Why I Don't Tell People How to Vote As a Pastor

Why I Don’t Tell People How to Vote

Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (Matt 22:21)

Different groups of Christians have different histories, many of them beautiful. Most scholars believe that Baptists began as part of the English Separatist movement. In reaction to the state churches of Europe, Baptists began from earliest times as a countercultural movement. One of the uniqueness of Baptists at that time was that they believed in the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ, and of faith being a personal choice. Many churches in Europe had their churches under control of their government. When Baptists started congregations that were not sanctioned by the governments, they experienced persecution from government powers. During this time the Baptist minister John Bunyan was thrown in prison, and wrote “Pilgrims Progress” from his jail cell.

When the opportunity came to come to the new world, Baptists came as well. Many colonies also started their own state churches, and persecuted Baptists for their unique beliefs as well. One of the people persecuted was Roger Williams. Williams, in response to this persecution, started the Rhode Island colony. The Rhode Island colony established a colony with a policy that would later be labeled “the separation of church and state”. This policy, first manifest in a government in Rhode Island, was central to Baptist belief from their inception.

One of the reasons it is wise to have a separation of church and state is so that the government will not interfere in the life of the church. We should all have the freedom to worship the way we want, and join the churches we want.

The other reason the separation of church and state is wise is that it helps churches be focused on the things that they should be focused on. Churches work best when we focus on proclaiming the good news of Christ, training disciples to love and serve Christ in their everyday lives, and serving their communities and world in the name of Jesus. They tend to become compromised when they focus on being politically powerful instead of spiritually influential. When we get our loyalties to political power and political policies enmeshed with our Christian faith, it becomes easy to mistake our loyalties to a political philosophy for fidelity to our faith.

Jesus knew this when people tried to trap him with a political question. They tried to set a trap by asking him if he would pay taxes to the Roman government, or be loyal to the political opposition to Roman rule and not pay taxes. He opted out of their false dichotomy by saying “give to Caesar what is Caesars, and to God’s what is God’s.” Jesus was not going to make himself a slave to any political party or group.

I think we should vote. I know that some of my most strongly held beliefs have political implications, and I will not surrender those beliefs just because they have political implications. Just because I believe in a keeping politics out of church does not mean that things that I teach and preach will not have political implications.

At the same time, as I watch the political process in our country, and different processes around the world, I see that worldly power is often gained by manipulating religious sentiment. Both Republicans and Democrats try to convince us that God is on their side. Both Democrats and Republicans then go on to have ungodly policies based on their covetousness for more money, power, and fame. Around the world, terrorists throw themselves into the World Trade Center for religious reasons, Rwandan tribal groups have killed each other believe they believed God was on their side, and Serbs and Croats set up extermination camps claiming to do God’s will.

I think whenever we mash together political activism and Christian discipleship we always have find problems will follow. And, it always true faith that ends up the loser when it is compromised with anything, especially political partisanship and political action. It is for that reason in our church we do not tell people what political party to vote for, or what candidates we endorse. Instead, we will attempt to faithfully proclaim the word of God, trusting it to enlighten our path.

Book Review of THE STRATEGICALLY SMALL CHURCH by Brandon J. O'Brien

Half of all churches run under 75 a week in attendance. The "small church" is the norm. Yet, over and over again, we see that the large mega-church is held up as THE standard of what the church is supposed to be. This leaves many small churches feeling inferior.

Brandon J. O'Brien tries to boost the self-esteem of the small church in THE STRATEGICALY SMALL CHURCH. O'Brien tries to teach that the small church has strategic advantages in reaching and ministering to people that a larger church does not have. THE STRATEGICALLY SMALL CHURCH tries to encourage the small church to celebrate and build on their strengths instead of focusing on their weaknesses.

Throughout the book, O'Brien identifies several key strengths that a small church has. A small church has more intimate knowlege of each of its members, and a more intimate access of the pastor to the church and vise versa. When someone is ill, everyone knows it. When a group of 30-100 people worship with each other every week, they know their strengths and their weaknesses, they can tell just by the way they are walking that something might be bothering them.

A smaller church can be more nimble and adaptable in its programming and its ministries. A quick change in plans is easier when you have 50 people than when you have 5000. If the community needs to move quickly to address a need, all that is needed is a few phone calls.

In a smaller church, authenticity is not simply easier, it is essential. Much of young adult and outreach ministry is focusing on "authenticity". In a small church, you are more valued for who you are than the image that you project. Sermons are valued as much for whether they come from your heart as they are for how you spin your words together.

A smaller church is able to do ministry in a more "life on life" manner. They are able to equip leaders through mentoring. A person with a passion for ministry is more easily equipped and enabled to do a ministry in a small church structure than in a large one. Intergenerational relationships and partnerships are more easily formed when everybody doesn't split up in the parking lot every Sunday to go to their separate programs.

O'Brien's encouragements are helpful. His observations are adept. He argues that churches, like people, should not compare themselves to everyone else. Instead, they should embrace their unique gifts and their unique opportunities in their context, and build the kingdom in concert with the unique gifts God gave them.

Much wisdom and help can be found for the member and pastor of the small church in THE STRATEGICALLY SMALL CHURCH. I would love to see my minister group read this, as well as my congregational leadership team.


