Mark Beeson

Late Thoughts from Mother's Day

Mother's Day was just around the corner when three dozen of us GCCers walked through this moment as a young Italian woman stood in the street, unmoving and staring into the store window. I have no idea what she was thinking, but I was thinking, "Oh my. This is one of those, 'I was an unknown photojournalist until that fateful day when I was in Rome, walking to The Spanish Steps, when I happened across this young woman staring at the display in the store window.'" A thousand thoughts may have been streaming through her mind, but none could say which held her in its grasp though she was certainly held by something because she didn't move for several minutes.

She was transfixed.

So was I.

The drama gripped me. It was all there: the in-store picture of the scantily-clad super model, the contrast of the woman looking in the window, the "Happy Mother's Day" sign, the lingerie being sold (apparently to make Mother's Day more happy... for somebody) and the opportunity for a shot. The street had been packed with people but GOD parted the crowds like the waters of the Red Sea and I got the picture as I hoped: one image, one young woman lost in thought and a thousand ways to interpret her story.

Inside GOD'S grand meta-narrative was the story of this young woman, made interesting because so many of her questions are our questions too.

• What is my worth?
• What gives a person worth?
• Why would someone value me?
• How is someone made beautiful?
• Do these people really know what makes someone "happy?"
• Is there any hope for me?

I had a good laugh with Chris & Christine Lemert when I took this picture. It may have appeared that I spent way too much time preparing my shot... And that would have been true if it was merely a picture of a lingerie store... but it was more than that, and I was determined to record the image before the young woman moved or the crowd closed in again.

When I captured the Mother's Day "Picture of Year," (an award I made-up and gave myself... ), I planned to send a little post to my Blog, but I didn't realize my Italy trip was about to change. My plans for Assisi, Pompeii, Siena and Florence were switched to various hallways of Aurelia Hospital's Emergency Unit and a few ER rooms in the "Stroke Unit" of Gemelli Hospital at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome.

Doctors Jim Blechl and Tom Morton shifted gears (from tourist to physician), and helped me get quick attention when my symptoms appeared. They are great friends and comrades.

Ginny Lawley faced down the difficult decision, whether to stay with her dear friend Sheila, or accept my request that she lead the rest of the tour as my trusted representative (Dr. Bob teaching the scriptures all along the way). She did the hard work of rallying our tour and she ended up accommodating Sheila, me and our entire group. She got everyone home and Russ is pouring lots of fresh coffee for her so she can do all she needs to do to get us home too.

Sheila was staying in a nearby hotel (so she was able to see me two hours during lunch and two hours during dinner), until a few hours ago, when the Doc saw my echocardiogram results and said I am clear to fly in a couple of days!

My brother and sister-in-law are flying to Rome to help Sheila get me home. (My family is the most amazing family on earth.) Their plane landed a few minutes ago and they are "in a taxi of some sort" and on their way to our hotel.

Now, of course, Mother's Day has come and gone... but the important questions of life demand answers from us all - no matter what day it is.

I've given satisfactory answers to a few of life's questions and, as you can imagine, I've completely failed to make sense of several others.

I've learned this to be true... The best answers to life's most important questions are always relationally enriching. Bad answers to life's questions break relationships; good answers don't. In fact, good answers make relationships stronger. And who is surprised? At the root of sin you find the brokenness of violated relationships. Sin wrecks relationships; it's always a bad answer to the important questions we face. But righteousness differs; it always answers life's questions with love and acceptance.

So, let's hear it for righteous living. Let's hear it for family that'l fly across an ocean to bring a brother home, for faithful friends and righteous teammates who serve GOD no matter what. Let's hear it for righteous answers to the important questions of life. And let's hear it for the bonds of love that hold us together as the family of GOD.

Colossians 3:12-17 - Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

$518,000 for The Center for the Homeless

 

 

My friend Steve Camilleri grew up on Long Island but his move to Michiana made this a better place... for all of us. 

Steve is accomplished, studied, faithful, and as you can see, he is now flinging himself into his work as the Executive Director of the South Bend Center for the Homeless. He studied at Notre Dame, where he earned a Bachelor's in Marketing & Advertising and a Master's of Nonprofit Administration, both of which he leverages against the needs of the homeless poor.  

I love this guy... and, whoa, can he dance! 

  

 

Steve is a husband, father and friend... and he is one of the most inspiring men I know. His efforts, "to offer the best resources in our community to the people who need them most," helped the generous people of Michiana donate $518,000 to The Center for the Homeless during the Dancing With Our Stars 2015 Miracle Auction.

Thanks for leading us Steve.

Well done. 

 

James 1:26-27  -  Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

 

 

LCI 2015 With Friends

 

- Somewhere North of Houston - 

 

Tim Stevens and I worked together for more than 20 years. He's in Houston now and since Tim has a gift for locating the very best "taco" places (no matter where he is), Sheila and I were able to turn a late-night, post-sermon Quesadilla into a great evening with good friends.  Kem Meyer and Jason Miller were speaking at the LCI Conference too... so the five of us munched Chips-n-Salsa, laughing and telling stories until closing time.

 

Philippians 1:26  -  You can start looking forward to a great reunion when I come visit you again. We’ll be praising Christ, enjoying each other.

 

 

Dancing With Our Stars / 2015 Miracle Auction

  

 

Sheila and I volunteered to serve at the annual "Dancing With Our Stars" auction last night. So did many others from GCC. 

I grabbed some pictures of the Dance Sport professionals and the talented "Stars" who danced with them. These folks helped our community raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for The Center for the Homeless. 

I must tell you about one GCCer who had a huge impact on the event. Marybeth Roncz is an incredible leader and much of the evening's success is the direct result of her indefatigable effort. She asked Sheila and I sit at her table, which was great because I got to share the evening with her husband Rick... and because Sheila and I were close to the dance floor.

After the auction Sheila and I spent the remainder of the evening trying to do the dance move picture above, but I eventually abandoned all hope of kicking myself in the small of my back with my own left foot and went to bed. 

 

Isaiah 58:7  -  Share your food with the hungry.

 

Been to the Zoo?

 

Sheila and I went to The Potawatomi Zoo with Angela, Lydia and Norah today. After worshipping with GCC this weekend, we headed out to make a few memories together.

 

My brother Matt, and sister-in-law Linda, shared the adventure, which shall ever be remembered, from this day forward, as "Our Zoo Trip." 

