff to think about.


Peace,
Lion's Den Man

finding an old friend

One of my best friends in high school and the year after graduation was Dan deNevue.  We had a lot of fun when we were 20 years old.  I had a Chevy Vega and he had a Ford Pinto.  I have thought about him off and on for years.  We have not spoken since 1985.  You just lose touch after a while.

Last night, as I was randomly cleaning up in the office, I found an old address.  I mailed a note card off to Dan in hopes that he still lives in the same place, or that the new owners have a forwarding address for him.

Please pray with me that my letter gets to him.

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

I am running for President

I am running for President of the United States.  My platform has one plank - "the debt clock must stop."  If I am elected, I will balance the budget and the debt clock will stop. 

Ask me how I will do this?  I don't know.  There are 500 ways, and ultimately the argument over how it will be done will be rendered quite foolish if it is not done, somehow and soon.

If the debt clock does not stop it will not matter your opinion on abortion, stem cells or the death penalty.  It won't matter if you are a republican or a democrat.  If the debt clock doesn't stop, we are going to be Greece, or worse.

A couple of interesting Quotes-

Democracy is a form of government that cannot long survive, for as soon as the people learn that they have a voice in the fiscal policies of the government, they will move to vote for themselves all the money in the treasury, and bankrupt the nation."    Karl Marx

  "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy."

       Alexander Frasier Tytler

Write in my name on the ballot and I will balance the budget.

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

looking for patience

Do you ever have one of those days when you just want to crawl into a hole and hide?  Someone is annoying you and you just feel like you are at the end of your rope?  I am reminded of this story from Anthony Demello:

One day Abraham invited a beggar to his tent for a meal.  When grace was being said the man began to curse God, declaring he could not bear to hear His name. 

Seized with indignation, Abraham drove the blasphemer away.

When he was at his prayers that night, God said to him, "This man has cursed and reviled me for fifty years and yet I have given him food to eat every day.  Could you not put up with him for a single meal?"

And, now after hearing that, I have more patience.  It is a fruit of the Spirit after all.

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

stress

Ugh.  I was stressed out.  Problems.  Challenges.  Stress. 

Everyone has days like that.  What do you do?  First, I try not to hurt the people around me.  It is easy when you are stressed or unhappy to barf on whomever is around you.  I try not to do that.  Make your points as carefully and caringly as you can, and walk away to cool down.

Next.  Walk around.  Get some exercise.  Work out the stress.  Do some push ups.  What ever you can.  Physical activity reduces stress.

Next- pray.  Pray for every person involved.  Especially for those who you think are providing you stress.  Remember, you may be providing them stress as well.

Finally, stay with it.  Feelings don't last.  Whatever it is, it is not forever.  Try to rest in God and see the good.

If stress remains, repeat steps above.

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

Life is Good

Life is good.  Yes it is.  In spite of the many difficulties that we all face, life is good. 

I came into the office yesterday morning and someone had left me a present.  A life is good hat.  I love it.  Thank you for the kind gesture.

Today and every day, let's put on the life is good hat.

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

fear

Last night Cathy and I watched the movie, The King's Speech.  If you have not seen it, it is a mostly wonderful show about overcoming fear.  It is also a wonderful historical piece.

In the movie, the King works to overcome his fears.  I think most of us can relate to the story line.  We live with fear, we fight our secret fears, we hope to over come them.

Ultimately, we never overcome our fears until we are comfortable with ourselves.  We need to find our voice, to sense our value, to hear God speak his love into us.  When that happens, our fears are dissolved.

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

your story

Everyone has a story.  You have one, and I have one.  Most of us have parts of our story that we are less than proud of.

We can sit around and fret about those parts of our story.  Some times we do.  Some people get so stuck on the bad part of their story that it begins to consume their entire life.  You can actually feel as if one bad event or one bad year is who you really are.

Please remember that God loves you and forgives you.  Please remember that there are many good things about you and good parts of your story.  It is a much better choice to dwell on these positive things.  Also remember that your story can change.   I can make amends, I can change behaviors, I can become something new.  This hope we have in this life because of the forgiveness and love of our Father.

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

geese

The geese are back at the church.  Although they appear to be headed for one of the stations of the cross, there is no such thing as a Christian goose.

