wedding

Last night I was at a wedding reception.  I usually don't attend the rehearsal dinners or receptions.  The reason for this is that when you do 30 weddings a year, that is a bunch of Friday and Saturday nights that disappear.  Also, when people look and see that the preacher is here, it can kind of put a damper on the party.

Well, last night we married an old family friend.  She used to live with us, so after the wedding, I went to the reception.  What fun!  Singing, dancing, food and friends. 

All three of my kids were there and they were delightful.  They were so kind to me.  I am so blessed!  Today I give thanks for father-daughter dances and kids that have grown up to love their dad.

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

the power of thank you

Thank you

The power of saying thank you cannot be underestimated.  Imagine that a friend moved or quit or died and you did not get to say “thanks” in time.  So here goes for me –

Thanks for being my friend.  Thanks for looking me in the eye.  Thanks for being honest with me.  Thanks for telling me your stories.  Thanks for hugging me.  Thanks for sitting with me.  Thanks for the blue salvia.  Thanks for the coffee cake.  Thanks for the chicken soup.  Thanks for the kind notes.  Thanks for the BBQ.  Thank you for tickets to the Royals game.  Thank you for being my neighbor.  Thank you for loving me.  Thank you for forgiving me.  Thanks for going on mission trips with me.  Thanks for reading books with me.  Thank you for looking past my faults.  Thank you for helping at church.  Thank you for believing in me.  Thanks for working with me.  Thanks for going to lunch with me.  Thanks for letting me joke with you.  Thanks for dreaming with me.  Thanks for being kind.  Thanks for volunteering.  Thanks for letting me sit on your deck.  Thanks for being a low-maintenance friend.  Thanks for listening to my sermons.  Thanks for allowing me time off.  Thanks for advice on our home.  Thanks for letting me look at and listen to your car’s motor.  Thanks for letting me stay in your vacation place.  Thanks for helping my kids.  Thanks for being regular and dependable.  Thanks for the joy I feel when I see you.  Thanks for understanding me.   Thanks.  Just Thanks.  Thank you!  Bless you!  Thank you!  You are amazing.

I don’t plan on going anywhere, but I just wanted to say thanks.  You are the best.  Pass on a thank you.  You will be glad that you did.

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

annoying

Yes that person is annoying.  Yes they hurt you.  Sometimes we just have to grin and bear it.  Sometimes we have to just laugh about the little zingers that come our way.

Here is an old story:  Once upon a time a beggar came to the tent of Father Abraham asking for food.  Being a godly man, Abraham asked him into his tent for dinner.  Well, as soon as he was inside the tent, the beggar asked for more.  Grapes!  Meat!  Wine!  The beggar wanted it all.  And did I mention that smell?  Abraham is getting so annoyed that he can’t stand it.  So he prays to God:  “Dear Father, save me from this beggar!  He is annoying and smelly, he won’t stop talking and he won’t leave.”  God replied to Abraham’s prayer and said, “Abraham, what is it with you?  I have had to put up with his annoyingness his entire life, and you can't put up with him for one single night.”

Yes friends, there are annoying people in this life.  They talk too much, they are unkind, they send too many emails, they are opinionated, and on and on.  You don’t have to invite them to stay the night, but I think we can show them a little more grace.  I think that is what Jesus would do.

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

IT"S THANKSGIVING!!!!

Thanksgiving has become one of my most treasured times of the year.  My family comes home, and they are on their best behavior.  The food is amazing.  If you ever get a chance to eat my wife’s cooking, you will never feel sorry for me again.  There is a fall chill in the air.  Football is on the television.  And most of all, gratitude is in the air.  Whatever attitudes have been carried throughout the year, at Thanksgiving, everyone pauses to give thanks.

Giving thanks changes nothing, but it changes everything.  Gratitude can take us from complaining about our job, to being thankful that we have a job.  It can take us from complaining about being old to giving thanks that we are alive.  Gratitude can change our perspective, and when the way we see the world changes, everything changes.

Someone once said, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” 

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is that it does not have to be locked into November.  The Fourth of July is always in July.  St. Patrick’s day is always in March.  Thanksgiving however, given a chance, can take over the entire year.  It can become a friend that travels with you everywhere that you go.  It can take over any month, any day, any hour.  It can dominate, if we allow it, every month, every day, every hour.

