Orion

When I was in Jr. High school I was a member of the astronomy club.  We had weekly meetings and would occasionally go out to remote parks to look at the stars.  I have always been interested in telescopes.

Having said all of that, I really just know two constellations: the big dipper and Orion the hunter.  My Dad taught me the big dipper.  Orion is a throwback from the astronomy club.  Orion is a winter constellation.  I have watched it rise and fall in the Eastern sky during the winter months each year since I was 13.

Orion is back now, reminding me of the passing of another season. 

Millions of people before me, before us, have looked at the night sky and contemplated the amazing wonder of God.  There is a happy

peace that comes to me from looking up and seeing Orion.  The caring hand and watchful eye of our Father is forever upon us.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky proclaims the work of His hands."  Psalm 19:1

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

hawks

The red tail hawks are back.  I am not sure why, but I love watching these guys.  They appear to be loners, as I never see them together.  They are here in the  cold weather and gone when it warms up.  You will see them in the trees and atop the telephone poles along 291, Anderson Drive, and Lakewood way.  They seem to have territories as they keep about 100 yards apart.

I have seen them snag a snake, mice, and pigeons.  They are quite beautiful.  They are powerful and strong.  Another one of God's amazing creatures.

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

I loved this

I loved this saying of G.K. Chesterton-

You say grace before meals, that's all right.

But I say grace before the play and the opera,
and grace before the concert and pantomime,
and grace before I open a book,
and grace before sketching, painting,
swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing,
and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.

He called this his complete intoxication before life.

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

singing

Someone noticed that I was not singing in a service on Christmas Eve.  They asked me about it.

It reminded me of a joke.  Why couldn't the pony talk?  He was a little hoarse.

I told them, yes, you caught me.  I was not singing.  Sometimes I don't.  Now I love to sing, and I love to participate, but when it comes to verbal things I have to be careful.  We have lots of services and if my voice fully participates in each one, I will likely have nothing to give for the later worship times.

Please understand and sing louder yourself to make up for me.

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

lights

When I was a kid we had Christmas lights on our house.  Dad put them up until I got old enough to do so, then he gladly retired from that task.  So as we have been able over the years, we put Christmas lights on our house.

When the kids got into high school, we switched to Blue Springs South colors: green and blue.  Don't think anything funny if your kids go to a different high school, I love all of our schools, my kids just happened to go to South so we put up South colors.

In the picture, there are two aberrations.  The one on the upper right is a reflection from the street light.  The red light in the top center is a lone red light.  Amid the blue and green, a lone red light.  Why?  What does it mean?

I put the one red light up, because nothing is perfect.  Because life is good, but not perfect.  It has a bit of a reminder quality.  It has a bit of an attitude.  A sense of humor.  Oops!
Boing!  Life- wonderful, but not perfect.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

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

thank you

I want to say thank you to everyone who worked to make the Christmas season wonderful.  For those who led the children's pageant and the children of course.  For those who sang and played in the cantata.  For the Jazz band and their wonderful concert.

For all of the singers, ringers, players, readers, hospitality, ushers and otherwise who helped make Christmas eve wonderful.

You are a fabulous bunch and I am the most fortunate pastor in the world.  Thanks for the cards and gifts.  I love you all.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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

Merry Christmas

I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas.

May the joys of family and friends warm your heart.
May the knowledge that you are loved fill you to the fullest.
May your future be filled with hope.

Christ is born.
There is much to celebrate!
Thanks for being my friend.

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

Christmas Eve

Today is Christmas Eve.  It's a busy day at the church, but it is a great day to be in church. 

I know that every day is the same.  I know that every day is a gift from God.  But there is something unexplainably magical about Christmas Eve.

Hot Chocolate.  Family and Friends.  Sitting by the tree.  Wonderful Music.  Giving thanks for the last year.  Giving thanks for life itself.  Appreciating God.  Candle lighting at church.  It is indeed the most wonderful time of the year.

Today we have services at 10am, 4pm, 530pm, 7pm, 830pm and 11pm.  You are invited and welcome to attend.  If you live far from here we invite you to watch our services live on the web or attend the local church of your choice.

