The First Real Snow!

I made the treacherous commute to my office this morning...with the aid of my snow blower of course. I have to admit that I like the snow. I've always thought if it is going to be cold and dreary out a nice blanket of snow makes things look better. On the other hand, last year was a bit extreme. So this can the the first and last real snow storm of the winter and we should all be fairly happy.

I almost spit my coffee out this morning as I was watching the morning news. The topic of course was the shooting in Arizona and they were going to begin the debate concerning if the current political climate had anything to do with the shooting. I guess they were looking at the possibility of a link between the vitriol that comes out of Washington, and political commentators, giving this person a motive. My first reaction was you've got to be kidding me! But as I sit here and let my wonderer wonder a little bit maybe it is a healthy debate to have.

Before I go any further I place the blame for the shooting squarely on the shooter. I am sure the causes are complex and many, but there is no excuse for what he did and he chose to pull the trigger. What I'm interested in looking at is the power of words. People are lazy...we don't want to take the time to read both sides of a story and come up with our own opinion. We'd much rather listen to someone who we believe reflects our view points and let them do the thinking for us. What ends up happening is we just hear one distorted side of the story and that colors the way we think, talk and probably even act a little bit. Why think for ourselves when we can have someone else tell us what to believe. Do I need to explain the danger in that? Not only does this happen in the political world but it happens at church too. People would much rather be told what they should believe then be asked to think for themselves.

I can be guilty of this too. It takes a little work and energy to think for myself, and it takes a little bit of stretching the brain to read the other side of an argument with an open mind. The real scary part is you might find yourself agreeing with the other side or at least parts of it. The real shame is I believe 80% of people are fairly opening minded. The trouble is the voices we hear, political or religious, are from the 20% on the extreme ends of the spectrum. These voices then presume to speak for the rest of us, and the commentary isn't helpful at all because it comes from an extreme point of view with no regard for the other side. I guess what I'm saying, besides venting a little, is that we need to be mindful of what we say and where our info is coming from. We need to take the time to think for ourselves and decide what we truly believe. And, maybe most importantly, we need to take into account what our words and beliefs will do to others. Our Savior did remind us that we are to be caretakers of the world...and that means everyone in it...even those we're convinced are wrong.

Happy New Year!

It is 4 days into the new year...how many resolutions have been broken already? I don't believe in resolutions. Mainly because I don't stick to them, and I don't like them because they contribute to a sense of failure when you don't live up to them. Most of us are too hard on ourselves already, and adding pressure to keep some promise made half-heartily after too much bubbly isn't helpful either!

On a serious note I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I was walking through a Target store on the journey home Sunday and they had already started putting up Valentine's Day decorations on some of the end caps! I guess consumerism doesn't slow down for anything. I was doing my best to reflect on Christmas this year and I'm amazed at how fast it is all over and we're back into the "normal" groove of life. It is almost as if Christmas is something to be endured, when in fact Christmas should be life changing shouldn't it. We are celebrating the birth of our savior after all. Disclaimer alert: I'm not railing against Santa Clause and gift giving, just some thoughts about keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year round.

This year our son Isaac really started to get into this whole Santa Claus thing. In fact he was mad at Santa because he didn't bring him the DSi that he wanted. I know, I know we're terrible parents for not giving him everything he wants. As Isaac was more and more into Santa I found myself wanting more and more to make sure he knew why Christmas even existed. We sang happy birthday to Jesus and had some cupcakes, which is a cute way to remind us of the event. But, more importantly we made sure to let him know, as much as a four year old can understand, how lucky he, we, all of us, are to be able to share gifts and family. By doing my best to stress this to Isaac I was reminded myself how lucky we are. As we were buying the gifts for the Christmas family the church adopted I was completely humbled and thankful for the blessings that abound.

My thought is that as the "normalcy" of life plods along we'll all do a better job of remembering the gifts and blessings that we have. My prayer is that we will remember we are all God's children, loved by God, and called by God to share that good news. If we can do that then the limits of what the Spirit will do in our lives is endless.

Merry Christmas!

Blogging will resume on December 27th...Enjoy the Christmas break and remember to pause and find Jesus in all of this hustle and bustle.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I am convinced that God has a sense of humor. How else can you go from 50 degrees one day to 0 degrees the next? Seriously, I went from jeans and a t-shirt to wondering if I would freeze solid just by stepping outside. You know God was having a good laugh at that. Why do we live here again?
As I'm sure most of you are aware Christmas is rapidly approaching. If you don't have your Christmas shopping done for me yet I can always accept cash and/or gift cards to restaurants! I don't skip many meals. Isaac asks me almost every day on our way to the bus if it is Christmas yet. He has one of those chocolate calendars that you open a window and pull the chocolate out that helps him count down the days. His excitement is contagious and I find myself anticipating the morning they see what Santa has brought them. Of course we can't put any presents under the tree until that night because Alex has figured out what you do with wrapped boxes and he'd be into them in a flash. Speaking of anticipation do we joyfully anticipate the celebration of the birth of our Savior?
There was an email going around about a song that talks about a little boy who is in a mall and asks his mom why all these people are standing in line. She explains to him they are waiting to see Santa. The little boy then asks where's the line to see Jesus? Good question. I know we hear from time to time to remember the reason for the season, and we may honestly try our best to keep the Christ in Christmas...whoa cliche alert....but it is hard and the noise and hustle and bustle of the season easily drown out any notion of religion. What would happen to Christmas if we waited as eagerly for Jesus as we do Santa?
Now I'm not a scrooge. I enjoy the presents and I have no problem with my kids believing in Santa, but I'm always a little conflicted this time of year. It seems that we want Jesus to be part of our lives, but we don't want to put the effort forth to make this happen. We either treat Jesus like a Gennie in a bottle granting our wishes, or we only listen to the comforting words of Jesus. It seems that when Jesus starts pointing out areas of our lives that are lagging, or we find we are challenged either with time, talent or money to give more we tend to let Jesus fall by the wayside. We tend to pick and choose. I know it doesn't work that way. I also know I've been guilty of this selective listening too. What I know is if you want Jesus alive in your heart then you need all of him. You need the comfort and the pain he sometimes brings. The pain in being shown where you fall short and then the comfort and strength to work out the rough spots. But, Jesus can't fully work in your life if you just pick and choose when you want him to be in your life. If you're wondering why you can't feel his presence as powerfully as you'd like, then examine your relationship with Jesus. Are you a picky consumer, or do you allow him into all aspects of your life?

