Halloween

Some folks don't like Halloween. It doesn't seem to be a very Christian day with all of its emphasis on ghosts and goblins and the like.

I am not going to make the case here that Halloween started as a Christian party, "All Hallows Eve;" I am simply going to make the point that Halloween is a lot of fun, and I think God is in favor of fun.

Kids. Lots of Kids. Cute kids dressed up in costumes. Candy. Lots of candy. Laughter. Scary movies. A fire in the fireplace. Chili. Hot Chocolate. Halloween is a fun day for families. When I was 14 I went to a costume party at a local church and danced to the complete song, the long version [17 minutes] of "Indagadadavida." Does it get any more fun than that?

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

wierd things people like

Friday is my day off. That usually means working around the house, sometimes a trip to the office, and it still entails sermon work. Friday night usually finds Jeff and Cathy going to dinner and catching up, since she is gone all the time.

One of the weird things that I like to do, is paint the house. And the best month to paint the house is October. Yesterday I painted one side. It was awesome. So much fun. Is that weird or what? Jeff M says, paint one side of your house every year. It's not too hard and then your home is always in good shape.

Yesterday I did it all. Caulk. Stir the paint. Climb the ladders. Brush. Roll. It is beautiful. It is an odd thing to like, but at the same time I think it is nice that I am so easily amused.

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

voting

I don't know if I am alone on this, but I am having some different thoughts about my voting habits. In the past, I voted for who I thought was the best candidate to represent my views on particular issues. I voted for people that I thought were good people. I voted for random people from both parties. Over the years, they have all contributed to our budget problems.

Now I just have one issue. Balance the budget. Stop the spending. End the fiscal irresponsibility. I am going to vote for the people that I think will do that. And, if they spend the next few years ignoring my desires for fiscal responsibility, then I will vote them out, and vote someone else in, regardless of their position on the hot button issues.

If our country can't pay the bills, we will fall into a downward spiral. It won't matter if someone represents your side if we are bankrupt. We need to get our feet back on the ground and make some good financial decisions. I blame both parties. Who ever we vote into power next week, they better get it. If they don't get it, next time, I will vote them out.

If I ran my home the way we have run our country for the last 40 years, [both parties] we would be homeless. If the finances at the church were handled the way that our senators and reps have handled America's, the church would be closed.

The right thing to do is the right thing to do, and it is time for us to make some good decisions, regardless of how painful they may be.

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

how about a catch Dad?

Anyone that has seen the movie "field of dreams" will remember that line from the movie. Monday my son came over to the house after work. We talked a bit and then I was going to take him to dinner at BWW. He went out into the garage, I was a few moments behind collecting my stuff.

When I got out into the garage, he had picked up a football and was standing in the driveway. He motioned with the ball for me to go for a pass. We played catch for about ten minutes. It was a really good ten minutes. :)

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

listening

Listening is always good. When I listen to someone else, I learn what they are thinking. I hear their joy or pain. I collect some things to savor and think about later.

Humans are not very good at listening. The result of that is that we charge ahead, out into the wild blue yonder, void of paradigms not our own.

I am sure that Jesus was a good listener. He sure listens well to our prayers.

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

creating love

Since everyone seems to like Jeff's pet stories, here we go.

We got these cats six years ago. Well, we got them, because without talking to me, my wife and daughters came home with them. Look Dad, free cats. Cats are not free. I have been buying food and litter for these pigs ever since.

One of these cats is a lover and one is a skittish scaredy cat. Did I tell you their names? Tyler and Princess Kiki. What is that. Princess Kiki is the skittish cat. She is also huge. We just call her the fat cat. If I am killed at home by a pet, it would be her. Tyler we just call the "boy cat."

Now to the story. For two years the fat cat hides in the house. You cannot pet her, you cannot find her. It is like, why did we get this free cat? It eats and poops and provides no love.

One day I saw the cat coming and I sat down on the top of the stairs. As the cat passed by, I stroked it's back. It stopped. It liked it. I was nice and just gave it a taste of cat scratch heaven. Over the next few days, at the top of the stairs, the fat cat and I made friends.

The lover creates the love.

Now, this thing won't leave me alone. It beats on the door in the middle of the night and sits at the top of the stairs if I am upstairs, just waiting for me to scratch her back. She follows me around like a dog and gets in the middle of whatever I am doing. She sits on the computer when I am trying to type. I am glad to have made a friend, but come on, go catch a mouse will ya?

