a family wedding

I just returned from a family wedding. This was from Beverly's side of the family so there were alot of people who were unfamiliar to me. Still, I concluded this weekend that family weddings are a good thing!

*They provide a time for families to come together; we live scattered apart from one another and this provides an opportunity to "catch up" with members of the family we don't get to see very often.

*The insitution of marriage is being diminished by today's pundits so our presence at a wedding affirms its importance to us!

*Weddings provide a format for us to remember the marriage vows we made to each other--however long ago--and to "renew" them in our own minds.

When the next family wedding comes around and you are less than excited about attending, remember the values to be rediscovered!

what makes a great worship service,,,?

I would like to bottle up what we shared last Sunday in our worship service and have a drink of it each week because it was a great worship experience. Why? Let me share a few observations...

1. We shared Communion. Someone said to me that Communion challenges us to be honest about our walk with God and opens us in a unique way to the Holy Spirit's gentle tug is His direction.

2. We sang loudly. There is something about opening our hearts ad voices unto the Lord and lifting our praises full voice to the heavens. There were a few moments Sunday when we actually did that together as a body!

3. We participated in the message. There were verbal "amen's" and other directed interactive expressions throughout the message that made it come alive in our reactions and responses.

4. We prayed together--some before church, many during church and some in small groups after church. There was a special awareness of God's divine presence.

5. We shared together. After church there were fellowship pockets all over the sanctuary, in addition to the refreshment area. People were conecting with one another in a loving way, not unlike that suggested by our text in Philippians 2:1-4.

It was the Word of God in action, our lives an outward expression of the inward affirmation of the truth of God's word.

Let's take another drink from that bottle as we come to church on Sunday and truly worship together once again.

I can't wait...can you?

ORDER...PLEASE

I like order in my life. Paul adds a postcript to his I Corinthians teaching regarding the operation of the gifts in the body of Christ when he says "...everything should be done in a fitting and orderly manner..." I find comfort in those words because confusion and disorder hamper me since I am a perfectionist by nature. Throw in a little impatience and you can see what drives me crazy!

So...we are experiencing disorder in our home. We are having some repair work done following a seemingly "harmless" water leak in our refrigerator's ice maker connection and our kitchen has been pretty much unusable with much more work yet to be done!

And company is coming for the weekend.

I am having to learn to step back, take a deep breath, and to remember there are alot worse things that could happen to me than what is happening at 282 California Drive. A neighbor fell and broke her wrist and is experiencing severe pain and reordering of her personal schedule. Another friend recently lost his home and has moved into a rental. Still another friend is dealing with horrific challenges at work that would be enough to throw anyone into a funk.

So I can survive this season of disorder.

But I am glad that our God is a God of order, and that He gives grace to handle life when it isn't as orderly as we wished it was!

Men can sing!

I returned late Saturday evening from our Men's retreat--the rest would be coming home Sunday afternoon. There were 35-40 of us together for part of three days and what is still ringing in my ears is the sound of men singing!

Men can sing!

I felt as if I were surrounded by angels lifting their voices in praise to God. The sounds were unrestrained yet amazingly musical and beautiful. I imagined that this must be something like heaven, where people are pictured in Revelation as gathered together and singing, "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever." That group is described as "every creature in heaven and earth and under the earth, and on the sea, and all that is in them...", a significantly larger group than our Men's Retreat!

Men can sing!

Even though we were relatively few in number, we sang uninhibited and unaware of anyone around us. We sang from our hearts--our work and worries a distant memory for the moment.

I am wishing today that I was back here in that setting, my heart and mind fixed on worshipping Jesus. Though I am back in my office--saddled by the work of the day--I can still sing!

prayer, the first resort

Two days ago I was wrestling with some real issues in ministry and starting to worry about what path of direction I could identify for resolution. And then it hit me...I need to pray.

And I did.

Yesterday I sent out e-mails to about 30-40 church families inviting them to join me at noon today for a time of prayer at the church for these issues that are confronting our church family. Several responded that they would pray at work, or, at home, and a handfull showed up for the prayer time today. I felt that corporately as a body we needed to pray.

And we did.

But there was just a few of us. When it comes to prayer, that is how it usually is--just a few. There are probably some excellent reasons why at short notice people could not clear their schedules to join us for prayer at ther lunch break, but even when it is on the calendar for weeks, the response is pretty much the same.

Why is it that prayer meetings draw such a small crowd?