This book was provided by Bethany House Publishers in return for an honest review.

Book Review for Hearts Awakening by Delia Parr

The year is 1840 and Ellie Kilmer is in a desperate situation. After years of caring for her parents, she has become a spinster that has to rely on unwelcoming relatives for support. She is long past the marrying age, and is not attractive. Her desire for love and family are beyond her reach, and her relatives obviously see her as an unwelcome duty.

Arrangements are made for Ellie to become a housekeeper for a widower and his young boys. The widower, named Jackson, is also desperate. After his embarrassing marriage he wants nothing to do with any woman, much less a homely spinster. But he does offer an unusual contract for Ellie that could help both their situations.

This story seemed like it would be predictable, and in some ways it is. However, there are many twists in the plot and the author does a great job in developing the main characters so that I wanted to keep reading. There are good life-lessons and it was enjoyable reading this book.

This review was written by guest blogger Patricia Walker

A complimentary copy of this novel was given by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review of this book.

Trending Thoughts, Fads, and Pet Peeves

Inspired by Eric Lundy's likes and dislikes, here are some of my personal fads and pet peeves in my life right now:

Fads

Baby swaddlers---They are like magic in putting babies to sleep
Mac and Cheese--I had burned out on this food for a decade, but it is making a comeback
Fantasy Football--My first year. I did not think my interest in football could be elevated. It has been.
Bright neon green--my new favorite color. Seahawks green. Karis green.
Fall--got to enjoy all three weeks of it we have here in Fowler
Reebok--I like the way the Reebok shirts i have fit and feel
Twitter--slowly figuring it out....still like facebook better
Abingdon Books Fiction--my fave publisher of Christian fiction so far
Sunday night football--Its the new Monday night football
Oregon Ducks/Lee Corso commerical--so funny
Baby Clothes shopping--who knew looking at onesies could be so fun?
Naps--taken two naps for over an hour in the last two days
Biscuits and Gravy--love it!
Jack's Big Music show & Backyardigans--the best of Nickjr. television
Mountain West Conference in football--the most underrated conference in college football
Pac 10 and Big 10 conference expansion--looking forward to going to Boulder for a Ducks game, and watching Nebraska play in the same conference as Michigan and Ohio State.

Pet Peeves
Huggies diapers--occasionally leaky with poor odor control
Ohio St. Buckeyes--always overrated in the most overrated conference in football
My Mountain Dew addiction--can't seem to shake it
baby button up sleeper pajamas--too many buttons to do and undo to check and clean diaper
sponanaeity--the longer I am a parent of an infant, the more I like structure and plans

Parenting Posts: Lessons from Further Along the Learning Curve

The last couple of weeks have caused me to think about certain things about parenting an infant. Most of these thoughts are unrelated:



Fantasy Island



Both Jennifer and I feel a little isolated where we live. We are so far from our family members in California, Texas, Oregon, and Michigan. Sometimes this is a blessing. Sometimes it is a curse. Fowler is also a well-established small town. Which means in some ways it is hard to "break-into", so we feel isolated in that way as well. However, we have found some supportive friends here, and our family has visited extensively since around Thanksgiving of last year.



One of the things I have learned as family come in from out of town and friends visit from both in-state and in-town is that most people come to visit to realize a fantasy of child care. At first this was hard for me to understand, because I have no fantasies about caring for an infant. However, I am noticing many people do. They come to our home to create or recreate a maternal fantasy island.



(If you are one of these people, don't feel bad. I am not mocking you or upset. I am just pleased with myself for making this observation and had to share.)



You may ask, "Clint, what are these maternal fantasies?"



There are all sorts of dreams women try to fulfill with the baby. For instance, one family member insisted in holding our child's mouth as close to her breast as possible, and pull her in so it looked like she was breast feeding the baby. Almost every woman has the hope that the baby will fall asleep in their arms and Karis and the visitor can take a nap together. Almost always, Karis obliges. Some people come with plans to take Karis for a walk. Others to change her. A few others choose to stand, throw her over their shoulder, and rock their bodies back and forth as they hold her. Some almost always put socks on our baby. Part of Jennifer's fantasy is to do as much to raise a barefoot, flower-girl like her as possible. Almost all women and some men who come to visit have been fantasizing for weeks or months on what their time with Bably Karis is going to be like, and they do everything they can to make their dreams come true.



Problem Solving.

I know I will sound to much like a guy with this, but one of the things that is most frustrating, but also most enjoyable about being the parent of an infant is the opportunity to problem solve.

For instance, our daughter has been ill off and on this week. At one point she was not sleeping. Then, I had an insight. Would I, if I was suffering with the flu, want to rock back and forth in a swing that was larger than I was? My answer was that I would not. I put her in her bouncer for 5 minutes and she was sawing logs. I enjoyed solving that problem. I felt pretty smart.

Opportunities come like this all the time. In many ways I am able to test out a few theories here and there about how Karis works. I test my theories about my baby, and then I learn more about her. I enjoy that.

Modesty and Child Care

As I have mentioned, Karis was ill this week. After that, our day care worker was ill. Thus, I spent three days with her at home alone for the whole day. Jennifer also had some early appointments on some of those days, which meant that I really could not shower before she left.