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

Kris Bartman

In case you have not heard the news, I wanted to share it here.

Our beloved music director, Kris Bartman, has accepted a job in North Carolina and will be moving there with his family after Christmas. In North Carolina, Kris and Jennifer will have the support of several family members as they continue to raise their wonderful family.

Shock, grief, acceptance. There are stages that we will go through. After the initial shock, you feel grief. When you understand that this is good for the family, it is easier to move to acceptance. After that, we start praying, "Lord, what is next?" At some point we come to remember that although this is tough, God is not leaving our church.

As your pastor, I can empathize with how you feel. Over the years I have watched as several fine staff people moved on to other adventures and some wonderful members moved to other towns. It is always difficult. Change always is. But, God is with us, and he still makes all things beautiful in his time.

Be sure to hug Kris and Jennifer and thank them for all they have done for Woods Chapel.

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

Go Tigers

What an awesome game if you are a Missouri Tiger fan! maybe the best game I have witnessed involving them. congratulations!!

Not to leave out Nebraska, KU, K-State and even Oklahoma fans, God bless you all.

We should not put so much joy into whether or not our team wins. Life is so much more than that. But, if you are an MU fan, you have much to celebrate today.

As do we all.

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

crazy stories

Crazy stories that catch your attention. Occasionally a crazy story tags my interest. My wife likes to sleep with the TV on. So last night I wake up at 1:10 and make the mistake of paying attention to the TV. It is the Animal Planet channel and the show is "fatal attractions." It is a show about people that had relationships with animals that ended up killing them. Devoured by your own pets.

The first clip was about a man who was eaten by his komodo dragons. Seven of them. then I was stuck. Wide awake. The next clip was about a woman who kept poisonous snakes. Nice idea. One of them finally bit her and she died.

It was 2am. I really want to keep watching this show, but I change the channel and try to go to sleep. I wake up at 6:30 to the familiar drumming of the fat cat, pounding on my door. I remember the shows from last night and I am glad for once that our only pets are 2 declawed cats and an old dog with 5 teeth.

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

you can't do it all

If you read the church e-news, bulletin or "The Wire" newsletter, you are invited to consider being involved in a bunch of ministries. Ronald McDonald House, Hillcrest, Adopt a child, Dental for Kids, Operation Smile, Sack Lunches, food pantry, clothes closet, and on we go from there.

They are all good. But, you can't be involved in all of them and, no one expects you to be. You can't attend everything, you can't give to everything. It is ok. You are not expected to participate in everything.

You are loved. Whether you participate in many programs at the church, or just a few, you are loved. Pray about what you might be involved in or what you might give to. Then participate in those things and don't worry about the rest. It was never intended that you be involved in everything. In fact, if we limited the number of ministries at the church so that I could be in all of them, there would be many fewer things going on and many fewer people being helped in the name of Jesus.

So, you are loved. Relax. Fit in where you can and don't worry about the rest. It's all good.

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

God needs leaders

I remembered this post from a few years ago. I dug it out of the archives. Every organization goes thru stages, times of joy and times of challenge. Leadership is always more challenging in times of challenge, but it is also most needed then. here is the post from Aug 2007:

If you choose to be a leader, someone will question your decisions. They will comment on your style or lack thereof. They will talk in quiet voices about how they would have handled such and such. You will always be viewed with a bit of suspicion because you are or have some authority.

You will still have children to raise, grass to mow and oil to change.

As a leader, you will be expected to perform excellently at all times, while looking past, and being gracious about, the faults of others. If you press to see the purpose fulfilled, you may be accused of picking on someone.

You will still have the challenges of married life, bills to pay, and your parents are still going to die.

As a leader, you will have the chance to make a difference in the world. To care about people, and to manage resources in a way that effectiveness takes place. When things are going well, you will share the joy of a job well done. You will have the chance to help others succeed and to let them enjoy moments of glory. Some days you will walk home with a smile on your face.

If there were no leaders, the geese would not know what direction to fly. If there were no leaders, our individual efforts would never join together and the whole rise to be greater than the sum of the parts. If there were no leaders, then those who follow would only have themselves to blame.

Harry Truman said it. “The buck stops here.” God needs people on earth that are not afraid to take responsibility. If you have been given the chance to be one of these people called leaders, then you can look forward to days of pain, days of hurt, and days of hard work. But, you can also look forward to seeing foundations laid, walls go up, and the finishing touches applied.