The scripture asks us to give thanks.  Psalm 118 says, “”Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.  His love endures forever.”  Do you want to change your attitude?  Do you want to change your life?  Give thanks.  Give thanks.  Give thanks.

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

Funerals

When you bury a friend it is very difficult.

A few weeks ago I was driving to church, and I thought about how much I love Woods Chapel and how much I love my job.  I am so fortunate.

Then I had to bury a friend.  And another.  I do not like this part of my job.

Let me tell you, I hate it.  I hate it that they die.  I hate it that I will have to die.  I hate watching other friends and family hurt.  I hate going to funerals.  I hate doing them. [I mean, I am glad to offer comfort and consolation in doing a funeral, but they can be very very difficult.]  Part of what makes doing funerals difficult is that while everyone else is crying, you have to prepare, and you have to hold it together.  Sometimes there is a big cry in there for a while and it needs to come out, but you don’t get the chance.

Dear God, can I please stop burying friends?  At least for a while?  And yet, this is life.  There will be no moratorium on it ending.  We need to enjoy every day that God gives us.

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

worried

I have a friend that is worried about me.  She thinks that there is something wrong.  Well, maybe she is right.  Isn’t there always something to be disturbed about?  The trick is to not let a thing bring you down.

So, yes, sometimes we carry burdens and worry.  And sometimes it is difficult to just drop them and let them roll to the altar.  Sometimes we hurt. 

Welcome to the human race.

I don’t know that she should be worried about me.  I think I am fine.  Some years ago, a book was written by Gail Sheehy called Passages.  It was about the passages of life and how to face them and understand them.

I believe that there are passages of life.  When you turn 16, when you turn 21, when you get married, when you have kids, when you realize that you are not a spring chicken anymore, when you retire.  When you lose a friend, when your marriage dissolves, when you have a major surgery, when the economy is bad.  Passages.  We all must face them.
But there is nothing to worry about.  All is well.  If you are facing a difficult time, find a friend and hang on.  This too shall pass.

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

Grand-dog

We are thankful for our new Grand-dog.  This is Jenny's new puppy.  His name is George.  He is a toy poodle.  He is the nicest little guy.  We like to call him Nick Papa-Georgio.


Pets can have such a happy and positive effect on a person.  George will chase the cats when he comes over and he sits very nicely on my lap.




Puppies and kittens remind us of life- new life and joy!  I am thankful for this funny, ornery, cute, cuddly little addition to our family.




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


[by the way, do you know what a dyslexic atheist says? ......... there is no dog.]

Los Pinos

 

 
I will be at church today.  I am looking forward to seeing you and bringing the message.

I just came back from another trip to Los Pinos, Nicaragua.  There, we witnessed the dedication of 25 new homes.  There we introduced four other pastors to the mission of the Rainbow Network.  There I hugged children.  There I saw again my friends from the village.  There is so much to say, and my heart is so full.  I don’t know where to start.

During the dedication service it rained and poured.  The mud was several inches thick.  It stuck to your shoes.  One of the villagers said to me, “Jeff, this is what it is like inside our homes when it rains.  This is what living with a dirt floor is like.”  It makes you think.  And then, to see someone who has never lived in a home with a concrete floor move into a new house is an amazing miracle.

I encourage all of you to make the trip to Los Pinos.  There is something for people of all ages to do.  The accommodations are safe and clean.  It is in this time zone.  The cost is very reasonable for an international trip.  You take off and land in a matter of 8 hours.

You might go thinking you will change something for the better in Nicaragua, and you might just do that.  But let me tell you this…… if you go there, it will change you.  You will never be the same again.  You will look at a plate of food differently.  You will look at chicken, dogs, cars, and homes with new eyes.  You will become much more grateful.

I am so thankful for the opportunity in this life to go to Los Pinos, and to come home.  Going there has made me a better person.  And my wife would tell you that me becoming a better person was very much needed.

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

gratitude recognizes something

 Of course we are all thinking about gratefulness these days.  Something that I think is true is that in order to be grateful for a particular thing, we must recognize that we are not deserving of it.  We are not entitled to a given thing.

If I think I deserve a big house, I will never be thankful for it.  If I think I deserve health insurance, I will never be thankful for it.  If I think I deserve a friend, I will never be thankful for them.  When we think we deserve things, we take them for granted.  This is the polar opposite of gratitude.