My experience is that prayer is most intensively pursued in a crisis, but even then, as a last resort. Once other alternatives have been exhausted, we think to pray. Maybe it is because of what we think--or don't think--about prayer.

I am convinced as we face the issues before us at our local church that the ONLY answer is prayer..and that prayer should be the first resort when we face challenges such as we are.

It may taken an even graver crsis for us to learn that.

what matters most

It's hard to avoid the fact that we are teetering on the brink of a recession. Given the plummeting housing market and again escalating oil prices, it seems apparent that we are headed for a bumpy ride into the new year.

About this time each year our church begins planning for its new budget. Effecting our planning is the gloomy financial forecast and a huge increase in our financial responsibilities to "set-in-concrete" items, icluding a large building payment. Through our first ten plus years finances have not been a significant issue but the combination of the current financial climate as well as the new financial obligations we have, has led us to a time of prayerful and careful contemplation.

We are faced with the prospect of cutting back ministry expenditures--there is, ironically, some flexibility here--and we are wrestling with how to do that, and at the same time, be faithful to our calling in Amador County.

I am more familiar with those kinds of issues in our personal finances--times in the past when our set payments have been such a significant part of our budget that we have had to make decisions about discretionary items, including how much we eat out, whether or not we can afford a vacation, how much longer we should wait for buying new clothes, etc. But as I think about those times I remember that we simply made the necessary sacrifices to get through the challneging times. Sometimes that meant cutting back, having a garage sale of things we really did not need or use, and even working a side job.

Whether at church or at home, one thing is certain. In order to meet budgets we must either increase income or cut spending--or, perhaps, a little of both. In the midst of those decisions we must prioritize what matters most. I am preaching Sunday from Philippians 1:12-18 where Paul talks about "what matters most" and "the most important thing". Paul said for him it was that the gospel was preached. At Grace Fellowship, I hope we will affirm our calling to the community and make the necessary sacrifices--giving more and spending less where we can--so that we can continue uninterrupted our ministry during challenging financial times.

I am skipping breakfast this morning. When I meet with the guys it will be just coffee for me...and maybe that saved $5 can be used for something more important. It's a small sacrifice to preserve what matters most.

practice what you preach

The responsibility of preaching and teaching God's Word is not to be taken lightly. I missed this part of my life while I was on sabbatical but re-entry into this world with all of its preparation and responsbility has been hugely (is that a word?) challenging.

I have chosen the topic of joy following my immersion in the book of Philippians for the last six months. Paul's teaching on this is fortified by his unswerving commitmnet to Christ in unimaginable circumstances, and it is all built around his persuasion, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain". There is a focus in those words that escapes me as I work through my life. I am struggling to choose joy over the stress and demands of pastoral responsibility. I am sorry if that is too transparent or self-disclosing, but preachers need to be "real" authentic people too.

It is important for me to be able to practice what I preach. I do believe what I say from the pulpit and in the counseling office. I have confidence in the Word of God. God keeps His promises.

And so this morning, as I sit before my computer unfolding another sermon, I am reminded of the credibility of the words I will share again on Sunday. They are words of life--words that work--and I must consicentiously choose to put them into practice.

I choose joy today.

LOVE and RESPECT

Our church is sponsoring a "Love and Respect" seminar taught by some alumni of the program in our local church. About thirty couples are participating and I am finding the lecture material helpful, shown on a video prior to small group discussion.

On my return to my office following sabbatical I have been reminded of the continuing need for counseling in marriages that are struggling. An article in the SACRAMENTO BEE today reminded me that less than 50% of marriages will make it to the twenty-five year mark. As I see the young children in many of these marriages--some of them needing counseling because of the abuse and dysfunction to which they have been exposed--my heart is truly grieved. The cycle of divorce and remarriage is undeniable as well as the legions of children who are forever scarred and left in the train of its impact.

When I go to the seminar at our church on Wednesday evenings, I sit in the back and survey our families who have chosen to attend. When I hear the simple truth that "women need love and men need respect", and think how simple that statement is, and consider how that is translated into life, I am encouraged that thirty couples are being handed some great tools to ensure they do not become a part of the sad statistics that tell the tragic story of failed communication.

a sad story

Back in the office just a few short days. I have already been reminded what a sad world we live in when we live without moral guidelines. When our decisions are only self-serving with no consideration of their impact on others, we are doomed to the ultimate consequences of being alone. When the choices we make fail to take into account the long-term repercussions, we are left to the short-term allurement of feeling "high", with the inevitable residue of "real life".