As a new parent, I have found that I can go many days without a shower while watching Karis. However, the lack of showing makes me a little stinky, and I feel like I am not being professional enough since I am also working at home.

My wife told me several times that I could take the baby into the bathroom while I shower. I felt uncomfortable about this for months. I don't want my child to see me naked. I don't really want anyone to see me naked. I try to cover myself infront of household pets for goodness sake, much less infants.

This week I desprately needed a shower. I took the baby into the bathroom, but I found a creative solution to my issues. There is a little chunk of space behind the shower that is generally empty. I placed her in this spot, facing the wall, so that she could not see me without my clothes off. She fussed a little bit, but I believe a little fussiness is better than our child being scarred with subconscious memories of her naked father standing over her.

Does anyone else feel need to be modest around their babies or pets?
Will anyone admit to their fantasy island visits with little babies?
Does anyone else enjoy the problem solving part of parenting?
Let me know, I would love to hear!

One Heart and One Mind

Scripture: Acts 4:31ff

In 1894 a famous French tightrope walker came to the border of the United States and Canada, to a place called Niagara Falls. A tightrope was set up over the falls between the United States side and the Canadian side of the falls. Blondin got up on his tightrope, and he walked from the Canadian side to the American side of the falls. The crowd began to shout, “Blondin! Blondin! Blondin!”

The tightrope walker shouted, “I am Blondin! Do you believe in me.”

The crowd began to shout from varied quarters of the large crowd, “We believe! We believe! We believe!”

Then Blondin asked, “Do you believe I can walk across this tightrope with someone on my shoulders?”

Again the crowd shouted, “We believe! We believe!”

After that Blondin said, “Who would like to be that individual?”

There was dead silence. Finally one man walked up and got on Blondin’s shoulders. They walked back across the tightrope to the Canadian side of the falls. To be fair, the man who stepped up was his business manager.

However, the point is really the same. A lot of people will shout that they believe from the middle of the crowd. Very people will take the step to exercise their belief if it appears like it might cost them anything.

When we left off with the early church last week they were praying. They had been warned by the powers that be that they should not preach about Jesus. Thus, the early church knew that if they were going to be faithful to what they believed they were going to encounter further persecution from religious authorities. They were praying for boldness to witness, and courage to carry out the tasks that God had set before them. As they prayed the room shook.

The Bible says that this experience of prayer led to the result of the church being bold in their witness. It also says that the believers were “filled with the Spirit”. It was this filling of the Spirit that allowed them to be bold in their witness. It was also this filling of the Spirit that allowed them to be the kind of church we read about in these later passages today.

The Bible says that the church was of one heart and one soul. This is something that Luke says more than once in the book of Acts about the church. It means something very significant. You see when we talk about heart what we usually are talking about is someone’s emotional health or investment. But in the Bible when someone talks about heart they are talking about their personal will. So when the Bible talks about the people being of “one heart and accord”, it is talking about people sharing a common goal, having a common desire, being committed to a common vision.

John Wesley put it this way, “Their hearts, their loves, their passions, were joined.”

The next thing that the Bible says is that the believers shared everything in common. Hmmm. Interesting. What does that mean?

The next verses how this “sharing things in common” worked out. The Bible says that nobody really lacked for anything. When there was a need for money, someone in the church that had land or something to sell would go and sell it. The Bible says that they would lay their gifts at the apostle’s feet. This is a way of saying that they would give the money to the leadership in the church, and those in leadership in the church would distribute the gifts as they saw fit.

Why would they do this? What was the point of sharing things in common, of selling one’s belongings and sharing it with the church? Is it the model of how we should live together today?

The answer to that question is….well….yes….but perhaps not in the way that you think. People shared everything in common because they believed in the mission that was before them. They were not like the spectators that rooted on Blondin, the ones that were more than willing to say what they believe, but were unwilling to act upon what they believe. These believers were passionate about the mission of sharing the good news with people, and loving people in Jesus name. And we know this because they didn’t just pray about the mission that God gave them, they didn’t just talk about caring for one another, they put that belief in action. And they did it by making sure everyone was taken care of, and nobody who was choosing to accept Christ was going broke because of it. The people of God loved God. They loved each other. They believed in their call to reach out to others. And they put their money where their mouth is. The Bible says as a result of their generous spirit the gospel message went out with “great power” and the “grace of God was upon all”.

Perhaps a way to explain what was happening in the church is is by looking at a smaller scale example from the business world. Federal Express is now a multi-national multi-billion dollar corporation. It was not always that way. At one time, Federal Express was a small, struggling company barely able to pay the bills. And people wondered if it was going to make it. But the people who worked for Fred Smith believed in what was happening. So, at times drivers filled up the delivery trucks with their own credit card on the way home, and sometimes people worked extra hours they didn’t get paid for. People gave to what they have a passion for. And the company grew and thrived, in part because these people who began Fed Ex agreed with the vision and the dream of what Fed Ex was about.

The fact that the early church cared for those that were poor among them was essential to who they were. The Bible says that people will know that we are Christians by the way that we love one another. In the Old Testament law, the Bible says that God’s will for his people was that there would be nobody that would be in need among them. Jesus said in his mission statement that he has come to bring good news to the poor and to set the captives free.