The truth is, I don’t deserve a wife that loves me.  I don’t deserve the home, the car, the children, the health, the friends, or anything that I “have”.  All of these things are gifts – amazing gifts from our Father.

And so, I am filled with gratitude for his bounteous blessings.

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

to stand by a friend

 

I was talking to a friend the other day about something that happened in his life that really hurt.  One of those big time, heart aching hurts.  We talked about how it is nice, when those things come along, to have a friend that sticks by your side.

 

We all have such big time hurts from time to time.  It is nice to have someone who sticks by you no matter what.  They know the worst of you, but they still love you none the less.

This kind of friendship is truly a gift.  Like Ruth said to Naomi, "where you go, I will go.”  And the King James translated proverbs 18:24 “there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.”  If you are hurt, please find someone to hold your heart. 

The world is still a beautiful place, and you are dearly loved.

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

pastors tenure

By every account that I read, the average stay of a Pastor is somewhere between 2.4 and 3.6 years, but certainly not longer than 4 years.  I think about this from time to time- and wonder if I may have out stayed my usefulness.

I have been at Woods Chapel a long time.  20 years, 5 months and 12 days to be exact.  I have loved every minute of it ... mostly. 

There were a couple of years that we took a vote on whether or not the pastor should continue another year........ those were nervous moments.  Somewhere along the way, we stopped doing that.  I do think that there are folks that attend our church who wish we would reinstate the voting.

What I have noticed is that people do vote with their feet.  When they are done with Jeff or done with Woods Chapel, they move on.  This is always so very difficult.  Because I love every person that attends here and I want everyone to stay.  I want us to reach every person that we can.

Please do me a favor.  If you are thinking about leaving, for any reason, please send me a note.  Let's talk it through.  Even if we can't resolve what the problem is, I want you to know that I care very much.

We are on track to receive a record number of new members this year.  But I don't want to lose you.

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

living with pain

As I grow older, I am learning to live with pain.

I have a knee that hurts every day.  Sometimes it wakes me up in the night.  I have sore muscles and all sorts of various aches and pains from time to time.

I also have some heart pain.  A relative that I am on the outs with.  A friend that has pulled away.  An upset parishioner.

It is all so unfortunate.

I think we should work very hard to reconcile every relationship that we can.  Work on it and keep working on it.  But after that, we need to live our lives.  You can't make everyone happy, neither can I.

Get up every morning and do your best.  Give it your best.  Live life with joy.  Keep trying to fix it, but don't worry about it so much that you forget who you are.

Live, love, work, try to fix it, live, love work, live love.  Life is too short for worries.

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

the unknown person

You don't know them, but they are a person.  You don't know them, but God loves them.  You don't know them - they are  a friend that you have yet to get to know.

I heard a powerful story the other day of how a stranger reached out to a person in need, not because they knew them, but because they were in need.  Amazing.  That act of kindness started a wonderful relationship.

Who out there is someone that you don't know but might be blessed by a touch from you?  A note, a card, a box of chocolates.  A random act of kindness can surely touch a person's heart.

You don't know them.......... yet.

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

Nicaragua

Today I am flying to Nicaragua with 10 friends from church.  We are taking 4 other pastors from other churches to help introduce them to the work of the Rainbow Network in Nicaragua.  We hope that their churches will catch the desire to help there as well.

We are also going to be a part of the dedication of 25 new concrete homes in the village that we adopted, Los Pinos.  This is a life long dream for members of this village and it is such a very exciting thing for all of us to be a part of.

It will be a short trip, we will be back on Friday, and I will be preaching Sunday.  Please pray for a safe and successful trip, that we might be a blessing to the folks in Los Pinos, and that God will touch all those on the trip and give them a desire to continue to help.

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

goodbye

Tonight we are saying goodbye to a dear friend.  Susan was truly a saint.  We are all living today with tears in our eyes and hearts.

It is so hard to understand why someone this loving and kind would leave so soon.  But, we will do what we must -put our trust in God.  That is what she did and that is what she would want us to do.  Putting your trust in God is the only place to land.

Thankfully our God is big enough to hold us when we hurt.  You can always rest in him.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, and an extra beautiful day in heaven.  Be sure to see the good.

emotions

Some days there is this tangled ball of emotions all tied up in our hearts.


Sad.  Happy.  Worried.  Fearful.  Confusion.  Panic.  Dismay.  Hurt. Apathy.  Heartache.  Did I say confusion?