Someone chooses to lay their ministry aside just for an evening and now their future is clouded with only the certainty of incarceration and hopeful rehabilitation.

Someone decides that the rigors of marriage are too great, and leaves God, husband and children and family aside to escape to her secret place with a new companion.

Someone drives their motorcycle into a cool evening breeze and , unexpectedly, into eternity, when he is broadsided by a negligent driver. A wife and three children are left to grieve.

These are all sad stories--stories that did not have to be--but came to pass because someone in the heat of the moment chose wrongly--carelessly and selfishly.

Don't be a part of your own sad story. Consider your choices and your decisions. And ask God to give you the courage and the insight to choose wisely.

FIRST SUNDAY BACK

It is abouit 7:30 a.m. and in 90 minutes I will be back with my church family, assuming the role I had before I left for my sabbatical--the role of pastor. It is a role I relish, and a role I missed while I was gone.

I relish it because God has called me to it. in so doing, He has made me in such a way that I find my greatest joy when I am serving God as He intended for me to do.

It is a role I missed. Separated from our church family and not preaching and teaching each Sunday left an empty place in my heart. I discovered that when I am not doing what God created me for, something is missing. This is not to say that rest and study and rejuvenation were not eseential for me, but the whole experience created a renewed passion for the work God has called me to.

I will be teaching from the book of Philippians for the next several months--the product of several months of study and writing before and during my sabbatical. The title of my series is "Designed for Joy". It is a reaffirmation of my conviction that true joy comes from understanding my relationship to the gospel--what God created me for, what in grace He has done to accomplish His divine purposes in my life, and the joy that comes from responding in obedience to His call.

It begins again this morning for me. It's my first Sunday back and I am full of joy.

Headed home...

It's incredible that my thirteen weeks of sabbatical will be over this week. In some ways it has been a long, long time because I have been separated from my friends, my home and my passion to preach. On the other hand, it seems as if it was just days ago that we told our friends "good-bye" at a church potluck, and then headed out for a wedding I performed in Temecula...and then on to twelve weeks of rest and relaxation, courtesy of our church family at Grace Fellowship.

These have been great days. I have rested, hiked, read, written, sat by the beach, eaten too much, swam in the ocean, visited other churches, journalled, exercised, played with grandchildren, shopped, looked at real estate, and, generally, lived without a watch or a schedule.

Day after tomorrow we are headed home.

I am ready.

The Word was preached!

We visited the church where Bev's son, Tim, is the pastor. He has been gone the last two weeks so we were especially anxious to hear him. He preached from Psalm 37 about the justice of God. We were challenged to consider how we respond to the situiations of injustice around us and pointed us to Jesus' example in giving up His life for us when He was unjustly accused.

It was a great sermon and it was a special treat to sit in church and hear the Word of God preached clearly.

And it was great to know it was my stepson I was listening to...makes a stepfather proud!

the beach

I can't afford to live at the beach: I have checked prices in every beach town along the California coast and even a bungalo is out of my reach! But I can enjoy the beach...and that I have done as we have spent about eight weeks of our sabbatical located within a short driving distance from the ocean.

We have visited Pismo Beach, Avila Beach, Montana de Oro Beach, Shell Beach, Los Osos Flacos Beach (bet you never heard of that one), Grover Beach, Oceano Beach, Morro Bay and Guadalupe Beach whle here on the Central Coast. What they have in common is the Pacific Ocean and there is something about its beauty, sound and fury that draw me to it.

This morning we walked along a Coastal Walk with the Pacific Ocean on the bluffs below us and fibe million dollar homes above us in the Shell Beach area. It was a bit foggy and overcast with the sun peaking through the last part of our walk. It was exhilarating! As beautiful as the mansions on one side were, God's creative genius as reflected in the ocean views easily surpassed them.

We will be back in Sutter Creek in about two weeks; the beach will be miles away but the memories of our weeks here will remain for a long time.

grandchildren

Tim and Chad, Bev's two sons, have seven children between them and Chad and Julie are expecting their fourth in February. Jeff, my son, has one child and Jennifer, my daughter, has two children, so there are ten grandchildren...or 10.5 right now.

One of the bonuses of our sabbatical in the Nipom area is spending time with the seven grandchildren we have nearby. Sage, Eden, Seke, Haaken, Kyle, Julianne and Nate--these are the kids we are enjoying when we are able to make connection these five weeks. We had three over to swim, babysat for four last week for two days, and then had six over to swim on Saturday. We are discovering that we are older now, and that being grandparents is, gratefully, different than being parents. Our grandkids are delightful--well-behaved and very loving--but they are filled with bottomless energy and ravenous appetites so keeping them busy and fed is a fulltime challenge...but worth every minute of it.