God needs his work to be finished, so God needs those who are willing to lead. If you are one, learn to look past the painful moments and give thanks for the opportunity to do good in the name of the Lord.

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

baltimore oriole

I received an annoymous gift the other day that made me smile. It was a little stuffed animal baltimore oriole. I think the idea was that sometimes you need a little reminder to listen for the song of the bird. If we are not careful, the song of the bird is drowned out by the hurry or the pain in the world.

Who ever sent the bird, thank you. You helped me.

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

H4EO

I have a friend that goes by the call sign "H4EO." It is his identity on his google sign in and it is on the bottom of any email that you receive from him. Do you know what it stands for?

Think on it for a moment. H4EO. Don't feel bad, I had to ask. It stands for "here for each other." this person is passionately committed to the idea that we are here to be in Christian community. That how we treat each other is vitally important.

Over the years I have learned much from this person. I have often considered and remembered his call sign. It is one of those ideas that I wish I would have thought of. Here for each other.

I hope that you feel the love of your Christian friends. I hope that you are giving that love away.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good. H4EO

change

Change is painful. It just is. Sometimes we don't even see the change anymore, we just feel the pain. The discomfort of our world being discomforted. You get too many changes together all at once and a person can feel really overwhelmed.

The stock market is down a bunch. Home values are down a bunch. Banks are holding on to foreclosed homes because values are so low. Some say that when they release the homes, values will go down even more. The cost of living is flat. Everyone knows someone who has lost a job. Some area food pantries are having trouble keeping food on the shelves.

And in this environment, we go to church. And there we find to our dismay, more change. A new church start. Changes to the branch. A capital funds drive. A new bulletin.

Sometimes even I want to say, "thanks Pastor for adding to my pain." So, I know how you feel and I am sorry for the things that you may find painful at our church. Everything is fine and it will all work out. More peaceful days are around the corner. God is still good, people are worth loving, and life is still good.

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

It's Sunday

It's Sunday. Good opportunity to go to church. Do you ever just feel like you want to go to church? There is something in our souls that misses it when we miss it too much.

Pastors rarely get to go to church because they are almost always leading church services. Last night, I went to church. I went to the Beacon UMC service in our gym at 7pm. It was wonderful. It was refreshing to my soul.

Worship is a gift from God to us. Jeff's sermon may be weak, the music may not be your favorite, but there is something that happens to us when we gather in this place.

Don't miss the chance to step into the presence of God. It's Sunday and we are having church. Come see your friends, make some new ones, and sense the presence of God. You will be glad that you did.

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

the new bulletin

Hi. In case you have not noticed, or if you have missed church the last few weeks, our new bulletin has a place where members can sponsor the publication.

Maybe our pastor has finally gone crazy. Or, maybe there is a back story and some compelling reasons why we are here. At any rate, if this has bothered you, tomorrow I am going to be telling the rest of the story.

Pastor Shawn is going to preach tomorrow [this way you know it will be a good sermon] I am going to be in the library at 8, 905, 1010, 1115 and 1215 to sit and explain this to anyone who would like to hear about how this came to be.

I love you very much.

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

Today is Blog Action Day

The following post is by Erin Swanson, who attends Woods Chapel ::

Who am I? Well, I commonly refer to myself as the prodigal violist, who makes sporadic appearances each month at the 10:10 Branch service at Woods Chapel. When I do so, I have the immense pleasure and blessing of helping lead worship with Megan Hobbs and team.

Jeff offered to let me guest post today because it’s one of the biggest days on the web: Blog Action Day. This year’s topic: water.

I’ve had the privilege of working on the team at Water.org for more than two years — a Kansas City-based international nonprofit that helps bring safe water and sanitation to those in need in developing countries. We seem to be a best kept secret in KC, but have been leaders in the sector for 20 years and are co-founded by Matt Damon and KC-local Gary White. As you can imagine, water is near and dear to my heart and thoughts each day.

[My first trip to visit Water.org project sites this past February in Dhaka, Bangladesh.]

One of the reasons I’m most excited right now has to do with you, my church family! This Advent season, Woods Chapel is going to participate in Advent Conspiracy, a neat time for our community to focus on being a part of a clean water project that will transform thousands of lives and simultaneously answer the call, “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.” [Matt. 25:35]. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays.