These big birds are gross and disgusting.  They leave behind quite a mess in their wake.  If you have a dog, please bring your dog up to church and let them run around a bit.  It is good for the dogs and it tends to help with the goose problem.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, unless we see the geese.

song

This song blessed me on Sunday..........

You lived among the least of these
The weary and the weak
And it would be a tragedy for me to turn away.

All my needs you have supplied.
When I was dead you gave me life.
How could I not give it away so freely?

And I'll follow you into the homes that are broken.
Follow you into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow you into the World.
Use my hands, use my feet
To make your kingdom come
Through the corners of the earth
Until your work is done

'Cause Faith without works is dead
And on the cross your blood was she'd
So how could I not give it away so freely?

And I'll follow you into the homes that are broken.
Follow you into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow you into the World.
2X

I give all myself.
I give all myself
I give all myself... to you.

And I give all myself.
Yes, I give all myself.
And I give all myself... to you.

And I'll follow you into the homes that are broken
Follow you into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow you into the World.

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

care package

How surprised and pleased I was to receive a care package at my door on Thursday when I was sick.  Jello, seven up, chicken noodle soup, some medicine and some cookies.  Very tasty all around.

Our church is wonderful and you all are so very kind.  It made me smile.  The small simple gestures are such powerful ways to show God's love.

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

what is your church like

What is your church like?  How does it feel?  What does God really want our churches to feel like?  How does he desire to be portrayed?  When you sit in the sanctuary and consider that you are in the house of God, how does that make you feel?

I heard a quote this week - "if grace is like water, then the church should feel like an ocean."

Imagine basking in, floating in, relaxing in the ocean of God's grace.  That.  That.  That is the Christian life.

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

the gospel

Yesterday I had the opportunity to listen to a young person talk about their faith.  They had a lot of comments and questions about sin.  How can God love us, we are such bad sinners.  How can someone as sinful as me understand a holy God.

Honestly, it hurt to listen to it all.  Here is another fine person who has been raised on the gospel of how bad everyone is.  Many American churches have fed this to our people for so long that it is hard to overcome.  It is hard to help people that are infected with this to see the truth.

On this I will stand to my dying day- A gospel based on sin is not good news.  The gospel of Jesus Christ does not begin with sin, it begins with love.  God so loved the world that he gave.  Of course we are sinners, but we do a disservice to our Father and to ourselves when we spend our lives focusing on how bad of sinners we are instead of the amazing mercy and love of God.

In fact, when we spend too much time talking about our sin, the focus is on us.  It's about us.  When we talk about God's love, the focus is on Him and he gets the glory.  The gospel of Jesus Christ begins with love not sin.  Get that.

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

the bowling ball

The church started a men's bowling league on Monday nights.  I have struggled along bowling with an average of 140 for several months.  That's fine, but nothing to scream about.  Then my friend Eric suggests I buy a real ball and stop using the house balls.  I tell him that I cannot afford one.  He tells me about this pawn shop.  And the story unfolds......

I visit the pawn shop and buy a ball for $15.  I have it drilled to fit for another $10.  They man at Lunar Bowl Pro Shop gives me a few pointers.  I have bowled with this ball for a month.  Same old stuff.  Running about a 140 average.  But.  But, last Monday night, I found a groove with this ball.

We bowled three games.  I bowled 138, then 216, then 206.  I was so surprised.  I am still smiling about this.  It was unbelievable.  We old guys are having so much fun with this bowling.  I just had to share the joy.  I am sure that next week I will struggle to break 100.

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

old movies

So I caught an old movie the other night.  Some crime thing starring Mel Gibson.  I was thinking about how nice it was that I could watch an old movie and enjoy it again.  I thought it funny that it has been so long since I have seen it that I barely remember watching it in the first place.

That is kind of cool.  I have lived long enough to enjoy a movie, forget it, and then watch it again and enjoy it......  Savor that thought for a moment.

Here is the problem.  The old movie was made in 2010.  I saw it less than two years ago and I barely remember it.  Either I am losing it, or my brain is really full.  I choose the latter.