We look for a place to land, for a place to trust.  I don't know about you, but I have never found any place to land besides in the arms of our Father.  When I am with him, I don't need to know the answers because I am with him and that is enough.


So even though emotions may be running high, we have a Rock upon which to stand.


And so it is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.  Keep at it.

friendly?

Author Joan Borysenko reports the following- "Einstein was asked what he thought the most important question was that a human being needed to answer.  His reply was 'Is the universe friendly or not?"

As we wake to the gift of this day, or any day, we are faced with the same question.  Do I see this earthly home as a good place created by God or as a bad place, dominated by difficulty?

Difficulty we will always have.  What will make a huge difference though is if we are able to see that God is with us every day in this life.  Whether days are easy or difficult, God is with us.  That makes the world, the universe, a friendly place, for God is bigger than any challenge we may face.

How about you?  Can you see the good?  Can you look past the difficulty and still see God?

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

children

I have a confession to make.  When I was young, I did not like children.  They cried and pouted.  They ruined romantic nights at restaurants.  They were a disaster on airplanes.

Then I had my own children- and I was introduced to the amazing miracle of a child. 

Today I will tell you that there is no better gift than to invest your time and love into a child.  They are the future of the world.  They are tomorrow's gift.  If you can give a child a better upbringing than you had, you have improved the world.  If you can teach a child to love and live outside of themselves, you have given the world a gift.

Jesus said, whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, will certainly not lose his reward.

If your children or grandchildren or someone else's children are annoying you, remember, they are the gift of tomorrow.  Some adult somewhere invested in you.  Return the favor with gusto.

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

the soul

We would write about this topic every day.

How interesting it is, that the soul is housed in this body.  Most of us spend so much time worrying about the body and what it wants.  The body wants a really cool car, it wants to have cool clothes, it wants to live in a great house.

The soul cares for none of that.

The soul is about other souls. You, me, Terry, Sherry, Chili Pepper, Margaret, Amy, Lions Den Man, Tracy, ScottC, Carlotta, and on we go, the soul is about other souls.

How do we learn to see past the body and see the soul?  Bodies and brains make decisions that upset us... the soul runs deeper. 

Can you look past the obvious presentation that you get from a person and see their soul?  The body is temporary, the soul is for ever.  We are all living for the better when we give up seeing bodies and start seeing the souls.

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

pillars

To rebuild a life.  I was talking to a friend the other day about how to start over when you find your life in complete shambles.  It is certainly a difficult topic, but here is what advice I have.

1.  Don't focus on, or be overcome by the emotions of the moment.  If you do, they will paralyze you and you will find yourself stuck and depressed.  Focus on what you can do, not what you can't do.

2.  Identify the core pillars of a successful life and work on them.  Each time you get one in place, your life will feel more stable.  Pillar #1- get a job and hold the job.  Make your employer happy.  Make yourself indispensable to the corporation.  Put up with whatever is painful.  Every job has it's difficulties.  People that can hold a job can solve their problems on nights and weekends.  If you can't hold a job, nothing else will work for you.

3.  Pillar #2- figure out where you are at with God.  Find a church.  Clarify your beliefs.  Read something that will inspire you.  Begin to allow your faith to shape who you are and what you are about.

4.  Pillar #3 - Live within your means.  Make good financial decisions.  Attend Financial Peace University.  Manage what you have or it will manage you.

5.  Pillar #4 - work on you.  Get a counselor or a Stephen minister, or a friend and work on you.  Tell them about your life and listen to their advice.  No one is very good at seeing their own weaknesses.  Be brave enough to discover them and work on them.  The healthier that you are, the healthier your relationships with others will be.

6.  Pillar #5 -  Make friends......look for people that you want to spend time with and invest in them.  Work on spending time with people that are good for you. 

7.  Learn to live with difficulty.  There are going to be good days and difficult days.  Don't trade your car on a whim, don't quit your job in a huff, when things get tough, take a deep breath and find the healthy side of who you are.  Regular communication with our Father can help a great deal with this.

I hope that there is no one out there who is needing to start their life over, but if you are there, I hope that some of this helps.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.  And sometimes the good is found, one step at a time.

things to learn

I have ideas in my head about the Holy Land, but when I go to see the Holy Land, my perceptions are clarified.  I have ideas about marriage, but when I get married, my ideas are clarified.  I have ideas about owning a dog, but until I actually own one, my perceptions are not based in reality.

