Sniff, sneeze, cough....Repeat!

You should be in our house each morning when the boys and I get up for school.  We sound like a flock of geese!  It is hilarious when we all sneeze at the same time.  I'm notorious for letting them rip...no sense in holding a good sneeze in...and then the boys say, "do it again daddy!"  They only have to wait a couple minutes and I'll be back at it.  Luckily I believe it is simply allergies and usually after an hour or so of sneezing and nose blowing things seem to calm down, but man what excitement for that first hour.
I've been told that we aren't alone is this morning ritual.  I suppose we are lucky that we don't have to deal with horrible nasal congestion and red swollen eyes and all that jazz.  I don't think I've ever prayed harder for a hard freeze!  I'm pretty sure the crops won't mind anyway.  This has been a summer of extremes.  From the weather to matters of health.  I have been reminded to be grateful for the health that we currently enjoy.  One of Tracy's good friend's sister has a 3 year old boy battling cancer, someone else we know has a little girl battling cancer, and of course there have been some people in the community battling the disease and other health emergencies.  We certainly have a lot to be grateful for.
I was praying for some of the sick people the other day and it really hit me how lucky I have been in my life.  I know there is no way I will ever be appreciative or grateful enough for how blessed I've been thus far, but I decided to make sure that every time I pray to make sure to thank God for all my blessings.  I think that is a wonderful challenge for all of us.  Each time we pray, we need to make sure to say thank you for all of the blessings we have.  Not just a generic thank you God, but try to list off everything you are thankful for...from waking up in a warm, or cool, house to being able to call up a friend and talk if need be.  I bet if we really tried to say thank you for all we have and enjoy we'd be very surprised at how long the list is and how our outlook might change.  Try it...for 1 month each day thank God for the blessings you have and see how your relationship with God changes and how your outlook on life changes.  Let me know what happens.  I will give it a try and report back in 1 month.  Now help me remember!

King Solomon and a new park?!?!

The Minden Park Crew did it.  The new park equipment is in!  A big congratulations goes out to the committee for all their hard work: having the vision, raising the money, and seeing the project through until completion.  Also, a big thank you to all who helped with the construction.  Pretty neat to see all the effort pay off.  Now, how in the world am I going to tie Solomon into this?  Read on my friends read on.
Last Sunday I gave a sermon and the subject was about King Solomon and his request for wisdom.  I talked a little bit about the warts that Solomon had, and the fact that God could work around those warts.  I also reminded us that King Solomon's faults also lead to his downfall so God may work around warts but that doesn't mean wrong actions don't have consequences.  I pointed out some of King Solomon's faults to remind us that God doesn't call super saints to do God's work.  God calls everyone, even those who aren't perfect.  I also reminded us that through the power of the Spirit God can accomplish amazing things if we are willing to follow. 
I preach a lot on the fact that God is waiting and more than willing to work through us, but we short circuit that power because we are afraid, we are lazy, we don't think we're qualified, etc.  There are numerous examples of God using normal, everyday, even seriously flawed people to further God's work in the world.  Those people God worked through, including King Solomon who was called the wisest king every, were far from perfect, but God did amazing things through them because they had a relationship with God and opened themselves up to the Spirit.
The Minden Park Crew started out with a goal in mind.  They wanted new park equipment for the kids.  The cost seemed insurmountable, and I imagine more than once they heard, and maybe even felt, that there was no way a town like Minden could raise that kind of money.  That same attitude, we can't do this or that because...(fill in the excuse) keeps us from experiencing the full blessings God wants us to have.  King David, King Solomon, Moses, the Disciples are all pillars of Christianity.  They have one thing in common with all of us...they were far from perfect.  Yet, God called them, as God calls us today.  They had the courage to listen and open themselves up to God.  Can we do the same?  Can we put aside our doubts, our fears, and our laziness to see what God wants to accomplish through us?  If we can then amazing things are ahead of us...just like the Park Crew who persevered and accomplished their goal.  But, if we close ourselves off and/or give up then we miss out on an amazing journey and some special blessings. 

Moment of silence please..

Thank you for that moment of silence.  We are mourning the passing of summer.  School starts in a couple days and football games are on TV.  I don't care what the calendar says summer is kaput!  It does amaze me the stark contrast in the past 2 summers in western Iowa.  Last year we were waiting for the levees to fail and Council Bluffs and other towns to be washed away by the mighty Missouri River.  This year we couldn't get rain out of a hurricane it is so dry around here.  Like someone said, "we survived the summer of the flood and we'll survive the summer of the drought."
I know it is cliche, but where does the time really go?  We just completed a very successful Vacation Bible School program here with the help of First Presbyterian in Neola.  We had about 80 kids attend and I think they enjoyed themselves and they might have even learned something along the way.  It always amazes me how much enthusiasm and joy the kids bring.  They are so excited to come to church and play, eat, make crafts, see friends, and learn a little something about God.  I've heard from more than one parent about how excited their child was to come to VBS.  I've also heard from more than one kid how much fun they had too.  Thank you to everyone who helped in any way!!  We could not have put on such a super program without all the volunteers.
Back to the kids' joy, at what point do we lose that enthusiasm to learn about God?  At what point does it become a chore to come to church...just another check mark to click off your list?  If that hasn't happened to you then super, but how many people come to church bouncing off the walls with excited energy?  Ok, maybe I'm being a little silly with my comparisons to young elementary kids energy and our adult energy.  We'd frown upon a "seasoned" church member running up and down the aisles or crying because mom forgot the fruit snacks.  My point is why do we lose that pure unbridled joy?  I suppose we could blame it on our grown up sensibilities, but we should never lose that excitement to learn about the One who created and sustains us should we?  Think about all that we owe to our Maker...I know all of our lives haven't been a walk in the park, but I bet we have a tremendous amount to be thankful for.  Yet, we tend to reluctantly volunteer to help, we view going to church and worshiping the God who gave us life as any other chore, and oh please don't ask me to change anything about my life...am I right?  Instead of being excited to worship and be able to serve our ever loving and forgiving God we turn it into a job almost.  Let's hope the spark of those VBS kids reminds us to bring a lot of joy to our worship and lives lived for God.