 

Lydia was spellbound by Aunt Linda's interest in every topic Lydia found interesting. 

 

Uncle Matt has always been the best brother in the world... and today he was Norah's best friend too.

 

Flamingos. What is there to say about Flamingos?

 

Aunt Linda coaxed questions and answers from the kids at every exhibit. She is amazing.

 

- Photo by Angela Keim - 

When it was my turn to carry a grandkid... it was my privilege to do so. 

 

There's nothing like family... and if you haven't gotten your family to the zoo... take them soon. It's a great way to build memories you'll cherish for years to come.

 

Romans 12:10  -  Love [Be devoted to] each other ·like brothers and sisters [with family/brotherly affection]. ·Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves [or Outdo one another in showing honor; or Be eager to show honor to one another].

 

 

The Christian Atheist

 

The Christian Atheist is for you, especially if you're tired of shallow living and empty rhetoric, and you wish folks would "do the right thing," and you'd like to "do the right thing" too, and you wonder why people think "the right thing to do " is whatever they feel like doing... and then you realize, "Oh,oh. That's usually how I decide what I'll do too."

   

 

Fling yourself into a ten week experience with GOD's 10 Commandments and give yourself a reliable framework for living an abundant life.

 

John 10:10  -  (Jesus)  I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). 

 

There's A Good Reason For This...

 

 

Many years ago, somebody invested a lot of hard work into putting this signpost at the edge of the marsh.

You can bet they had good reason, because nobody labors through tangles and mud to sink their signpost in a marsh... unless they have something important to say. That's way too much work if the signpost is being prepared for a message that doesn't matter.

Signposts are important, because sign's are attached to signposts (the way our words are attached to our lives). They either support our message, or they don't. So when we mean what we say, we have good reason to do the hard work that puts our lives in-line with our words.

 

2 Peter 1:2-3  -  Learn to know GOD better and better. For as you know GOD better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us!

 

I Saw a Shark Movie in 3-D Glasses

 

 

I went to a movie. It was about sharks. I have no good shark pictures so I used my picture of this pod of Orcas. They're not sharks, but hey, they live in the ocean and they are scary like sharks, only a lot smarter than sharks... so let's move on.

I paid extra money so I could experience an extra dimension of the Shark Movie.

I put on my awesome, cool, "somebody take a picture of us right now," 3-D Glasses.

I watched the movie.

I was transported to another world where I experienced amazing things.

I took off my 3-D Glasses.

After that experience, I left the theater and went on with my life... as usual, except that I now have flashbacks to my scary Shark Movie experience.

I remember many of my experiences... and each memory triggers an emotional response. My experiences will mark me; experiences always mark me... but it's my day-to-day practices and life-long patterns that change me over time... for better or worse. 

It's foolish to say, "This experience won't effect me." Addiction Counselors label that Exceptional Thinking: "I'd never tell someone else to do this, but I can do it and I'll be fine. I'd never recommend somebody else try this, but I'm sure I can do it because I am not like other people. I am exceptional. I am the exception to the rule." 

Those driven by experiences leap from one quick fix to the next, from one experience to another. Life becomes a non-stop search for significance, thrills, satisfaction and meaning. The problem is, experiences don't last. They have consequences but they don't satisfy our thirst for significance. 

Experiences alone won't give us what we need so GCC is spending the next ten weeks learning to live the life that Jesus called "abundant." We're focusing on each of The 10 Commandments with two questions: "What is this commandment?" and "How does Jesus help us do it?" 

Living the abundant life is different than knowing about it.

It's time to begin practicing the life we were made for. 

 

John 10:9-10  -   I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture. The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

 

Here's What's Happening in the Woods

 

 

Just so you know, the turkeys were lit-up this afternoon.

Zowee.

 

Genesis 31:10  -  Once, while the flocks were mating... 

 

 

Baptisms on Palm Sunday... and Much More...

 

 

Early in the history of the Church, a two-fold tradition developed. New believers were instructed in the basics of the Christian faith and baptized, then they learned what it meant to be a member of Our Lord's Church... which goes way beyond simply giving correct answers to doctrinal questions. 

One may become a Christian ("saved by faith") then take steps to be a Christian and live The Good Life ("to your faith, add goodness").

• Faith was declared when you were baptized, as 292 people were baptized in GCC's Palm Sunday Services. In faith, you were buried with Christ. You were raised up with him through your faith in God’s power that was shown when He raised Christ from the dead.
  
  
• Faith deepens when we're reminded God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of GOD... which we'll hear when we gather at Noon for GCC's Good Friday Service.
  
  
• Faith soars in this reality, Christ is Risen! If Christ had not been raised, our preaching would be futile, empty and useless and our faith would be futile, empty and useless. Praise GOD in worship during one of our six Easter Services this weekend.
  

After Easter we'll take steps to "add to our faith, goodness." 

I'm teaching a new "New Member's Class" and we're grouping-up, serving together and reflecting on GOD's instructions for living The Good Life in the months ahead. What it means to be a Christian will become clearer as we engage a 10-week study of The Ten Commandments. 

After Easter, our next step is The Good Life.
Let's live it... together.

 

2 Peter 1:5-7  -  Do your best to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add patience; and to your patience, add service for God; and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love.

 

Prashan D

 

 

I was paying close attention when Prashan asked, "What has God broken your heart for?" 

Good question.

Prashan has given himself to the work of inspiring, connecting and equipping a new generation of peace-builders. (You can watch the TEDx talk he delivered on the topic at Notre Dame here.) 

What gets your heart... gets you. 

 

2 Timothy 1:7  -  God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

  

292 Baptized Palm Sunday Weekend

 

 

Just FYI...

Young people thirsting for Jesus inspire me. 

 

Luke 6:47-48  -  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

 

What Kind of Person Locks the Door to His Rescue?

 

 

Today’s newsfeeds are filled with talk of a Mystery that’s as old as humankind. When GOD sets before us life and death, why are we so inclined to choose death? Given the opportunity to take the way that leads to life, why don’t we choose it?

When it’s obvious that we’re heading toward destruction, and we’re plummeting toward certain death as HELP knocks on the door and begs to save us, why in the world do we lock SALVATION out?

I have no idea why the 28 year old co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, intentionally crashed his Airbus A320 into a mountainside in the French Alps. What explains the acts of a man who locks his RESCUER out and chooses a path that ends in death and destruction? Can you find the words to explain that kind of behavior?