Another post already!

Can anyone else believe it is almost Christmas?! I was having coffee today at the cafe and someone mentioned it's less than 3 weeks till Christmas. Didn't I just get done stuffing myself with turkey and mashed potatoes! Time moves along so fast one has to consciously slow down to take it all in.

Around our house that past couple of days it has been decorating time. Thankfully this year we've decided not to go all out on the exterior of the house. I convinced Tracy that it is too cold and I can't risk frostbite on my fingers or getting a serious case of pneumonia! How would I work? So we've decided to just put some pretty Christmas trees outside our window and put the indoor tree right in front of our big picture window. I'm sure we'll put some lights around the outside, but Tracy and Isaac have volunteered for that. The real show is in Isaac's room! He as lights hanging from the ceiling!

We finally broke down and bought a nice, pre-lit, fake Christmas tree this year. The real trees are nice, but man are they messy. Plus, with Alex touching everything I'm not sure there would be needles on the bottom 3 feet of the tree! I miss the fresh scent of pine, but the tree does look nice. Yesterday, Tracy and Isaac were busy putting the decorations on the tree. Every two minutes we'd remind Isaac to spread the decorations out, but non-the-less there is about a three foot square section of tree loaded with ornaments! I was laughing as Tracy was trying to get him to spread them out, and then I was a little saddened because in a blink of an eye I bet we are wishing we had this problem to deal with. Soon enough the boys will be "too old" to help decorate the tree or be moved out of the house. I have a strict policy that at 18 you can visit, but you no longer call mom and dad's house your permanent residence!

As Tracy and Isaac finished decorating, or more truthfully Tracy finished because Isaac watched a movie with me, I consciously took the afternoon's festivities in. We are very blessed to be able to decorate a nice warm home, and we are doubly blessed to have presents under the tree and our health. Time moves so fast, and we take so much for granted, that it is imperative that we remember how lucky we are. If you are so blessed, give your family a little extra hug this Christmas season. Find a way to reach out and bless someone less fortunate. This Christmas season, as we do every Christmas, our church has "adopted" a family. This year we need your help in getting the kids some presents and the family some much needed necessities. Will you please prayerfully consider helping them out?

I just realized that my last entry was about a month ago...I suppose if I'm going to advertise that I have a blog then I should at least update it. Life at Minden UCC has truly picked up. It seems like we are going from event to event these next couple of months. We had our VBS program and Ice Cream Social in August, in September we are providing the food for the Minden Heritage Days, in October we are hosting the Minden Park Renew Crew's Halloween blow out, and then in November we have our Annual church auction! Busy, busy, busy. I didn't even mention the beginning of Sunday school, the 3:16 youth group, and Stewardship month. The Spirit is alive and well here in SW Iowa!

It truly is great to have all of these activities going here. I know these activities require time and energy, but the alternative isn't too pretty. So far we have been blessed with people who have stepped up to help plan and run these events, and I pray we continue to be so blessed. As these events continue to happen I pray that our folks answer the call of the Spirit and find ways to help out. God wants to work through us, God wants to bless us, God wants the Spirit to flow through us and the church, but none of that is going to happen without the Body of Christ...and do you know who the hands and feet and eyes and ears and mouth of the Body are...? Thats right Rita...we are. Please, look around, pray, listen, and volunteer to help. Nothing is worse then having the energy from these events get wasted because the same people are doing the work over and over. If we all pitch in and help then the work is light and the rewards are awesome. No amount of time or energy is wasted, and no matter your age, education level, hair color, or shoe size you can help, because God can work through you.

You see the Spirit moving...do you have the courage and faith to answer the call and be the Body of Christ moving in the world? I hope so...the world needs more of the Spirit.

Vacation Bible School Week!!

Well, it is finally here...in about 6 hours the church is going to be filled with over 100 kids ready to go "Backstage With the Bible." I think everything is in place and all the leaders are ready. I say I think because my wife Tracy is the one who's in charge of this. She and a few other ladies have planned this week of VBS and I've done my best to stay out of it. Heck, the number of kids has grown each year so why mess up a good thing?
This year is especially exciting because two other churches from Neola have joined us. The energy they've brought, and more kids, has really given us a wonderful opportunity to have a great VBS program. I have also been very impressed with the support we've received from our congregation. The people have been wonderful in helping us by donating supplies and making the snacks. Our congregation has supplied the t-shirts and snacks for all the kids. I do not take for granted how lucky we are to have that great support both with donations and with helpers. Just the other day I was talking to someone who said they knew of a church where VBS was cancelled...not because there weren't enough kids, but because they couldn't get enough help. What a message to send to the kids...! We are blessed with the Spirit here at Minden UCC.
It will be an awesome week seeing all the kids run around and learn and have a good time. It will be a tiring week too, but it will be that good kind of tired where you know you've done something special. Please pray for the kids and the leaders this week.