Hot...It's just hot..and an ice bucket!

I saw a post on Facebook the other day that mentioned just because summer started 2 months late doesn't mean it has to hang on for 2 extra months.  I hate to say it but give me the cold weather.  I'll take it over the skin melting heat any day!  But, maybe that's just the Minnesotan in me speaking.
I have to admit that with a title like the one on this blog and the heat outside I was tempted to do something along the lines of a hell fire and brimstone blog..."you think it's hot here wait until you feel hell!" or something along those lines, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  I want to talk about me today so I hope you're okay with that.
I don't know if you've heard about or seen this little thing called the ice bucket challenge going around.  If you haven't then I have to ask, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!  In all seriousness if you haven't heard about the ice bucket challenge visit the ALS website and read about all the money that's been raised for ALS research.  I have to admit I've taken part in the challenge and yes my family has donated to ALS.  But before last night I was very much a cynic when it came to this challenge.
I would watch the ice buckets being dropped on people's heads and then hear the challenges and I kept wondering if people even truly understood what they were doing.  Did they even know what ALS was?  Did they even donate to the cause or did they simply relish the chance to put a video of themselves on the internet?  Let's just say I wasn't a fan and my cynical side was growing stronger with every video I witnessed.  There are so many other good causes....why do you need water dumped on your head before you'll donate to a charity...why are you wasting perfectly good water?  Could I increase the donations to my church by 1000% if I started a cold pop challange?  Guzzle 12 ounces of your favorite soda pop and then burp out the next three people you challenge and donate to Minden UCC.  Hey, don't steal that idea!  Back from the aside, all good questions and all good reasons for me to keep being cynical...or so I thought.
Well yesterday afternoon my fantastic brother-in-law and his boys challenged me and my boys to do the challenge.  Alex was immediately excited and Isaac needed some time to come around to the idea of getting water dumped on his head.  Of course I was against the whole thing in the very beginning.  I don't like being peer pressured into doing anything, and besides if I want to donate to ALS research I'll do it while I'm perfectly dry thank you.  But, as the boys' excitement grew I saw a chance for a teaching moment.  Before we risked pneumonia I asked the boys why we were doing this?  And then took the time to explain to them that we were raising funds for a terrible disease that science hasn't been able to find a cure or even treatment for.  I told them that we'd do the challenge, and then we'd decide how much they wanted to give to help fund research for the disease.  I actually saw a light come on in their heads when we talked about the devastating nature of ALS and how fortunate we are not to be touched by the disease yet.  Of course they had all kinds of questions as to how you catch it and stuff and it proved to be a great chance to help out a good cause and to remind me and my family how truly blessed we are.
So, my cynical side took a hit yesterday.  I still think the ice bucket challenge is a little hokey, but it is doing great things for ALS research and it helped me bond a little more with the family and remind them, and me, just how much God has blessed us.  So I suppose in the end it was a good thing...just don't tell my cynical side!  No, let's begin the Soda Guzzle challenge and help out a small church in SW Iowa!

Excuses, Excuses...

There are a lot of excuses for not attending church. Can you imagine a dyed- in-the-wool sports fan giving reasons for giving up sports. Can you imagine a sports fan saying, "I'm not going to watch any more football in the fall, no more baseball in the summer, an no more basketball in the winter. I'm not going to attend those games. Forget it! I've had it all. I quit! I will never again attend sports.
 
Here are my 11 reasons:
- Every time I went, they asked for money.
- The people I sat next to were not friendly so I'm not going back.
- The seats were too hard and not comfortable at all.
- The coach never came to my house and visited me.
- The referees make decisions that I can't agree with so 'm not going back.
- The game sometimes went into overtime and I got home late, and I can't stand that!
- The music there wasn't my style of music.
- Games are always scheduled when I am busy. I want to be somewhere else.
- I suspect that I was sitting next to some hypocrites because they came just to see their friends and just sat there and talked the whole time and didn't even participate in the game.
- I was taken to too many games by my parents when I was growing up, and I'm getting away from that. 
- It is so crowded, I didn't have any elbow room and I had to park way out: no room for parking close in. I'm not going back.


In an effort to cover all excuses, one pastor (not sure who or where) came up with this solution.

NO EXCUSE SUNDAY: DEDICATED TO MISSING CHURCH ATTENDEES!
To make it possible for everyone to attend church this Sunday, we are going to have a special “No Excuse Sunday”: Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.” There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our pews are too hard. Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night. We will have steel helmets for those who say, “The roof would cave in if I ever came to church.” Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot. Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present. Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can’t go to church and cook dinner, too. We will distribute “Stamp Out Stewardship” buttons for those that feel the church is always asking for money. One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature. Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday. The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them. We will provide hearing aids for those who can’t hear the preacher and cotton wool for those who think he’s too loud! Hope to see you there!


A couple of articles that I came across on the internet that I found thought provoking. I don't have much to add except a challenge I guess...what do you imagine God thinks about our excuses? Can we just casually be a fan all our lives and then when the day comes and we're face to face God will open his/her arms? What about judgment and justice? Does grace just cover it? And, all as long as you say you believe you're fine even though you never really made any sacrifices in your life in the effort to serve Jesus and God's kingdom? I have to tell you I'm starting to ask a lot of these questions and dwell on this...I don't have all the answers but I'm starting to think God requires more than good intentions. I'm not saying church attendance is the golden ticket, but corporate worship is an important way we connect with God, challenge ourselves, and learn about faith. Things that make you say hummmmm...