The person responsible for flying the plane, can intentionally flip the toggle-switch that puts the reinforced cockpit door in override mode. Then, no matter what is done with the code pad outside the door, the door can’t be opened from the outside.

We are perfectly capable of closing the door to our SAVIOR.

That's incredible. It boggles my mind!

When SALVATION is pounding to get in, we must be willing to unlock the door. Our SAVIOR wants to save, but we must open the door and let HIM in.

 

Revelation 3:20  -  Here I am! Behold! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in.

 

 

 

Strategically Operationalizing GCC's Mission

 

- Two StratOps Friends: Mark Waltz and Doug Slaybaugh -  

 

I worked with our staff on GCC's mission for the last 2 days... because mission matters. 

Jesus was "on mission," even when he was a young boy. He asked his mother, after her long search for him in Jerusalem, "Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my father's business?" He was 12 years old and already doing the work his Heavenly Father commanded him to do.

Jesus lived "on mission" every day, devoting his entire life to GOD's mission: 

• Save the world
• Give his life as a ransom for many; lay down his life for his sheep
• Preach Good News to the poor
• Heal the brokenhearted
• Call the "unrighteous" to repentance
• Seek and save those who are lost
• Set people free from the power and consequences of sin
• Raise the dead 
• Give abundant life to his followers
• Finish his Father's work on earth
• Reveal his Father to the world

The way we experience rich, full and abundant lives is by living on GOD's mission. 

Few do, but everyone should. 

 

John 17:18  -  (Jesus prayed for his disciples): "In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world."

 

Facing Adversity

 

 

Whoever said life gets easier must have been very young when they said it. Those who’ve lived a while know the opposite is true.

When you can lift more there’s more to lift. Learn to talk and you’re soon expected to make sense. Spend two or three decades living in your parents’ house and eating their food, and suddenly (because it's a new day) you’re face-to-face with a big new challenge. 

Here's what's true. If you handle today’s challenges correctly, your right responses will produce tremendous benefits in the days ahead. So face today’s adversity.

Climb the mountain ahead, not so you can be done with mountain climbing, but so today’s adversity can strengthen you for all the opportunities you’ll have in the days ahead.

 

James 1:2-4  -  Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

  

Little Parts Make a Big Difference

 

Every little part makes a big difference.

I know, because I spent time during our weekend rehearsal trying to figure out the function of a zillion, easy-to-overlook plugs, knobs, buttons and switches. I noticed little things I hadn't previously noticed. 

Every connection had been checked and double-checked, guaranteeing the components were all plugged-in, hooked-up, coupled, locked and properly linked together.

As I pondered all those little doodads, I sensed each was of great importance. I kept telling myself, "I should avoid touching anything."

No doubt about it, when everything is rightly connected, the results are amazing.

When connections are lost... well..., umm..., not so much. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ephesians 4:16  -  Christ has put each part of the church in its right place. Each part helps other parts. This is what is needed to keep the whole body together. In this way, the whole body grows strong in love.

 

 

Today's ELC Open House & GSM's Events are ON!

 

 

The snow stopped.

It's cold. In fact, it's below zero. But the blowing, drifting whiteouts have moved out of our area so I have great news!

The ELC Open House is on!
It'll happen today from 3:00 to 5:00. You can tour the space, learn about GCC's preschool, meet some of our leaders and teachers and talk with other parents-of-preschoolers. This is your opportunity.

And...

GSM is on!
Our Granger Student Ministries will be in full swing this afternoon and this evening.

Parents! Drive your kids to GSM and we'll partner with you to help your teens navigate their unique challenges... with faith in JESUS, encouraging friends and high-integrity leaders they can trust (and you can too). 

Our Granger Student Ministry events are "on" today at the Granger Campus and the Elkhart Campus.

This beautiful day is GOD's gift to you.
What you and your kids do with it is your gift to GOD. 

 

 

Ephesians 5:16a  -  Make the most of every opportunity. 

 

 

Great Bear Rain Forest / Kermode Spirit Bear

 

 

Sheila was with me in The Great Bear Rain Forest when I saw this white Kermode bear walking downstream toward us. It was preoccupied with fishing as it came our direction so I slid down the steep bank to the waters edge.

Sheila stayed up above and watched. 

I aimed the camera at the bear and waited. 

It kept coming.

I took this photo when it paused a few feet away in a patch of light.

  

2 Kings 2:23-24  -  Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. “Go away, baldy!” they chanted. “Go away, baldy!” Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them.

 

(Apparently, neither prophets nor bears are to be trifled with.)

 

 

What Does Commitment Look Like?

 

 

I watched Josh King make videos yesterday. He talked about the value of living "on purpose." With stories from his life, illustrations from the Bible and clear evidence that good decisions increase the likelihood of good outcomes, Josh asked everyone to group-up and help each other.

He asked us to be committed to each other so we can follow Jesus... together. 

Of course, that means we'll be following Jesus with real people, not ideal people. It means loving imperfect people... just as GOD does. It means accepting GOD's invitation to be part of GOD's family - which continues throughout eternity. It means devotion. It means commitment. It means following Jesus with other followers of Jesus. 

It means giving yourself to the LORD then giving yourself to other Christians.

By GOD's grace, hundreds at GCC recently said, "YES" to Jesus and turned from death to life. More than 450 actually got out of their seats and walked across a bridge to indicate they were choosing life and giving themselves to Jesus. This weekend we'll watch a video recap of their walk across that bridge. And we'll see what the Bible says about taking our next steps toward Christ... together. 

Commit to your family. Commit to your friends.

Bring them to worship with you and sign-up to group-up here.

Let's do this. 

 

2 Corinthians 8:5  -  First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God's will they gave themselves to us as well.

 

 

Cooper's Hawk / Accipiter cooperii (020215)

  

 

After the blizzard, this Cooper's Hawk decided the little birds enjoying our bird feeders were table fare.

It perched up high and watched for prey.  
I watched the carnage. 

Cooper's Hawks are incredibly fast and agile in flight, but more often than not, this hawk was unsuccessful in its pursuits. When it failed to catch a bird, it varied its tactics, making each subsequent maneuver faster, trickier and riskier. Sometimes it would drop low to the ground, hidden from its prey as it raced toward a snow-covered bush before suddenly darting up and over to surprise a little bird on the other side. At other times it would thread its way through a maze of tree branches at top speed, grab a bird in its talons, and fly away. 