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

a great thought

I recently read an article by Lauren Martin that I found quite helpful and profound.  The article was about overthinking things.  Dwelling on things.  Many things happen that bother us and linger painfully in our hearts.  We should let them go, but sometimes it is difficult.

Here is one of the main quotes from the article, "the only thing that keeps making this thing a thing is that you keep thinking about it."

In other words, let it go.  Just stop thinking about it.  It has no power over you unless you allow it to have power over you.

If you would like to read the full article, here is the link:
http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2013/12/3-reasons-why-overthinking-root-all-your-problems/74870/

I would also say that this kind of thinking is very helpful in learning to worry less.  Jesus was big on that.  Learning to worry less so we can just simply live.  Worry less, celebrate more.

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

coats

back seat filled up to the windows!

I love coats.  I have a thing for jackets.  I own too many.   My Dad would have asked me, "Son, how many of these can you wear at once?"  Well I know that we take coats to Westport, so I scheduled a day to take a few down.

I mentioned it to staff that I was going to Westport and one person had me stop by their house and pick up 4 coats that they wanted to send.  Amy and Missy loaded me up with coats from the missions room.  And I mean that they loaded me up.

he was very appreciative

The passenger seat and floorboard in my truck were filled.  There is a jump seat in back - it's a super cab for you f-150 fans.  Not a 4 door, but like a door and a half.  Anyway, the back end was packed too.  I had to smush them down so that I could see out the back window.

When I got there, a gentleman sitting on the step asked for a coat.  He was so very glad to get this black and blue coat that one of you donated.  He let me take his picture.

A small act of kindness on your part made a big difference in his life and the lives of many who are cold this time of year.

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

snow

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.  Well, they are predicting snow for today and into tonight.  That means that several of you will wonder if we will be having church.  Some of you will watch the TV to see if Woods Chapel is cancelled.

We will not be cancelled.  We will be having church.  We will always have church. 
Be safe, but if you can make it, we will be here. 

Now let me say this, please do not skip church because it snowed and then go out to shop.  If we can make it to shop or make it to the Chief's game, then we can make it to God's house.  I have found that the days when we make an extra effort to be there, we often find a greater blessing.

We will be open for business.  Free hugs to all who make it tomorrow.

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

my name is

When I came to Woods Chapel, people called me Steve for months.  That was the name of their prior pastor - a great guy by the way.

I took no offense to being called Steve.  I figured that it would take time for folks to learn my name.

Recently there has been a rash of folks that want to call me Jim.  I guess I will answer to that.  I actually find some consolation in the fact that some folks are having trouble with my name.  I am ok with that because I don't remember every person's name either.

But for the record.  I am Jeff.  Or if you are mad, follow my mother's lead when she was mad and call me Jeffrey Scott.

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

favorite Christmas songs

There are of course many great Christmas songs, but here are some of my favorite:

Hark the Herald Angels Sing
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Once in Royal David's City
In the Bleak Mid-winter

How many of those four are you familiar with?  Probably all of you know Hark the Herald Angels sing, but do you know the others?  Learning new and obscure songs is kind of cool.  If you don't know the others here are some youtube links: 

I heard the Bells on Christmas Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOGz9WqNQoI

Once in David's Royal City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMGMV-fujUY

In the Bleak Midwinter [this just brought me to tears]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hs9-Sxf9j4

Do you know any obscure Christmas songs that I should learn?

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

winter driving

Last Friday I went to a wedding rehearsal at the Elms in Excelsior Springs.  This was the evening when they were forecasting ice and 2-4 inches of snow. 

Fortunately in addition to the 05 Honda Civic, We have a 2001 Ford 4x4 truck.  It gets about 12 miles to the gallon, so it does not get out much, but in the winter, it is a life saver.  So I prepared for the worst.  I made a packet of food and water.  I packed a blanket and warm clothes.  I charged my phone and gassed up the truck.

Everything went pretty well on the way up there, except that I ate all of the food that I had packed for an emergency.  The way home was slower and colder, but I made it there and back safe.

I was a boy scout.  Be prepared.  If  you are going out in the elements, there are some things that you should do.  Gas up your car, pack food and water, pack extra warm clothes.  It is better to be safe than sorry.