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

Grants for churches

If you are a United Methodist in Missouri and you are reading this, I want to make you aware of a program that Woods Chapel has in place.  As a part of our recent building campaign, 5% of the funds received are set aside to be used as grants for other United Methodist Churches in Missouri.  The funds are specifically to be used for buildings and capital aquisitions.  Roof repair, air conditioning repair, computers, projectors, making things handicap accessible, things like that.

We have had a bit of trouble getting this info out, so I wanted to share it with you through the blog.  You can apply online at  https://wccumc.ccbchurch.com/w_form_response.php?form_id=64

Please direct any questions to Wendy at Wendym@woodschapelchurch.org

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

sick

I am not sick very often, but I am today.  Nothing out of the ordinary, cough due to cold.  Drink plenty of fluids, rest in the recliner, take some aspirin for the aches and pains.

It is pretty easy when we are sick to drown in self pity, but Cathy is out of town and so is my one daughter that lives here.  I have no one to complain to.

Being sick is an exercise in trying to see the good, when you don't feel good.  I am comforted by the fact that it is only a cold and I will get better.  I am also comforted by the fact that I am rarely sick.  I thank God for that blessing.

I shall be feeling better very soon. 

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

regrets

Points offered in Sunday's sermon to help us leave regrets behind.

1.  if you need to apologize to someone, do it, sincerely, once.

2. get a glimpse of how destructive ongoing regrets are to you.

3.  get a glimpse of  how destructive ongoing regrets are to those around you.

4.  get a glimpse of the joy of life when regrets are gone.  Worry and sorrow is replaced with joy and peace.  We begin to live as our Father intended.

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

table top

Well, I have to share this with you.  I am so tickled with myself.  Sorry, this is a bit self-indulging.  We had an old kitchen table.  Chairs that did not match, but the table was an oak table with eagle claw feet.  I loved it.

One day I came home and it was gone.  My wife had given it away!  So we have to buy a new table.  We bought one from Nebraska Furniture Mart that we liked, but I knew it was a cheap table.  After six years, the top is coming apart.  Burns, scratches and the veneer peeling off.  It was time for a change.

But since we liked the rest of the table, we decided to refinish it.  I just got done cutting the tile, grouting and putting tile on the new top.  I am pretty excited about this.  No more worry about taking care of the top because it is indestructible.  Also, we saved some money and I think it looks great.

The small things in life that make us happy.

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

muscle memory

Muscle memory.  A pitcher throws a ball so many times, that he just knows what to do.  A bowler throws the ball so many times that he can do it over and over again the same way.  Time after time.

I wonder if it works for brains?  Learning new ways to think.  New ways to look at the world.  New ways to respond to others.  If I find a new approach and I do it over and over and over, eventually it may become a part of me and be naturally integrated into my life.

Worrying less and seeing the good are two things that I would love to have imprinted forever in my brain's muscle memory.  I keep believing that if I stay with the program, then one day my natural inclination will not be to worry, but to trust.  I like it.  Thy kingdom come.

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

the new year

The new year still feels new to me.  I wonder how long that can last.  So far, I don't think I have upset anyone or made any major mistakes.  I have written several checks, and I have not put the wrong year in one time!

It is a good feeling.  There is this sense of joy that I have a fresh start.  Since Christmas I have felt very peaceful and good.  I wonder if I can make it the entire year?  Maybe I am growing older and more steady.  Maybe I am growing up.

Wouldn't it be great to have a year, or the rest of my life, without worry.  Lord, let us rest in you and please bless us all with peace and joy.

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

Chinese Food

I love Chinese food.  And it makes me happy that it is so good, so healthy for you.  Actually I only eat one dish on the menu.  This is my order, every time - General Tsao's chicken, fried rice, no soup, crab rangoon.  The people at the Panda Cafe know me by name.

I once asked one of the servers how to pronounce "General Tsao's chicken."  They laughed and said that I should just call it "General's chicken."

There are a number of my favorite fortunes taped to my office door.  Here they are.  May you enjoy them as much as I do.

• Practice an attitude of gratitude.
• A great teacher never strives to explain his vision. He simply invites you to stand beside him and see for yourself.
• Follow your instincts when making decisions.
• You will finally solve a difficult problem that means much to you.
• People in your surroundings will be more cooperative than usual.
• Great things happen when men and mountains meet.
•  It is a nice day.
• You will have a close encounter of a surprising thing.
• A friend is someone who knows the song of your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.
• Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.
• Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.