Cooper's Hawks are skillful fliers that tear through cluttered tree canopies at high speed in pursuit of other birds... but dashing though the forest's tangled branches is dangerous. I found a Cornell University study of 300 Cooper's Hawk skeletons, reporting 23 percent showed healed-over fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the furcula, or Wish Bone. 

Now I'm wondering how fast I can go without breaking bones, breaking relationships or breaking my own soul. I wish I could speed up and cover more ground in less time, packing more life into the days GOD gives me... but it's not lost on me that the Wish Bone is often the one that gets broken by flying too fast.

If I could break a Wish Bone and make a wish, I'd wish I could go faster because faster is better... unless it's not. 

Sometimes I need to slow down. Goals are good, and it's good to go after them, but how we pursue our goals is important too. How we dash through the dangerous tangles of life is important, so we're "Grouping-up" to work on how to love, help, live on mission, add value, face our limitations, grow and succeed.

Do you wish you could live your fast-paced life... and live it well?  Sign up here and let's do this.

 

Job 12:13  -  True wisdom and real power belong to God; from HIM we learn how to live, and also what to live for.

 

2015 Food Drop Flashback

 

We launched into our annual Food Drop one week ago, today.
It was our largest Food Drop ever. We decorated boxes, filled them with food and delivered them across Michiana. It was one of the most glorious days in GCC's history.

  

 

 

 

 

My deepest gratitude to IRBN Foodservice Sales & Distribution. They supplied drivers, trucks and overwhelming logistical support for the past 4months that totaled over 200 man hours… for free!  They stored, organized and delivered all of the food. (Did I mention… for free?)  Dane and Jesse Vida, a father and son team, are dedicated to sourcing non-profits with better products for a lower price (so agencies can help more people). They've been tremendous Food Drop partners for the past 3 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm grateful to Martin’s Supermarket. They supplied, at a radically reduced rate, all the donuts we enjoyed Saturday morning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm so grateful for the Northern Indiana Food Bank, which provided the food we purchased (at two to three times lower than retail prices). They also provide food to our Monroe Circle Community Center (MC3) Food Pantry throughout the year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm grateful to American Containers. They provided all the boxes for the Food Drop at a reduced rate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm proud of Jeanna Tarwacki. She has strategized, shaped, developed and facilitated our Food Drop experience, year-after-year-after year-after year. We surprised her when John Meiser (GCC's Director of Life Mission) called her to the platform so we could honor her. It was awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm thankful for Stanz Foodservice. They not only allow us to store the food for the MC3 Food Pantry at their location, but they also deliver the food to MC3 throughout the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 58:10-11

Feed the hungry,
    and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
    and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
The Lord will guide you continually,
    giving you water when you are dry
    and restoring your strength.

 

 

Eyes For Her Daddy

 

My granddaughter, celebrating her father's love for her, on her 5^th birthday.

 

Generation-to-generation, the impact a man has on his daughter is so profound it's impossible to calculate on this side of heaven. As a daughter perceives her worth to her father, she believes her worth to be. And she lives accordingly, unless a life-interrupting, foundation-shaking, Worldview-altering experience changes her life... and she accepts the change.

The image a little girl stamps on her life is the image she gleans from her father. It may not be the image he has for her, but as surely as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a daughter's opinion of her beauty is formed in the reflection she sees in her father's eyes.

Don't miss this Dads; Step-dads and Grand-dads too, your kids need what you are uniquely positioned to give. 

• They need protection and, at the same time, opportunity to try new things.
  
  
• They need affirmation and correction.
  
  
• They need grace as much as they need discipline.
  
  
• The need rules, expectations and consequences, as surely as they need mercy, forgiveness and second-chances... especially when they don't deserve mercy, forgiveness and second-chances. 
  
  
• They need a father who can still say, "No" when their kid has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. 
  
  
• They must learn to respect others while negotiating for change... especially when they are negotiating with their mother.
  
  
• Our children need a thousand demonstrations that trust is earned over time, and being "loved" isn't the same as being "trusted."
  What are we to say when they whine, "Don't you trust me?" 
  How about saying this? "Of course not. You're 14 years old."
  
  
• "Pretty is, is pretty does," must be said... but so does, "If I could line up all the children in the world and pick one to be my child, I'd choose you."

We are all chosen.

We're called together, and as we grasp our worth to our Heavenly Father, our lives are stamped with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Men, let's be good fathers and bless our kids after the manner of our Father in Heaven. Generation-to-generation, our children will stamp sacred, treasured and loved on their lives, because they know their worth to us... and they'll live accordingly.

 

Colossians 3:12-17  -  God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So you should always clothe yourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. Even more than all this, clothe yourself in love. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity. Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together in one body to have peace. Always be thankful. Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.

 

Holy Communion During a Flu Epidemic?

 

 

Whatever the weather may be, this weekend we'll worship together for the first time in 2015. And we'll share Holy Communion. 

I know it's the height of Flu season. I know it's labeled "epidemic" and some of you will be happy to learn how we're participating in the Lord's Supper this weekend. (You may even want to text a few friends to let them know this news.)

Everyone will receive a personal package of bread and juice when we enter the auditorium. We'll stay seated as we share the meal together. Everyone will participate in the holy experience at the appropriate time, in prayer and unity. It will be absolutely wonderful. And all of the doctors in our congregation will be pleased.

Come early. Come ready to live the days of 2015 with wisdom.

I'll see you at the Granger campus and Gene will be with you in Elkhart.

 

Psalm 90:12  -  So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

 

The State of the Church... 2015

 

 

Three years ago, I got "weathered-in" on Kodiak Island in Alaska.

Planes were grounded for days. There was no way to leave the camp and no way for supplies to reach us. I had my camera, shelter and food. I had a great big gun 'cause there's a reason they call them "Kodiak Bears."

It was awesome. It was challenging. It was an opportune time.

A few random moments of internet access during those days, opened the floodgates for a torrent of questions from the caring and the curious: 

• Are you OK?
• What's it like? 
• What are you eating? 
• When will we see you again?

The concerned, wanted to know my status. They wanted the truth about my current situation. They wanted to pray. They wanted to know if they could help me, or if they could do anything to help Sheila while I was away from her. 

My daughter Amber wrote several blog-posts during the Kodiak "situation." You can read what it was like to be on the receiving end of my status updates here.

"The Truth is your friend," so I offered an honest update about the conditions I faced, along with specific plans for the days ahead. 