But when we look at this passage we see that the church’s generosity was a result of the church being of one heart and one mind. In other words, the church’s unity was built on their shared vision and their shared passion for loving the Lord with all their heart, loving their neighbor as themselves, and preaching the gospel to the whole world.

As a pastor, it is easy to tell when a church is in decline. As a person being who has been interviewed by several churches, one of the questions I often ask a search committee is what their passion is as a church. A church that is decline will often talk about the church’s ability to care for one another. Church fellowship and caring for one another is a noble thing, but is designed to be a byproduct of a healthy church, not a goal of it.

This is because unity in a church, and fellowship in a church is a byproduct of being a church that shares common goals and a common vision to make a difference in the world as a congregation.

Fellowship isn’t about everyone all getting along. It is about everyone being on the same side of the battle. In the struggle together. Standing together. Supporting each other as we move forward together. It is when we have that bond that we are eager to give, eager to share, eager to make sacrifices, because we are working toward a vision, a goal, a dream if you will that is bigger than any one of us.

Community life is never an end in itself. A vibrant community is a community in mission.

Look at the word fellowship. The word fellowship, at its root, is not about having yummy potlucks and cozy teas with one another. Fellowship is about being “fellows” if you will. It is about being partners in a world changing vision that we will give about anything to make happen.

When I was a youth pastor in Montana years ago, the church had a building project. In order to save money, many of the men in the church did a lot of finish work on the buildings in the evenings and on the weekends. They would crawl down into the basement and frame in rooms, hang sheet rock, install toilets and doors, and more. As they worked together for weeks, they began to bond with one another. They began to look after one another, and to care for each other in a way they had not before. They confronted each other about drinking too much. They helped one another through marital issues. All because they were building a bunch of classrooms that were going to reach children for Jesus. They shared a mission. They worked together. And as a result they began to sacrifice for one another, care for one another, support one another. Fellowship is a byproduct of shared vision and shared mission. Not a goal in and of itself.

The same is true at times during our Backyard Mission Project. What touched my heart this year was not as much the projects we did as how the work we did together seemed to bring people together in unique ways. It was hard to get people out of the church Saturday night, and not everyone visiting were people who usually talked with one another. The same thing happened on Sunday morning. As people served, there was a joy in working together. It was neat.

Another thing that was neat was that some resources that we received this year came from places that we did not expect. Some people, excited about the fact that people were caring for one another, and working hard to love their neighbors, made contributions to the Backyard Mission Project that were unsolicited.

When self-care or “in-reach” becomes the primary goal of a congregation, that is when that congregation begins to struggle. When our goal becomes all about making everybody happy and everybody feel good, when community becomes an end itself, community implodes. Everybody haggles for what they want to make them happy. The church becomes more about traditions than the true gospel. And it is not long before we are arguing about petty things, because we begin to think the church is about us, what we want, instead of what our mission is.

When a church finds meaningful vital ways of fulfilling its mission, the opposite happens. Everyone may not get what they want, but more and more you find the congregation being of one mind and one soul because they are living the vision that God has set before them. As we work together, we see and recognize needs and concerns among the brothers and sisters in Christ that we work with. Instead of focusing on what we can get from church, we focus on what we can give of ourselves to the cause.

In the coming months, we are going to have discussions about things that we are going to do in an attempt to better define and fulfill the vision God has given us. Some of them are going to be uncomfortable. It is vital that you speak your mind and share your concerns. It is also vital that we get outside of ourselves and what we want, or what we feel comfortable with. Instead ask if this will contribute to the mission that God has for this church to reach others in the name of Jesus. And if we agree that it will, then we need to give ourselves to that vision, and beg God for his blessing.

Like Blondin, Jesus is crying out, do you believe, do you believe I can do this? And many of us cry out, “We believe!” “We believe” “We believe”. The question is, will you have the courage to jump on his shoulders when he invites into his mission in the world. I hope you will. Amen.

Picture just outside of Fowler. Thought it was pretty

Parenting Posts: Lessons along the Journey in August

A number observations about the baby, and being a parent:

ABOUT ME

• I am slowly adjusting to "the new normal". For me, this means getting up earlier, and trying to schedule around the baby.


• I am learning that I need to be a better time manager with my "free time". I used to be able to work longer hours, but putter and allow distractions (both personal and from others). I am slowly going to have to learn to be more efficient with my work if I work from home.


• We have a three bedroom house. It is over 1500 square feet. So far, the dog, us, and the daughter all sleep in our bedroom. Whats up with that?
• Being an "older parent" means that we tend to analyze everything and have a lot more intention in our decision than our younger peers at times. Especially with a social worker and a behavioral science major in college pastor. This is a blessing at some times, and also a curse. For instance, if she is in her swing too much, will she feel neglected when she is older? If she watches tv too much, will she become a couch potato. How much should we get her out to get her socialized? How much of getting her out among people gets her overstimulated?
• I feel very weird having two gals in my last church that were in my youth group having their first baby at the same time we are. It makes me feel developmentally delayed somehow.
• I have to learn how to not take every unusual thing that Karis does as a reflection on my ability as a parent. At times if she is fussy, I feel like I am failing. If I don't have her on a good schedule for that day, I wonder if I am doing something wrong and get angry at myself. Some of my self-accusations might be true, but if I keep on this track I might lose my mind.