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

undecorating

After the joy of Christmas comes the undecorating.  My wife always wants to hurry and get the things down and put away so that she can have her house back.  I tend to want to leave them up longer.  After all, the 12 days of Christmas are not over until January 6th.

But, this year as always, she wins, and the decorations are coming down.  By the way, this is what happens when cats help undecorate.

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

three things for the new year

Several have asked, and a few missed church Sunday.  Here are the three things that I asked our congregation to do in 2012.

1.  Go to Joplin for at least one day.  Every single one of us.  We can at least get up on a Saturday and drive there, work all day and come home.  Or, go on Sunday.  Attend church at St Paul's, then work in the afternoon and come home.  The work there is not done.  I know they are praying that God will keep their city on someone's heart.

2.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Yes it is the basic act of the Christian faith, but doesn't that make it all the more appropriate that I hold it up to you?  Treat others with kindness.

3.  Open your eyes and see the mission field around you.  The neighbor, the co-worker.  And these people are not your projects to fix or straighten out, they are your mission, your opportunity to share God's love and grace.

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

More on the Sneetches

This story is an allegory for prejudice and discrimination, and also offers a lesson of materialism and entrepreneurship.

Sneetches are a group of vaguely avian yellow creatures who live on a beach. Some Sneetches have a green star on their bellies, and in the beginning of the story the absence of a star is the basis for discrimination. Sneetches who have stars on their bellies are part of the "in crowd," while Sneetches without stars are shunned and consequently mopey.

In the story, a character named Sylvester McMonkey McBean, calling himself a "fix-it-up chappie," appears, driving a cart of strange machines. He offers the Sneetches without stars a chance to have them by going through his Star-On machine, for three dollars. The treatment is instantly popular, but this upsets the original star-bellied Sneetches, as they are in danger of losing their method for discriminating between Sneetches. Then McBean tells them about his Star-Off machine, costing ten dollars. The Sneetches formerly with stars happily pay the money to have them removed in order to remain special.

However, McBean does not share the prejudices of the Sneetches, and allows the recently starred Sneetches through this machine as well. Ultimately this escalates, with the Sneetches running from one machine to the next,

"until neither the Plain nor the Star-Bellies knew

whether this one was that one... or that one was this one

or which one was what one... or what one was who."

This continues until the Sneetches are penniless and McBean departs a rich man, amused by their folly. Despite his assertion that "you can't teach a Sneetch," the Sneetches learn from this experience that neither plain-belly nor star-belly Sneetches are superior, and they are able to get along and become friends.

The Sneetches is planned for released on August 5 2012 the movie is produced by Walt Disney Pictures.

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

2011 or 2012

Forgiving the pastor's sins. 

It was brought to my attention that during several of the services on Sunday, I misspoke about what year was ending, and what year was beginning.  I am sorry for this.  Please be assured that I know that it is now 2012, even if I didn't say it correctly.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, in 2012, be sure to see the good.

Christmas presents

I want to thank you for the cards and gifts this Christmas.  God bless you and thank you.

I have heard from several who told me that they did not give me a gift as in the past, because in lieu of this, they gave a goat, or 5 goats to Guatemala.  These stories make me very happy.

Here is a note from a person who has been listening to that annoying preacher talk about living the Christian life..............

Jeff—

A few weeks ago you asked for a Christmas gift.  You asked that in lieu of gifts we buy a couple of bags of groceries for a needy family.  Well….We bought two family dinners for thanksgiving.

 We sponsored two children for Christmas through church – and doubled what was requested.

We filled a Harvesters bucket at our office from donations brought to our holiday open house.

 We purged a LOT of unneeded items from our home.  Van loads went to Community Services League.

 I have a friend whose Marine son is fighting on the front lines in Afghanistan.  He has lost 8 buddies at last count, and a couple of dozen have been sent home with life altering injuries.  My friend’s son, as of this writing, is safe.  We put together a package for him and his buddies.  We asked several people to join us and write letters to him.  Our daughter told her class about it, and came home with an envelope of letters and pictures from her grade school class.  