Now, three years later, I'm not on Kodiak Island, I'm home, and I'm looking forward to GCC's first worship and communion service of 2015. I'll be there, offering my honest update about The State of the Church and the conditions we face. This is an opportune time and this weekend, I'll present specific plans for the days ahead. 

If you're not "weathered-in," I'll see you there... and if you are, we can still meet together on-line.

 

  

1 Thessalonians 3:5  -  For this reason I also, when I could no longer endure the uncertainty, sent to know the condition of your faith.

 

  

Our Family Christmas Concert

 

 

Sheila and I seem to have an unusually high percentage of "the-world-is-my-stage, love-to-entertain and perform-in public" grandchildren numbered among our progeny. I have no idea why that is, but when Grammy gave them a Star*Party Microphone for Christmas, they all starting singing... and they haven't stopped.

By the way, you've never heard the soaring crescendo of Frozen properly performed until you've heard my granddaughters sing it. 

 

Amos 5:23  -  When was the last time you sang to me?

  

Christmastide

 

I took this picture in Nazareth, waiting in line to enter the Church of the Annunciation.
It's a bronze relief on a door at the entrance to the church. 

 

Christmas Eve was one continuous stream of worship and celebration, interrupted by the 30 minutes allotted between GCC's services for thousands to come and go. Each time the masses were moving, I ate a few of the jumbo shrimp my friend Danny Striz brought me from Lunker's. The services lasted all day, and by the time Sheila and I got home, it was Christmastide.

Christmas doesn't end on December 25th; it begins on December 25th. And that's when our family gathers to celebrate our Savior's birth. When the Church wraps Advent, my family gathers to unwrap GOD's Story, year-after-year.

Generation-to-generation, we're in GOD's Story... and you are too. 

 

Luke 2:4-7  -  So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 

Do You Want To Help?

 

 

 

If you'd like to give a special gift to Jesus this Christmas, you can participate in GCC's Special Christmas Offering and know your sacrifice is worthwhile. The gifts we bring will push back hunger, plant churches, inspire and inform discipleship and help children get to summer camp. 

Sheila and I participate every year. As you join us for one of GCC 's Christmas Eve Services, we hope you will participate too.

By the way, if you made a previous pledge to The BAR Project all your gifts marked for The BAR Project will be credited toward the Christmas Offering and your pledge.

 

Matthew 2:11  -  They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

 

Now We See Through Fogged-up Glass

 

 

Christmas reminds us the veil is thin and the other-side is near. 

Jesus is bringing GOD's Kingdom, and when HIS Kingdom comes in all its fullness, GOD will blow the fog away and we'll see clearly.

 

1 Corinthians 13:12  -  We don’t yet see things clearly; now we see through a glass, darkly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all clearly.  

 

Children Singing

 

We're soaring through the Advent and Christmas Seasons with phenomenal music. We're enjoying BIG BAND Orchestration, Brass Band Ensembles, Acappella Vocals, lots-and-lots of congregational singing and, this past weekend, children's voices were added to the glorious mix.

GCC's Christmas Eve Services are almost here. Tickets are going fast, so act now and get your free tickets here.

 

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One of our Christmas Offering projects this year is funding Summer Camp Scholarships for children. If you want to give a special gift to Jesus this Christmas, you can donate any of three ways:

• gccwired.com/give
• text gccwired to 77977 
• put your offering in one of the Christmas Offering envelopes during one of GCC's services.

Remember: If you made a previous pledge to the BAR Project, all your gifts marked for The BAR Project will be credited toward the Christmas Offering and your pledge.

GCC's children are giving to relieve the suffering of the poor too. They're collecting gifts in their classrooms this weekend. Here are the gifts each class is collecting and where those gifts will be going.

 

 

1 John 2:12  -  I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for HIS name’s sake.

 

 

 

Keeping It All Together This Christmas

 

 

When I braced my camera against this old fence, I noticed it didn't move. Upon inspection I surmised the fence didn't wobble because new screws were holding the weathered rails against its well-worn pickets. 

An old fence like this one will stand as long as its connections hold fast. And its connections are more likely to hold when they're maintained. The integrity of the whole structure depends on what holds it together.

What holds you, and yours, together?

Who secures your life, when life gets difficult? How do you, and yours, stay together when it feels like everything is falling apart? What keeps you connected, in a loose and shaky world?

It's time to ask the One who holds absolutely everything together to hold us together too. Our Savior has come and He is far more powerful than any of the trials threatening to wear-us-down, shake-us-up or tear-us-apart. It's not time to give up and let go. It's time to get a grip. Jesus is leading His Church into very difficult fields of ministry, and in a world where folks will publically behead young children because they refuse to renounce Jesus as their Lord and Savior, this is not the time to get wobbly.

Jesus got us out of the pit we were in.
He got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.
He reveals the GOD who cannot be seen.
He will be with us in worship this weekend and you are invited to join Him.

  

Colossians 1:13-18  -  God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

 

Take All The Time That You Need.

 

 

I’ve been busy for the last few weeks. Busy. Busy. Busy.

I’ve been so busy that I started doubting the wisdom of some oft-quoted Rolling Stones lyrics, which were assumed to be a trustworthy source of brilliance by the Woodstock Generation, even when The Stones (who were not called "The Stones" for nothing) relied on rote repetition to make their point.

"Yes time, time, time is on my side, yes it is
Time, time, time is on my side, yes it is
Oh, time, time, time is on my side, yes it is
I said, time, time, time is on my side, yes it is
Oh, time, time, time is on my side
Yeah, time, time, time is on my side 
Time is on my side. Yes it is."

Maybe, but we're not given a lot of time, so I suppose that’ll be determined by how we use the time we are given.

Time is precious because scarcity and value are linked. If we had “all the time in the world” it would be easy to waste it. But we don’t have “all the time in the world,” a fact that weighed heavily on me this week as I prayed for my sister’s family and mourned the loss of my nephew Isaac.  

This is the first year we haven’t spent time with Isaac, and if you had suggested a few years ago that we would miss Isaac’s laughter and leadership in 2014, I would have said, “No way.”

I pulled out one of my old journals so I could retrieve this Isaac Quote... and bring his encouragement into 2014.

“Take all the time that you need, but no more time than you have to, because..., Oh, how soon 'tomorrow' becomes 'never.'” – Isaac Hunter (1977-2013) 

I’m taking no more time than I need, to do what I know to do, when I know I am to do it.

• I’m not waiting to worship Jesus.
  