The area that we are going to support together is the two rural communities of Pignon and St. Raphael in rural Haiti. This project will give 60 communities, totaling 18,000 people [!], clean water, toilets, and health and hygiene education for the first time!! Water.org just began to work there a few months ago with our well-respected partner organization, Haiti Outreach, but the program desperately behind in funding. And as you know, Haiti was in dire conditions even before the quake.


[Hard to stomach, but a water reality in Haiti, pre-quake. No one's child should have to drink this!]

Another reason I am so excited is because I believe whole-heartedly in the way Water.org implements projects. I’ve learned a lot over the past few years, and one of the main things is that good and lasting work takes time. Sadly, water projects in the developing world have a more than 50 percent failure rate because of people who just want to dig a well - they swoop in, drill a well, and leave. You know what they say about the road to good intentions….

In our mind, if it’s not sustainable, it’s not worth doing. To make this a reality, our focus is on local partners and community ownership. Over the past two decades, we’ve worked closely with more than 640,000 people all around the globe to help them get safe water and sanitation for the first time.

To me, this model resonates with God’s character, and has been a main way my faith has been able to express itself in tangible ways here on our earth. I’ve become really passionate about educating others of the importance of knowing exactly how work to help others is done, the importance of being good stewards with our money [knowing what it’s going towards], and how to make the most impact. The HOW matters. The how has lasting affects and consequences. It is a statement. And I believe this is true for all areas of our lives, not just in giving or in development work.

This water project in Haiti, Advent Conspiracy as a whole, is a huge opportunity for us to be a part of something life-giving, together. It is a chance for us to be alert and intentional with our energy, time, and money this holiday season. It is a time for thoughtful reflection, engaging conversation, and creative expression. My prayer is that it will be God-led and beautifully counter-cultural. I am excited to see what He has planned for us in this time.

[I took this pic in Bangladesh in Feb. Cute kids, but I was trying to show the hanging latrines behind them. More people on earth have cell phones than toilets!]

Thank you for reading, for your willingness to learn, and for joining me on this important day. If you also want to donate your voice in the name of water today, post a status update or a note on your Facebook. Send an email to your closest friends. Create a post on your own blog. Find some good facts, photos, videos, and quotes here, to get you started. And if you want to learn more about it all, check out blogactionday.change.org.

Dear friends, I’m grateful to work beside you!

With great anticipation and love,
Erin Swanson

P.S. Stayed tuned in the coming months to learn more about Advent Conspiracy [watch 2 min promo video here] and the communities we’re supporting in Haiti. Read more about Water.org’s work in Haiti here.

P.P.S. And if you haven’t, I encourage you to talk to the WCC team that just went to Haiti a few weeks ago, including Bob Jeppson and David Dancy. I’m sure they have some amazing things to tell.

[Kids in Salepur slum in Bangladesh collecting clean water because of a Water.org project. It made my heart happy! :D ]

miners

More on the miners. Today, all miners are saved. That is good news. Imagine that all the miners could have been saved, but some decided not to come up.

Jesus' sacrifice is for all. Everyone is forgiven. Everyone can be saved. Yet some choose to stay in their selfishness. Eternity in a hell of selfishness when along, you were forgiven.

God has his preferences, but he awaits our choices. We choose to step towards his love, or we choose to remain in our selves. And his mercy and grace are freely given to all.

I am glad all the miners chose to come up. So would all the people if they knew what was waiting for them up above.

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

miners rescued

Can you imagine. Trapped a half a mile underground for over 60 days. For the first 13 days, no one on the surface knows that you are alive. Then, a rescue plan begins. You wait and wait, as your friends above work on a plan to save you. Then the day comes and you are hoisted up a shaft to freedom. As you near the top, you can hear the cheering of the people. You emerge into the clean air and your family is there to embrace you. They are crying. So are you. You are saved.

One of the miners said, "they gave us our lives back."

And so, in this world, there are people that live in darkness. Some of them know it, others don't. Some have lived this way their entire life and don't know that there is another life, above in the light. But since we care about them, we look for a way. A way to find them, a way to help them. A way to lead them into the light of God's love. And when they find it, they sing a brand new song, amazing grace. That is what the church does. They give people their lives back.

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

a bit of joy

A little bit of joy fell into our world yesterday. My oldest daughter, who will graduate from Warrensburg in December with a nursing degree, was called in for an interview at Children's Mercy! Of course, we won't know the outcome for a while, but she is ecstatic!

To raise a child thru grade school, high school and finally college, and see them launch into the work force is an awesome feeling!

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