There are some things that are learned by doing, and by doing only.  And so let's talk about the valleys of life.   We hate them.  They are not nearly as fun as going to the Holy Land, being in a relationship or owning a dog.  But, the valleys are real and they come to us all.

There are some lessons of life that are only learned in the valley.  We learn them there or we learn them not.  In the valley our motto should be, "fight less, and learn more."  Don't waste the time in the valley by hating every minute of it, for in the valley we are not alone.  Our Shepherd is with us and the valleys too are a part of his world.

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

sick

Well it finally happened.  I missed a Sunday due to illness.  I have been assigned as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for 27 years, 20 of them here at Woods Chapel.  I have never, ever missed a Sunday due to illness, until yesterday.

When I went to bed Friday night, I knew I was in trouble.  You could feel it coming on.  I did get a flu shot on Thursday, but I don't know if that is to blame.  Sore throat, sore sinuses, lungs full, body aches and pains.  My arms feel like they weigh 100 lbs each.  Saturday morning, I knew I had to call it.  There was no way that I was going to be there.  I sat in the recliner for 36 hours.  I don't remember when the last time was that I felt like this.

I feel so bad for not being there.  I feel so bad for asking Karen to preach for me with zero notice.  I feel bad for feeling bad.  I am sorry to let everyone or anyone down.

I know that people get sick, I just don't want to be that guy.  Thanks for putting up with me being sick.  I look forward to being with you this coming Sunday.

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

truth

It has been said that "all truth is God's truth."

We often sneer at those who are not our kind of people.  Sometimes we reject them wholesale because they are not like us.

If God holds the market on truth, than all truth belongs to him, where ever we may find it.  We are challenged to focus on the truth itself and not the person who carries it.

Take for example this statement, "In general, love is the whole meaning of life, of being. Love of family, of children, and of the Motherland. It is such a multifaceted phenomenon that is the basis of all our actions,"

Love is the whole meaning of life.  True.  How true.  It is a multifaceted phenomenon that it is the basis of all of our actions.  True, how true.

Should it bother me that the person that said this is Vladimir Putin?  Not if I remember that all truth is God's truth.

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

finding the lesson

We don't like difficulty, but it always brings a lesson.  You can't see the lesson during the struggle, but after the fact, if we look at a thing, we can see that somehow, even the painful things in life bring lessons.

¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. ¹² Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ¹³ “Make level paths for your feet,”^[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.                 Hebrews 12:11-13

Trees get stronger when the wind blows on them.  Muscles get stronger when strained.  We may not like it, but even difficult times can bring important lessons.

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

gratitude

Worry is about the future, it is about something that may or may not happen.  Gratitude is about the here and now.  It is about something that is real. 

Don't borrow trouble by worrying about that which may not be.  Live in this moment that God has given.  When you find something real to be thankful for, and your life is no longer about the pretend worries, but is instead about the real things that we can give thanks for.  And there are plenty of them.

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

the little things

There will always be something that is unfair.  We just can't control every thing in our lives.  Someone else will have power, and will use it in ways that we don't like.

Yes.  You are right.  It's not fair.  But you have to pick your battles.  Don't upset your boss at work over a little thing.  Don't throw away your spouse for laundry on the floor.  Don't trade your car because you had a flat tire.

Life is full of all sorts of little things.  Don't sweat the small stuff.  If you cut off your hand every time it offends you, you are going to regret it.  If you make a stink over every perceived injustice, you will only be making your life more difficult. 

Relax.  Go with the flow.  Everything is ok.  Don't ruin your chance for a great day because someone pulled out in front of you in traffic.

Life is good.  It is all good.  We can't control it all, but all in all, it is good.

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

Christmas

We had a wonderful email exchange yesterday among the members of my family.  At the request of one of my children, they are wondering about reducing the number and amount of gifts shared among each other on Christmas.

They are advocating for a more simple gift exchange and then taking a collection to help a family in need.

I am so excited about this discussion, and about the fact that it was initiated by my children.  When we begin to learn that we don't need more stuff, that we already have enough, we begin to understand what life is really about.

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

the river

The Spirit is like a river, flowing through all of life. 

Sometimes, we think we have life figured out and we spend years fighting upstream, wondering why we cannot achieve what we hope for.  Sometimes we get out of the water altogether and wander far from it's nourishment.  After a time of living away, a person can even forget that the river ever existed.  You can come to believe that real life is somewhere else.