• I’m not waiting to give GOD what GOD does NOT have unless I give it: my life, time, talent and treasure.
  
• I’m not waiting to feed the poor, teach the children, make disciples or group-up with others so we can follow Jesus together.
   

Today is GOD’s gift to me; what I do today is my gift to GOD.

 

Hebrews 3:13a  -  Encourage each other every day, while you have the opportunity, while it is still called, "today."

 

 

This Weekend at GCC - Children SINGING

 

 

My days are filled with challenges. I realize your days may be trouble-free, but where I’m living there are trials and tests at every turn. 
Like... 

• “How do I get up my roof with our backpack leaf blower, nicknamed ‘The Cow Tipper’ because of its hurricane force, and still get to my next meeting on time, since my upcoming Emergency Room visit will carve such a big chunk of time out of my afternoon?”
  
  
• “Since only two weeks separate me from Christmas Day, how will I have enough time to create a meaningful, personalized Christmas gift for every person I’ve ever met in my entire life?”
  
  
• “How are we going to get more than a thousand children trained to sing Christmas Songs during GCC's worship services this weekend?”

Oh. Wait a minute.

Apparently, some of our teammates have created fantastic videos so children can practice their songs.

Whew! Looks like I can chalk one difficulty off of today’s list of challenges. All the kids need to do is sing along as they watch the videos, and they’ll learn to sing songs of joy.

Simple.

Fun.

Beautiful.

 

Psalm 67:4  -  Let the whole world sing for joy, because you govern the nations with justice and guide the people of the whole world.

 

H.Couf Superba II

 

 

Some guy in the jazz ensemble was playing his H.Couf Superba II saxophone in our BIG BAND Christmas Weekend services. I didn't recognize it. In fact, I had absolutely no idea what it was, what he was doing with it or what I would do with it if he gave it to me (which he didn't). 

The engraving didn't help much. I saw it was manufactured in Elkhart, but that was all I knew about it, so I was at risk of underestimating its potential.

What's it really capable of?

That depends a lot more on who's holding it than what's etched on its surface.

 

Ecclesiastes 9:1  -  The righteous and the wise, along with everything they do, are in the hands of God.

 

Center for the Homeless "Miracle Luncheon 2014"

 

Grinding poverty is a terrible thing. Its consequences are brutal. It doesn't discriminate. It has no bias or prejudice. It spreads like a plague. It tortures. It kills. 

I hate it and I hate what it does to people in its grasp.

Poverty is one of those things people discuss for a few minutes before throwing their hands in the air and saying, "Somebody should do something about that." 

The wonderful people of Granger Community Church agree.

Somebody should do something about poverty... so we are, and we will, and we have since GCC began serving Christ in Michiana. 

Maribeth Roncz invited Sheila & I to join John Meiser, Jeanna Tarwacki, Alison Silverraven, LeRoy King and Mark & Michelle Scott at a table she provided for the Center for the Homeless Holiday Miracle Luncheon yesterday. Maribeth is a whirlwind of exemplary service, who, with her husband Rick (a great leader of one of GCC's vital ministry teams and friend to me), attacks poverty whenever and wherever she can. Rick & Maribeth inspire me to keep working, no matter how discouraging and difficult someone's impoverished circumstances may be.

I'm guessing 700 community leaders attended the luncheon yesterday, all of them willing to do something to intercept the entropy of generational poverty in Michiana.

I greeted scores of friends and eventually bumped into Steve Camilleri... which is kind of like sticking your finger into an electric outlet; you simply can't walk away from that experience the same way you walked into it.

I talked with Steve for a while. He's the the Executive Director of the Center and a fantastic fellow. When I asked him about the students holding signs and lining the hallways, he told me about their Faces of Homelessness Project.

These are all John Adams High School JAG students. They're holding signs portraying the plight of homeless teens. Their signs didn't reflect their own circumstances; instead they pointed to the desperate circumstances of way too many American teens. 

 

 

 

 

Galatians 2:10  -  All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

 

Getting Grammy Ready for Christmas

 

 

Our preparations for Christmas are almost as JOYFUL as our celebrations of Christmas, so when it's time to get Grammy's decorations set-up, the whole family pitches-in and lends a helping hand. 

 

 

It's hard to believe how quickly a little snow put our kids and grand-kids in the mood for Christmas.

 

 

Ever wonder why Red and Green are Christmas colors? One tradition says that Jesus was crucified wearing a crown of Holly thorns. The Holly berries were originally white. As Jesus’ blood touched the berries, they turned red. The green leaves of the Holly plant have come to represent everlasting life and its red berries the blood of Jesus.

 

1 John 1:6-7  -   If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

 

Black Friday Family Pheasant Hunt

 

 

Everything is awesome. It's not all easy but it is awesome... and our annual Family Pheasant Hunt was awesome too.

 

 

Check this out. We were packed and ready to leave the night before our hunt. Whaaaat? Not only that, but we left early enough to swing past The Farmhouse Bakery for the best donuts and cinnamon rolls on the planet. (If you've never been there, you should go. You can read the rest of this blog post when you get there. Just go. You can thank me later.)  

 

- Photo by Amber Cox -

 

We drove to Curt Johnson's place and spent a cold day together trudging through snow, kicking brush and looking for birds. 

 

- Photo by Amber Cox -

 

Sheila was beside me every step of the way, which is not surprising, since she leads our family in generosity, devotion and service. 

 

 

We got some birds.

 We had a blast.

 Our family made some wonderful memories.

 It was fantastic. 

  

 

 

2 Samuel 7:27-29  -  King David prayed, “Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, you have said to me, ‘I will make your family great.’ So I, your servant, am brave enough to pray to you. Lord God, you are God, and your words are true. And you have promised these good things to me, your servant. Please, bless my family. Let it continue before you always. Lord God, you have said so. With your blessing let my family always be blessed.”

  

Mobs Rioting in the Streets

 

I love the Church.

I love who we are. I love what we do. I love the ONE we serve. I love our shared experience of GOD and the consequence of GOD's gracious invitation to join HIM in HIS mission of redemption, reconciliation and restoration.

Mission and evangelism is what the Church does, and the Church is the result of its mission and evangelism. The Church would be extinct in one generation without its mission and evangelism, and new Christians would die without the Church in less than one generation because their salvation and wholeness is personal but not private. 