ABOUT KARIS

• I find myself longing for time alone and time to work on professional and personal projects. Yet, when I have that time, I tend to miss my girls. Strange how the grass is always greener....
• Karis is learning stuff. For instance, when I sing her her "burping song" she sits up into burping position. And when i change her diaper she tries to lift up her hind end for me to slip the new diaper underneath her. She is also figuring out how to trigger her bouncy chair electronics.
• She seems to, especially on days when she is at day care, want times to kind of be left to herself to have some timeout. I feel this is unusual for a baby this young, and frightneningly similar to her old man
• She is, at times, jealous for my attention. For instance, today I was talking to Annette Lundy, and was looking at her when I was talking to her. Karis yelled at me because I was not looking at her. So I had to look at the baby while talking with her babysitter. Also, when she is feeding, she gets frustrated if I am not looking at her.
• She seems, for the most part, to be happy and well adjusted.
• Karis is past the colicky stage, which is nice. But we notice teething behaviors, and think that may be coming next.
• Karis is learning that different places have different functions. Home is to eat and sleep and chill with family. Day care is to play with her girls, and she hardly ever does a lot of sleeping there. Church is to make new friends, and to have strangers hold her. It is also her place to scream, because Daddy's voice is amplified across the big room and she can't find him. The car is a place to be alone and sleep.

For A Time Such as This: Sermon for August 29

Read Esther 4

Last month I was reading through my books I have been given to review for a Christian website. One of the books I have been given to review was on Esther, and was a fictionalized story of her life. A lot of things intrigued me about the book as I read. One of the things that drew me in the most was some of the introductory historical materials talking about the legacy of Queen Esther into the mid 20th century.
Listen to this:
In September 1939, Hitler launches an unprecedented attack in Poland and begins his reign of terror. His first public proclamation closes all synagogues, effective the first day of the festival of Purim. Purim is the holiday that celebrates the heroism of one woman, Esther, and her triumph against the evil of Jewish genocide. Hitler was crafting a horrific annihilation for his Jewish captives, and Purim would give them the shining hope that the courage of even one woman might still be enough to stop him.
Hitler’s men raced against time to destroy the synagogues and wipe the festival of Purim from the mind of every Jew. (Purim is around February so they had 6 months) “Unless Germany is victorious,” Hitler shrieked to his men, “Jews could then celebrate a second triumphant Purim festival!” Hitler may have hated the entire race, but he feared one woman. Even her dusty memory could threaten his bloody regime. Who was this woman who gave a madman pause? Could she even now call out to her people across the centuries?”
So the story of Esther is pretty important. And the story of Esther is something that many of us remember vaguely, but don’t remember well. So I thought we would take a break from the book of Acts for this Sunday and look at the life of young Esther and her Uncle Mordecai.
Actually Esther’s given name was Hadassah. She, her uncle and their family were drug from Jerusalem to Susa, which is in modern Day Iran, on the border of Iraq after the nation of Israel. Somewhat like the trail of tears for the Eastern Band of the Cheyenne tribe, they were drug on a treacherous journey to one of the three capitals of the Assyrian empire. It appears that Hadassah’s immediate family had died while in exile, because Mordecai had taken his cousin under his care.
It is interesting to note here that Mordecai and his family were among those who taken to Israel with the political elite and craftsman of Israel. Mordecai was most likely a political operator while he was in Israel. He knew how political power worked, and he knew how his people thought.
Hadassah at some point changed her name to Esther. Or at least that is what she was known by. Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego also changed their names as they came to prominence in the country of their exile. It was something people did to make it easier to do business, make friends, and be successful in a strange land.
Esther changing her name from Esther from Hadassah was like what happens with phone operators I encounter when I need a little customer service with my credit card, my Amazon book shipment, or with some problem on my computer. I call for some help. The guy says his name is Jim. The guy has a deep East Indian accent. Sometimes I let it go. But sometimes I have to ask the guy what Jim is short for. He says his given name is Radheyshyam. I then say, “Well, Jim, here is my problem…” and we go from there. His given name is hard for me to pronounce and remember. So in order for him to do business and have people remember his name and make a buck, he goes by “Jim” with some people. Hadassah changing her name to Esther was like that.
So King Xerxes decided to party with a number of his friends. At some point he asked his wife to come out and entertain his men, dressed in a less than modest manner. The Queen Vashti refuses because she believes it would be undignified to appear before the king in such a way. The king gets angry. He asks his advisors what to do. They tell him to strip her of her crown, and put her away from him never to be seen or heard of by him again. After all, they argue, if the king can’t keep his wife under control, all of our wives are going to make our lives miserable. So Vashti is deposed.
After a while, the King decides he wants another queen. So he puts together a beauty contest….kind of.