Away from the waters of God, our souls become dry and we lose our way.  But oh, to return to the river!  Oh the day when we see it again and dive into the love of our Father.  And maybe this time, instead of fighting the current, I will just go with it, floating along in the stream of life, enjoying the company of God.

When we let go and trust God, our problems get smaller and we can be carried by the arms of his Spirit.  The river of God runs through all of life.  Wade in.  Let Go.  For this we were created.

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

Royal thoughts

I was out of the country for the entire world series, so I missed any opportunity to blog about the Royals, although my friend, Lions Den Man did an admirable job.

I got a text from a friend who is a Giants fan, offering me condolences on our losses.  As far as I am concerned, none are needed.

We had not been in the playoffs for 29 years so our expectations were low.  Just making the wild card game was a huge success.  Had we lost that game, we would have ended our season, proud to have made the playoffs.  But we won that game.  And then we went to Anaheim.  Every one expected us to get destroyed there, but we won.  In fact, we swept the Angels.  The team with the best record in the American League did not win one game against us.  Then we went to Baltimore, another team that was supposed to destroy us, and we won there too.  Another sweep.

A funny story, my daughter was working on the road in Baltimore the night of the second game.  We had already beat them in the first game.  She was watching the game at a pub which was full of Oriole fans.  They noticed that she was rooting for the Royals and they asked her where she was from.  "Kansas City", was the answer.  The Oriole fans said to her, "would you guys please let us win at least one game?"  Ha ha that is so funny.

We won the wild card, swept the Angels and swept the Orioles.   We took the Giants, a team of dynasty caliber, to the seventh game, to the last inning, to the last out.  One more base hit and the story would have been different.

Royals fans, you have nothing to be disappointed about.  We had a great year.  24 other Major League Baseball teams would have loved to have been in the world series and lost.  We need no condolences, only time to give thanks for a great year.

Our players played with such great heart.  I for one am proud of them.  It was a great moment for our city.  My thanks goes out to the entire Royals organization and  to all of our great fans.  I can't wait until next year.

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

I'm Baaaaack....

Ephesus Library

I am back from a 10 day tour of the Journeys of Paul.  30 wonderful Woods Chapel members toured together in Greece and Turkey.  We saw famous cities such as Philippi, Thessaloniki, Ephesus and Istanbul.  The history, the ruins and the story was incredible.

I want to thank my good friend Lion's Den man for aptly covering this blog for me while I was gone.  We arrived home last night at 6pm.  I got 8 hours of sleep last night and I am ready to go.  God's house is open today and I am looking forward to preaching at the four services in the sanctuary this morning.

As always, thanks for your kindness and prayers.  I missed you while I was gone and I look forward to seeing you.

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

OT

Ventura wore it on his hat. OT, #18, R.I.P. Oscar Taveras. A moment of silence was taken at the game in his memory. For a minute everyone set themselves and the game aside and put life into perspective. Very cool. Good job MLB. Many players knew this young man well. My son called me and read the statement put out by the STL coach Mike Methany. My son was moved and so was I. It goes to the core of what we feel or should feel about one another. It could be a about anyone it just happened to be about Oscar.

"I was asked last night to give some words regarding the tragic death of Oscar Taveras, but I just simply couldn't.

First of all, it felt like a bad dream that could not be real, and when reality kicked in, my words didn't even seem to make sense. To say this is a horrible loss of a life ended too soon would be an understatement. To talk about the potential of his abilities seemed to be untimely. All I wanted to do was get the guys together and be with our baseball family. I know the hurt that comes along with buying into the brotherhood of a baseball team. That hurt is just as powerful as the joys that come with this life. Not to say it is even close to the depth of pain his true family is going through, but the pain itself is just as real. The ache is deep because the relationships were deep, and forged through time and trials.

To the many fans who have already reached out with condolences, and to the many more who are in mourning, thank you for taking these players in, like they are one of your own. This level of care is what sets our fans apart.

In my opinion, the word "love" is the most misused, and misunderstood word in the English language. It is not popular for men to use this word, and even less popular for athletes. But, there is not a more accurate word for how a group of men share a deep and genuine concern for each other. We loved Oscar, and he loved us. That is what a team does, that is what a family does. You will be missed, Oscar."

Peace,

Lion’s Den Man