ACTS 16 tells the story of two Christians, Paul and Silas, who went together into Philippi for the Church's mission and evangelism. They rescued a girl "in the Name of Christ," which prompted the people of Philippi to riot in the streets. The restless mob, out for blood, hauled Paul and Silas into the marketplace where they were stripped naked, severely beaten with rods and thrown into prison. They were bloodied and bruised; in the dungeon's depths, their feet were pinned to wooden stocks.

Wow.

So much for the glories of "Mob Rule." And so much for the oft-repeated lie, "Be nice to people and people will be nice to you." The Golden Rule commands, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." OK. But you better think twice before believing the ethic of reciprocity requires kindness in return for kindness.

It doesn't. 

Jesus said you are to "Do to others what you want them to do to you." 

This command sums up the essence of GOD's LAW. HE did not say your kind actions will compel others to act kindly toward you. Offering generosity, mercy, righteousness and kindness "in the Name of Christ," can get you a brutal beating, during which you have no way of knowing if you're being beaten half-to-death... or killed. 

There is no virtue in Mob Rule: no justice, no reason and no kindness. 

What do you do with a violent mob?

Paul and Silas responded to injustice, prejudice and torture with a Christian concert. They prayed and sang hymns to GOD as the other prisoners listened. The earth quaked. The prison doors were opened. The Jailer and his family were converted. The Philippian Church was born and the doorway to Europe was opened for the Church's mission and evangelism.

The music of GOD's Church shakes things up.

Don't forget to listen to the music, even if you're the one singing it.

  

Dr. Bob reminded the church this weekend, "Jesus told HIS disciples, 'Don't let your hearts be troubled.'"

"I'll sing your praise, louder and louder..."

Mark Waltz: Welcome to Granger Community Church

"It's like we're blind, but we see too much. You know what I mean?"

"All Creation will bow as one; lift their eyes to the Risen Son... "

"Let our voices rise and sing for all He's done!"

"Jesus came and died and gave HIS life for us."

"Black Friday, the wonderful holiday when people trample each other for things they don't need, just hours after giving thanks for the things they already have."

"I'll lift your NAME, higher and higher..."

"They're just trying to butter us up so we vote for them again."

"I realized I didn't bring Jesus into the room; HE was already there."

"Did you know they paved Paradise and put up a parking lot? It all just needs to stop. And yet, like, we all just need to get it started." 

"If we can't be happy then you can't be too."

Everything is Amazing! And Nobody's Happy: Redefining the Win

"It is just crazy out there now."

 

 

Philippians 1:27  -  Only one thing concerns me: Be sure that you live in a way that brings honor to the Good News of Christ.

 

 

Obeying GOD's Orders

 

 

I read this Psalm this morning.

I'm remembering: There is only ONE NAME worth praising.

 

Psalm 148

Hallelujah!
Praise God from heaven,
    praise him from the mountaintops;
Praise him, all you his angels,
    praise him, all you his warriors,
Praise him, sun and moon,
    praise him, you morning stars;
Praise him, high heaven,
    praise him, heavenly rain clouds;
Praise, oh let them praise the name of God—
    he spoke the word, and there they were!

He set them in place
    from all time to eternity;
He gave his orders,
    and that’s it!

Praise God from earth,
    you sea dragons, you fathomless ocean deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and ice,
    hurricanes obeying his orders;
Mountains and all hills,
    apple orchards and cedar forests;
Wild beasts and herds of cattle,
    snakes, and birds in flight;
Earth’s kings and all races,
    leaders and important people,
Robust men and women in their prime,
    and yes, graybeards and little children.

Let them praise the name of God—
    it’s the only Name worth praising.
His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky;
    he’s built a monument—his very own people!

Praise from all who love God!
    Israel’s children, intimate friends of God.
Hallelujah!

 

 

Musings With My John Wesley Bobblehead

 

 

If your John Wesley Bobble-head is distracting you, it's probably because it is so distracting. I figure you've got two choices: (a) remove the Bobble-head completely or (b) leverage the moment to consider WWJWD. 

I picked "(b)," and asked myself, "What Would John Wesley Do?" 

This morning I read this advice in Wesley's work, The Character of a Methodist.

By consequence, whatsoever he doeth, it is all to the glory of God. In all his employments of every kind, he not only aims at this, (which is implied in having a single eye,) but actually attains it. His business and refreshments, as well as his prayers, all serve this great end. Whether he sit in his house or walk by the way, whether he lie down or rise up, he is promoting, in all he speaks or does, the one business of his life; whether he put on his apparel, or labour, or eat and drink, or divert himself from too wasting labour, it all tends to advance the glory of God, by peace and good-will among men. His one invariable rule is this, "Whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

 

1 Corinthians 10:31  -  Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

 

Point Betsie Lighthouse

 

- Point Betsie Lighthouse, Lake Michigan -

 

Matthew 7:24-29

“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.  25 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock.  26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  27 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!”  28 When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed by his teaching,  29 because he taught them like one who had authority, not like their experts in the law.

 

 

Do You Know What Silence Is Saying?

 

- Photo of "Thoughtful Me," by Dustin Maust - 

 

When I see a picture of some guy gazing off into the distance like this, I wonder, "What in the world is that guy thinking about?"

There are so many questions worth pondering.  

• Why isn't "phonetic" spelled the way it sounds?
  
  
• How will I know when the Sour Cream goes bad?
  
  
• What if you try to fail, and succeed?
  
  
• What will Dr. Bob say about Philippians this weekend?
  

• How did those Keep Off the Grass signs get there?
  
  
• Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?
  
  
• Can you hear silence and know what it's saying?
  
  
• When two-thirds of American voters don't vote, can someone know what they're voting for?
  
  

Interesting questions to be sure, and probably worth a few minutes spent gazing off into space. 

 

Job 38:2-3  

Why do you confuse the issue?

Why do you talk
without knowing 
what you’re talking about?

Pull yourself together!
    Up on your feet! Stand tall!

I have some questions for you,
    and I want some straight answers.

  

The Campaign Ends / The Work Begins

 

 

When I was a kid, my dad told me to get some friends together to help us work on the barn. I did what my father asked and by the end of the first day I realized: When you're knee-deep in manure you learn a lot about people.

Here's what I learned:

• All candidates look good when they're standing in the school cafeteria saying, "Pick me! Pick me!" 
  
  
• Some people are happier talking about working than working.
  
  
• The most impressive candidate may not be the most impressive worker.
  
  
• Some jobs stink, but they still need to be done... preferably by someone else.
  