Yesterday our office closed down for the afternoon.  Our staff printed 25 envelopes with a Christmas message.  The we took all the bonus money that we had received and divided It up between the envelopes and hit the streets.  We went to a pawn shop, a laundry mat, Aldi’s, Dollar General, Independence Power & Light, bus stops, the Salvation Army Thrift Store, and the Walmart parking lot on Blue Ridge Blvd.  We simply passed out envelopes to 25 people who looked like they could use a  little Christmas cheer.  My favorite was watching one of our staff park the car and walk in pouring rain to a man panhandling on the street corner at the exit ramp from I70 to Sterling.  She handed the man the envelope and he started crying before he even opened it.  As she walked back to the car, I was able to see him open the envelope, smile a wide toothless smile, and yell his thanks to her.  Then he picked up his stuff and left his post.  Apparently it was enough to allow him to find a dry spot to land. 

My husband has contributed to every – and I mean EVERY – request for Christmas contributions he has encountered. 

We have made it clear to our children that there will not be an abundance of gifts this year and why.  Santa will bring them, as always, three gifts (one for each of the wise men), and there will only be a couple under the tree.  My oldest gets it and is talking about caroling around our new neighborhood with the wagon to collect canned food.  That said, gifts wrapped by young hands have been appearing under the tree.  One child wrapped the others slippers that have been missing and put them under the tree.  She was just having so much fun giving and she thought there should be more gifts under the tree.  Not for her.  Just because we should give.  I can’t wait to open gifts Christmas morning to find out what I’m missing.  There are a lot of gifts for me under the tree.

Merry Christmas, Jeff.  This may be my gift to you, but it has really been a Christmas gift to me.  And I’m enjoying it so much that it may just have to continue through the year.  Blessings to you and your family.  

I hope that this story blessed you as much as it blessed me.  It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Christmas Turkeys

One of the members of your church smoked 300 turkeys which were given to needy families around the metro area.  Here are three stories from those who made the deliveries-

1.  Dear Kind and Thoughtful persons who donated the turkeys for Christmas distribution.  I wish you could have
been along when my grandson and I delivered turkeys today.  Then you would know how much they were appreciated by the folks who got them.  The smiles when we went to a house with a pregnant mother with  small children were just radiant.  I know that turkeys would not have been on the menu at that house without your wonderful and kind gift.  The little old lady who answered the door  at our next stop was just as surprised as  if we had delivered a pound of gold.  She couldn't thank us (and you) enough.  I'm sure our visit was the best thing of the season for her.  The next two women were both graduates of the Hillcrest program for homeless people.  One of them had never cooked a turkey in her life so it was wonderful to have a complete turkey ready to eat with instructions how to heat it up.  A very thoughtful touch -- as the next lady would not have a pan to cook that big a piece of meat in. 

I hope that your Christmas is a happy one as you have brought much happiness to 4 people plus all of the others your gift reached today.  Plus my grandson and me.  We enjoyed it so much.  God Bless and Merry Christmas
from one who helped deliver the turkeys.  

2. Another story from yesterday:

A member delivered to five of the Blue Springs BackSnack families.  When one mom didn't come to the door, he called her cell phone and left a message, saying he's ready to delivery her cooked turkey.  She came out of her front door as he was leaving her driveway and he gave her the turkey, but as they talked, she mentioned that she didn't have her cell phone anymore, so the number wasn't hers anymore.  As he was driving around Blue Springs, he received a call back from the number at which he left the turkey message.  It was a disabled elderly man on Noland Road in Independence who was thrilled to receive a cooked turkey for Christmas.  The member who was delivering came to the church, picked up an additional turkey and some groceries from Grace Place, and delivered to the man.  Pretty neat.

3.  this note from another member:  Our last stop was to [name withheld].  She was not home but there was a nice young man there.   We told him we had a surprise from Woods Chapel Church and his face lit up when we gave him the turkey.  Made our day!  (Note from me: [name withheld] attends WCC. We've helped her several times over the year.  They live in the town homes to the south of WCC.  The nice young man was her teen son that attends BS South.)

epilogue- Your acts of kindness in the name of Christ always brighten up the day of those who receive them.  And they bless us as well.  It is better to give than to receive.

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