For a Time Such as this Part 2

You see this beauty contest is not like a Miss USA pageant. You know, when people try to become Miss America they start out as Miss Fowler. Then they go to the Miss Colorado competition, and then to the national competition. We watch the candidates for miss USA go through an evening gown competition, a swimsuit competition, and an interview. And usually in the interview they say something about wanting world peace. And we give them a tiara and they live in a condo in New York for a year.
This beauty contest with Esther meant that you were conscripted into the king’s harem. Then, as one of his wives, you were given all sorts of treatments and training to prepare you to meet the king. This preparation consisted of getting one’s grooming just right, skin treatments, makeup makeovers, and instructions on what to do seduce the king. Esther had one night with the king when he summoned her, and if she made a really good impression on him, she would become queen. Otherwise, she would be in the harem with the concubines for the rest of her life.
Soon it came for Esther’s night with the King. It turned out that Esther won King Xerxes over. Xerxes decided to make Esther his queen. She won the “beauty contest”. Now she was one of the two or three most powerful women in the world. Not bad for an orphaned girl adopted by her cousin exiled in a strange land!
Soon after Mordecai heard of a coup that was being plotted by some of the elite soldiers that were protecting the king. Mordecai let Esther know what was going on. Esther passed the news on to the king, who foiled the plot on his life just in time.
A little while later Esther’s cousin Mordecai is spotted by one of king’s advisors named Haman. Haman became very irritated that Mordecai would not bow down to him. He found out this was because Mordecai was a Jew. So he made this law where for one day, everyone was to kill every Jew in their village, take their goods, and eliminate the Jews from the earth in said fashion.
This decree was sent throughout the country.
Mordecai is fearful that his people will be wiped out in a mass genocide. He knows he only has one option. Queen Esther must be persuaded to get King Xerxes to put an end to the day of extermination of the Jewish people. So he goes to Queen Esther. And he asks her to persuade the king to stop Haman.
Esther knows that approaching the king uninvited could mean her exile, or even her death. She sends Mordecai back to ask the Hebrew people to fast and to pray. She says that they will pray for a while, and then at an appointed time she will approach the king, and see what she can do. “If I die, I die”, she says.
Mordecai tells Esther these unforgettable words, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Well, Esther approaches the king, and begins to carry out an elaborate plan to rescue her people. She invites the king and the man named Haman, who meant to kill all the Jews, to a meal. The king joyfully says yes.
It so happens, by God’s timing, that the king was having the records of his reign read to him because he couldn’t sleep. After all, can you imagine a better sleep aid that minutia in minutes from government bureaucrats. In the middle of this reading he hears how Mordecai had saved his life previously. The king asks if he was recognized and thanked. He had not been. The king then singled him out for special recognition in front of the whole town, with Haman, the man who was to kill Mordecai, as his servant.
Esther meanwhile had dinner with this evil Haman and her husband and king. They have a good time. She invites them for a second meal. During the second meal she skillfully reveals that Haman wants to have her, Mordecai, and all of the Jews killed, and she reveals Haman’s plan to do just this.
King Xerxes has Haman executed and gives his job to Mordecai. Esther releases another decree that saves her people. Through one woman, a whole nation of Jews is saved from a mass genocide.
Because she believed that God had put her in that place, and that time, for a moment such as this. And nearly 3000 years later, the memory of her courage and her skill, and what God can do through her, had Hitler feverishly and vainly working to erase her memory and the celebration of her memory from the Hebrew people.

For a time such as this....Sermon p 3

8What makes the celebration of Purim so important? What makes the memory of Esther so powerful? What does this old story have to do with what is happening in the world today? And what does the celebration have to do with us today and how we live our lives from day to day.

First of all, I think it reminds us that God puts us in specific places at specific times for specific reasons. When we remember what happened with Esther, we remember that none of life is an accident.
God ordained Mordecai as Esther’s foster parent and adoptive parent. He raised this girl that was not his own. And he raised her in such a way that she was able to do the right thing at the right time to save a nation.
God put Esther in this very difficult situation she was in as a member of a royal harem so that he could make her Queen, and then work to save the Jews through this very unlikely woman who went from a prisoner of war and a foreigner to a queen and a conqueror.
And God puts you in your schools, among your friends, at your job, and in your clubs in order to do something only you can do for his glory in each of those situations. God calls you to be courageous in sharing the good news of what Jesus has done for you with your friends, even though it takes tremendous courage. God calls you to make the stand for him that only you can. To do the good for him that only you are blessed and gifted to do. Because God put you in the place you are in, with the friends and family you have, for a time such as this. Seize the moments you have.
But don’t miss, in the process of claiming your place in God’s plan, to remember that what God is doing is bigger than you. Purim in Judaism is a time for community. And the story we read from Hitler was about the fear of a community. A fear of what God is doing with and through his people.
God is always at work saving his people. He was when he was saving the Jews in the time of Esther. He is now in his church.
The church is always one generation from extinction. And it is always full of a ragtag bunch of sinners, who are made into God’s saints simply because he wills to save us. We are always on the cusp of barely surviving, and yet always being led forward by God’s grace into new times of hope and refreshing.
The festival of Purim celebrates the survival of God’s people by God’s grace. The world may try to buy out authentic Christianity with commercialism and materialism. God’s people resist. The enemies of God may try to persecute Christians into non-existence, and the church, whether in 20th century China or the first century Roman Empire survives and grows. The world’s power cannot defeat God’s people.
So, look around, and know that you were chosen by God to be a part of this church body. We may be older than some churches, and smaller than some churches, but we are who we are and we have been brought here by God’s grace to do the part of God’s work that God has set before us. You have a role to play here. You have gifts to offer to this body. You may try and run from that truth, you may avoid that truth, but that doesn’t keep it from being the church. There are several of you that this church needs to have the courage to step up, to commit to this church, and to serve this church in the name of Jesus. God brought you here because he wants you here, and he has a way he wants to use you to build up this church and the kingdom of God throughout the world. So look around.
And look around again. And realize that despite the fact that some of us rub you the wrong way, and others of us you don’t even really know yet, we have been brought together as God’s people here. This church is God’s gift. We are God’s gift to one another. We have been brought together as God’s imperfect people so that we can teach each other how amazing God’s grace is. Because even though we are an imperfect family, we are God’s family nonetheless. We may even argue, but as Kenny Fair says, this too is a gift, “Because every church is a family, and every family has a few arguments, but half the fun in being in a family is that after the arguing is the making up part. So it is all a good thing.”
This church has been given as God’s gift to you, and you need to accept it and celebrate it. Because God has brought each of us here, this day. And each Sunday is a reminder that God continues to call out to people and save them, and create a people to bear his name. Even here in this humble place called Fowler, in this modest church that bears the name First Baptist Church of Fowler.
Amen.