  
• Few teams have a shortage of supervisors.
  
  
• When shoveling manure, someone needs to grab a shovel and start shoveling.
  
  
• Just because people ask for the job and say they'll do the work, doesn't mean they will do the job or the work.

 

Luke 17:10  -  When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, "The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.”

 

 

Intergenerational Vision

 

- Church of Saint Anne, Isreal - 

 

After worship last night I spoke with some young adults who asked me if they could ask me something.

"Sure, ask away."

"Why do you think so many people our parents' age are here?" 

I was their parents' age, so I replied, "I'm old enough to be your dad. Why do you think I'm here?" 

"It's your job?"

"Besides that."

"I don't know," one said. "It just seems like there a lot of young people here; and there are a lot of people my mom's age here; and I don't get that because people my mom's age dream about church like it was in the old days."

"The old days?"

"You know what I mean," she said, "Old people want the 'good old days' more than these days. My mom talks about 'the good old days' like she'd go back there if she could."

"Does she come to worship here?"

"No. My parents don't live here."

I said, "I think a lot of people your parents' age aren't old because they're old; they're old because they don't dream any more. Everyone gets old when they stop dreaming. They don't stop dreaming when they get old; they get old when they stop dreaming. I think GCC is filled with people your age, and your parents' age, because we're all dreaming about doing something great for GOD. Young or old, the people who like GCC tend to be people dreaming GOD's dream for tomorrow."

We're living on GOD's mission friends. We're telling people about Jesus and inviting them to follow Jesus with us. We're grouping-up to do what our Savior's disciples have done for 2,000 years... because "the good days" aren't the "old days" behind us, they're the "new days" ahead of us.

Young and old, friends, we're living the dream.

 

Acts 2:17  

God says: In the last days
    I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your young men will see visions,
    and your old men will dream dreams. 

  

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME ...

 

 

The sun was shining a few days ago. It wasn't raining. The temperature wasn't 39 degrees. The wind wasn't blowing 37 mph and most of the leaves were still on the trees. 

That was then.

Now dark clouds have rolled in and snow is predicted. Most of the leaves are on the ground and when the rain finally stops Sheila and I will be blowing leaves for a long, long time.

Fortunately, my mom advised me, "Never judge a day by its weather." 

There is more to true happiness than pretty leaves and sunshine, so this weekend we launch GCC's four-week-study of Philippians. Bring some friends with you for our new series, "EVERYTHING IS AWESOME AND NOBODY'S HAPPY: Secrets of True Happiness from the Book of Philippians."

If you'd like to group-up with some friends to take your next steps toward Christ together, we can help you. Registration is easy and grouping-up to focus on one little (but important) book in the Bible for four weeks might make November one of your best months... ever! 

 

Philippians 4:4  -  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 

 

Facing Trials and Tests

 

 

Sheila and I saw the weather changing when we drove home from the Sleeping Bear Dunes. We toured along the Lake Michigan shoreline as ominous clouds threatened rain and then delivered it. The wind howled. The waves were enormous. 

It seemed like a great day for taking pictures.

We got to Muskegon. I grabbed my camera and ran down to the water’s edge. Sand drifted around me as I sat in the tempest. The spray drenched me and I wondered if I could possibly get any wetter. 

For 30 minutes I sat there with my camera, watching the gulls and marveling at their control of the situation.

• The wind roared and they soared. 
• The waves pounded the shoreline and they floated above them. 
• I turned my face away from the gale but they flew straight into it. Without flapping their wings they flew; the greater the wind, the greater its lift.

It seemed to me that the squall gave the gulls an opportunity.

The storm simply gave them the chance to fly through it. 

 

James 1:2-4  -  My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need.

 

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive

 

Sheila and I drove to Sleeping Bear Dunes today.

We choose to do the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive instead of the Dune Climb Trail, demonstrating the cumulative wisdom of seasoned park veterans by avoiding the arduous climb to the top of a mountain of sand. 

The Rangers at the Park Headquarters recommended the loop and even gave us a little map, pinpointing the best places to stop and take a picture. If you ever decide to make this trip, be sure to stop in Empire and get a copy of the Visitor's Guide.

We had my little Fuji X100s with us so we stopped where the Rangers said we should and I grabbed some pics of GOD's handiwork.

 

#1  The Covered Bridge with the National Park Service Arrowhead on it.

 

#2  Glen Lake in the distance and Little Glen more near. 

 

#3  Dune Overlook in the middle of the 2600 acre area of Sleeping Bear Dunes.

 

#4  The Cottonwood Trail through the dunes.

 

#5  The Dune ecology: harsh, windy, dry and sandy.

 

#6  The old Basswood trees between the dunes and the forest.

 

#7  The forest of Sugar Maple and American Beech trees. 

 

#8  The post-Glacier landscape changes, from sterile ground to fertile woods.

 

#9 and # 10  The Overlook for Lake Michigan and The Sleeping Bear Dune.

 

#11  Once a Lake Michigan bay, the North Bar Lake was formed by the accumulation of blowing sand.

 

#12  Pine Plantations were planted by the Park Service many years ago.

 

Isaiah 55:12b  -  The mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees in the fields will clap their hands.

 

 

Maple at Grammy's

 

 

Harsh days of wind, rain and colder temperatures are upon us and that'll mean a rather abrupt end to the colorful leaves on Grammy's Maple tree.

We shouldn't be surprised.

It's happened before.

Winter is coming. 

Again.

 

Genesis 8:22  -  As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.

 

 

Additions to Your Life ...

 

 

There's almost nothing better than a new door on the outhouse.

 

Luke 6:47  -  These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on. 

 

Looking at Pre-Resurrection “Seeds”

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 15:39-41  -  Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies—humans, animals, birds, fish—each unprecedented in its form. You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies—sun, moon, stars—all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we’re only looking at pre-resurrection “seeds”—who can imagine what the resurrection “plants” will be like!

 

 

My Son Lives in Florida

 

= Photo by Adam Kanaan - 

 

Sometimes I wonder why Aaron and Tracy live in Florida. Then Aaron goes fishing (as he did this morning), and he sends me a picture of the fish he caught (as he did today) and I stop wondering why he lives in Florida and start wondering why I don't.

43" Red
Caught in Mosquito Lagoon 
Sunrise 
October 23, 2014

Niiiiiiice!

 

Job 41:1a  -  Can you catch Leviathan on a fishhook?