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

I still miss them

I thought I was over the loss of my parents.  I thought I had healed.  Mom died in 1995 and Dad in 2002.  Last week I visited both hospitals where they died.  I hit both of them in the same day.

I visited a man on the same floor that mom was in at St. Joe and I visited a man in ICU at Research.  For some reason, going to Research was really difficult.  I was not expecting it.  The halls are long at Research and the longer I walked and the closer I got I could feel myself going back in time. 

I felt sad and alone.  I started to tear up.  It all came rushing back.  I miss them.  I guess that is a good thing.  Paul and Mary, you are not forgotten.  Thanks for doing your best.....

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

what do I want for Christmas

The kids are starting to ask what I want for Christmas.  One of them just got a big fat raise and so I told that one that I wanted a lot of things, and really expensive things!  I was just kidding.

Really I don't want anything.  I don't need anything.  I tell my kids that I want them to go with me to Westport or somewhere to care for those less fortunate.  I want to  spend time with them doing something meaningful. 

I am more interested in spending time with them than getting things.  Is that because I have everything?  No I don't have everything, but they are not going to buy me a Mustang are they?  Is it because I am older?  Is it because I have met so many people in the world that have so little?
I don't know why I don't want anything.  Maybe I wanted so much when I was a kid, that my wanter is all wanted out.  Anyway, it is nice to just enjoy the time, the season and the peace that God can give. 

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

funny or serious

There are some very serious issues in this world.  Injustice, hunger, starvation, death.  We should pray for all of them and do everything that we can to make a difference in the world.  Christians should be positively engaged in the world.

Yesterday I wrote a post about praying that it would not snow on the weekend so that we could all get to church.  I wrote it in a moment of levity.  I did not mean to demean or ignore the real issues of life that we should be praying about.  I was looking for a funny way to remind the Methodists that 1" of snow should not keep us  away from church.

This blog is not always going to be serious.  This blog is not a sermon.  It's about life, all of life.  Life has to have it's moments of levity.  I hope you allow yourself to enjoy and celebrate life without forgetting the weightier issues.

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

Dear Lord,

Dear Lord, The weatherman told us that we would all wake up to a little snow today.  Can you please make it snow during the week and not on the weekend?  When it snows on the weekend, kids don't get out of school.  They don't get the extra days to sled and play in the snow.  Lord, don't you want the kids to have fun?

And Lord, when it snows on the weekend, some good Methodists will skip church.  Here I have worked all week on this sermon and an inch of snow is going to keep some of them away.  I hear that they might be seen out to lunch or shopping later that day, but I just can't believe that.

So, Lord, if you care for kids and your church, please have it stop snowing on the weekends.  Snowing during the week is good for kids and it's better for church attendance.  Thanks for listening.

Amen.

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

funny

I guess I used to be funnier.  When I was younger I was funnier.  More funny.  Funnier than I am now.  More funny things from the pulpit.  Some people miss that. 

Maybe I miss that too. 

Life has a way of wearing on you.  Real life, adult problems.  The innocence of youth is often tempered by the grinding cadence of adult problems.

The larger our church gets, the more problems I hear about.  It all takes it's toll.  But, just for fun, one of these days, I should tell a joke in church and play the guitar and sing.  What do you think?

Sometimes the best medicine is to remember the joy of lighter days.  Either way, it's all good.  Life is good.

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

a painful memory

For some reason I thought of this story. 

I am 12 years old.  We just bought a basketball goal.  I had never had one before, and I thought it was the coolest thing. 

I went out to play on it all the time.  Then it got cold.  Winter.  No one warned me about what can happen to your fingers in the cold.  I played for hours.  Day after day.  I noticed the tips of my fingers getting sore, but I didn't think that much about it because I had never had this problem before.  But after prolonged play in very cold weather, all ten of my finger tips cracked.  The picture here does not do the situation justice.  They were really dry and cracked and painful.  All ten of them!

Painful, bloody, cracks.  It took weeks for them to heal.  I have never done that since.  I guess that is one benefit of really making a painful mistake, we rarely repeat them.

So if you have done something that hurt yourself, take heart, at least we probably won't do that again for a long time.

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