Parenting Posts #3--The VBS Weeks

Quick hits about the week that was

• This week brought VBS, and also the departure of my mother


• Karis was very upset about Mimi (grandma) leaving on Tuesday afternoon for most of Tuesday night. She has slowly adjusted well.


• Karis has been at 10th Street tots in the morning while I do VBS. This is more difficult than doing day care in the afternoon for me. I had her sleeping during most of my work time in the morning, and then took her to day care before. Now she sleeps very little and for shorter times after she comes home from day care, which makes it harder to get work done.


• We have been slowly extending her bed time. Last night she slept from 11:30 to 6:30 without waking up. That is better than I did!


• Much to both my disappointment and my relief when I am stressed with Karis, she has taken to sitting in her bouncer and watching tv for 30-60 minutes.


• So far, other than a Baby Einstein video, Karis' favorite television show is Around the Horn on ESPN. Perhaps there is a reason why some people refer to her as "mini-me" (referring to me)


• I am finding poopy diapers bother me less, as does changing diapers as a whole. Having said that, it does not delight me like it does my mother. And, I believe I will be in for a rude awakening when she starts eating baby food and solid food.

That is it from the parenting front.

First Funeral Eulogy (for Eva Lundy)

Proverbs 31:10-31
10 [c] A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Eulogy

I imagine that if Eva could speak to us today after seeing us cry, hearing our kind words, and choosing songs that we think she would like she would be very moved and thankful. She would flash that smile that meant so much to so many of us. Her face might even get a little red out of embarrassment that anyone would say so many nice things about her.

I also imagine the first words that would come out of her mouth would be something like, “Good night, I don’t know why everyone is making a fuss over little old me.”

I got to know Eva late in her life. She had just hurt her leg a little bit. She was not able to walk like she used to be able to. I think this at times, at least with me, led her to be a little reflective. When I visited with her, I got the impression that she saw her life as good, and yet at the same time fairly common and ordinary. This was something she was very happy with. But I believe Eva was far from ordinary. Eva, was in fact, a woman of extraordinary character and class, who expressed her faith in simple ways as she went about her everyday life. And that kind of simple, honest, real, authentic faith is very unique, and becomes less and less common every day.

Eva would say that she would not want us making a fuss over “little old me”, but there was very little that was little about Eva. She stood tall in stature. Her grandson Eric said that even as he grew taller than his grandmother, he still felt like he was always looking up at her. I think many of you felt the same way.

But there was nothing small or little about the way Eva lived her life. Each of you can testify to this. There is nothing small about living a righteous life. There is nothing small about living a life of character. There is nothing small about loving your neighbor. There is nothing small about being a good mother, a doting grandmother, a beloved auntie, or a faithful friend. There is nothing small about living a life of faithfulness to the Lord and to her church, Fowler First Baptist Church.

I have thought and prayed since Wednesday about what Scripture I would like to share to describe Eva. I wanted to find one that would speak to the kind person she was, and the kind of character she had. I thought and I thought. Then, as I was driving home from the family dinner out at Anna Jean’s last night, I felt led to share this passage from Proverbs 31. In many ways, Eva was a Proverbs 31 kind of woman. She was a woman of character

Eva and the woman in Proverbs 31 were both hard workers. Eva did not like to be idle. And as she got older it drove her crazy that she could not get out and do half of the things that she could do most of her life. Even as Eva’s mind was deteriorating, she would often talk about how she was doing chores and getting the wash done before noon. To stay active, there were many years that Eva would walk around town collecting pop cans. Sometimes people thought she did this because she was destitute. She wasn’t. She simply wanted to keep active. And do her part in helping keep Fowler a wonderful place to live. And the collected money from doing this helped her to give a generous gift to each of her grandchildren at graduation. She held jobs around town. She also held offices at the church, spending many years as treasurer of First Baptist, and many other years as a Sunday School teacher to the children of Fowler.