I am missing my grandchildren in Texas, but enjoying our grandchidlren here. We are thankful for this additional benefit of our sabbatical.

nipomo

A recent quesiton on Jeopardy revealed that Nipomo, California has the best micro-climate in the United States. That is where we are for these last five weeks! The picture above shows an area just a few miles west of Nipomo, the end of a 1.5 mile hike that brings you through beautiful terrain to the ocean.

The weather has been foggy but this evening it was beautiful. We enjoyed being in Bev's son's church in San Luis Obispo (Grace Church) but it made us homesick for Grace Fellowship. It is healthy for me to sit back and to listen to someone else share the Word and to be challenged in my personal spiritual life. I have been studying Philippians and am enjoying the things God is showing me that I hope to share with ym church family on my return.

final phase

 

Final Phase

We are home for a few days after a terrific time at Santa Cruz and Felton. We enjoyed the ocean, cool weather and several visits from friends. We worhipped three or four times at Mt. Hermon Conference grounds, situated just a few miles from us.

We leave Wednesday for Nipomo and will be near Bev's family for the next five weeks (they live in San Luis Obispo, about twenty minutes away). Many of you have e-mailed, written--asking if I am writing. I have done most of my preparation work and will begin the task of writing, hopefully, in this next phase, although I have no lofty goals for completion. Thanks for all the notes of interest and support.


One thing we know for certain--we miss our church family. We look forward to the day we will be worshipping together with you and serving with you again...soon!

checking in

We are at Mt. Herman tonight checking our mail and listening in on a service. What a neat resource for us, just five minutes from our camping spot.

We enjoyed Santa Cruz Bible Church for the second Sunday and were impressed with the clarity of the presentation of the truth of God's Word--a welcome voice here in Santa Cruz County.

Beverly and I are enjoying our alone time together and with God. We are asking God to reveal Himself to us in a way that will rejuvenate our spirit and hearts for ministry...it is working! We are already anxious for September and our return to our church family.

In the meantime, we are thankful for our faithful staff and church family. God is working at Grace Fellowship and we sensed His presence when we sneaked in last Sunday. The Word of God was preached well, and we felt challenged and encouraged by the Word we heard.

Out of sight...but not out of mind...

We paused from our sabbatical for a moment to join a young couple in holy matrimony yesterday. And what a holy day it was!

This young man and young woman are special to me. The young lady has overcome some horrible obstacles in her life and is now emerging as the woman God intended for her to be. Her husband of one day--with an equally challenging past--is growing up as well, and working regularly at learning a new trade and assuming responsibility for the family to which he has committed himself.

There was a tearful moment for all of us when I paused during the ceremony to say a personal word about my special friends--and it was bathed in the awareness of the miracle that God alone can perform in redeeming our lives.

This couple I suggest, is all of us, emerging from our pasts of failure and immaturity, and grabbing hold of the hope we have in Christ that truly tranforms us.

This was a meaningful pause to celebrate the joy of serving Jesus!

a break from sabbatical...

We are home for a few days, gearing up for a camping trip to Lake Tahoe...except a ravaging fire has brought huge damage and loss to that area, and as I am writing, the fire is still not contained. Sadly, we will not be going to Camp Richardson at Tahoe as planned.

We just returned from a wedding at which I officiated in Southern California, a cruise to the Mexican Riviera (courtesy of Bev's mother) and a week in Palm Springs. All of these were good experiences and we capped it all off with a day with some of the grandchildren in San Luis Obispo and a night at Carmel.

We are three weeks into our thirteen week sabbatical, with lots of fun and exciting things yet to comne. But it is good to be home in our own beds. I sneaked over to my office last night to check my mail and to gaze whimsically at our church facilitiesw. Having not preached the last two weeks I was literally homesick for the pulpit (only a preacher would understand that!)

And we don't have a pulpit...but you get the idea.

So it's off with the trailer for three weeks at Smithwoods RV Park in Felton; a true adventure awaits us since we had never heard of it until we went on line today!

In the meantime, we are grateful for this time God has provided and we are enjoying this mini-break from sabbatical as we get ready for the beautiful outdoors and the nearby Pacific Ocean.

We'll be in touch!