Eva was a caretaker. She looked out for folks. She delighted in her children and grandchildren. She adored her brothers and sisters as well. She made sure her family was taken care of with well-cooked meals including noodles made from scratch. She was also the kind that would take people under her wing who would benefit from and appreciate her attention and/or mentoring. She would not hesitate to set an extra place at the table for a family friend. She would seek to include people in her social circle who she felt needed a place to be and to belong. She enjoyed cleaning house for Doris Coberly as her health deteriorated, and trained her granddaughter Clair to take over the job as she grew older. Even in the last couple of years, Eva had this arrangement where she would read the paper, and then get the paper to Doris so that Doris could read the paper and not have to have a separate subscription.

Eva loved people. And she loved many of you. Eva showed often showed her family and friends she loved them through acts of service. She taught family and friends how to make pies from scratch. She would have grandkids over to spend the night, and get up early to make them a big, full breakfast that they would eagerly devour once they awakened. Many of you will attest to something that she did for you to let you know that she cared for you and was thinking of you. As humble as Eva was, she probably kept no mental account of the kindness she showed you, and it was you that still remember her good deeds even now.

Like the woman of Proverbs 31, her character extended into her relationship with Jesus. No dust settled on a book of crossword puzzles or a crossword dictionary in Eva Lundy’s home, and no dust settled on her Bible. If you look at Eva’s Bible, you could tell it was not a decoration, but rather a tool for living. The spines of her Bibles were cracked, and then put back together with packaging tape. The verses inside of Eva’s Bible were highlighted. Notes litter the sides of her old Bible, with summaries of what the passage of Scripture was saying. And those were just the Bibles she had in recent years. Because the Bible she treasured the most the dog tore off the end table and ate most of it. A sad story and a funny story, but a telling one. Her Bible was usually at her end table in the living room, and she read it daily.

Eva was also a woman of prayer. Even when her mind was not working as she would like it, her heart had been trained to pray. I remember visiting Roger and her in the hospital. I wanted to pray a simple prayer as I left her. She took it as an invitation to lead me and Roger in prayer. She couldn’t necessarily keep a train of thought for long at that point. So she kept praying a similar prayer with minor variations. That prayer was thank you. Thank you God for our family. Thank you God for my church. Thank you God for all that you made. Thank you God for Jesus. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

A couple of weeks later she was home, and being moved into the nursing home. She would fade from being awake to being asleep. I came to check in on her, and on the Lundy family. And as she would sit there, with Richard and Roger making arrangements around her, and she would sing a song of praise. Over and over again she would say “Alleluiah, Allleluiah, God is so good. Allelujah.”

Eva was such a woman of prayer that when her mind could not put many words together, she had trained her heart to sing. You could see the same thing when she was in chapel at the Fowler Health Care Center, and a song would click. And she would start singing along from heart. She might not be able to remember who I was, but when I would leave and I would pray the Lord’s Prayer with her, she still knew it from memory.

Finally, I think Eva would want me to say this. You don’t need to be sad for her. You may be sad because you miss her, but don’t be sad for her. She is with Jesus now. She is standing on the other side of eternity, and she is filled with joy. When Roger showed me where she left off in her daily Bible reading, it appeared that the last chapter that she read was Romans 6:23. It says this, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” Eva would want me to say today, from the other side of eternity, that her choosing to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior made all the difference in her life. And if you will accept him it will make all the difference in your life to.

Today, as we remember Eva, like the people around the woman in Proverbs 31, we rise up and call her blessed. We rise up and call her blessed because we have been blessed by her, and each of us has been enriched by knowing her. We call her blessed because she was a woman of character. We call her blessed because she was a woman who loved God, and faithfully lived her life following and trusting Jesus.

This world is going to miss Eva Lundy. This community is going to miss Eva Lundy. And I know I will too.

Sermon for 7-25: What to do when you don't know what to do

12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk[b] from the city. 13When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15In those days Peter stood up among the believers[c] (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17he was one of our number and shared in this ministry."
18(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20"For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, " 'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,'[d] and, " 'May another take his place of leadership.'[e] 21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."
23So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." 26Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.






WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
By the time we get to the second part of the first chapter of Acts, we see the disciples in a holding pattern. Jesus has just ascended to heaven and has told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. Then he says they will go out into places near and far and be witnesses of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done with the whole world.

They were told, I repeat, the Holy Spirit WILL come upon you.

Until that happened, until the Holy Spirit came upon them what should they do? What are they supposed to do?

Ever been in a situation like that? When you are kind of in between things? Have you ever been in that kind of situation where one opportunity has passed, and another door has not quite been open to you yet?

Or maybe you are not eagerly hoping for something specific in the future. Perhaps you are just living, and you have retired, and you don’t know what is coming next. You feel like your life is behind you, and you are not sure how to get out of the stuck place that you are at in your life.
I know I have felt like this at times. I wanted to be married. I at least wanted some sort of relationship heading in that direction. I would date a little bit. I would talk to some gals. Then there would be times where I would not find someone I wanted to date at all. Even when the odds were on my side as far as single women went, a phrase that women use about the higher proportion of men to women in Alaska came to mind. The odds were good, but the goods were odd.

Also, I felt led to be a leader of a church while I was serving as an Associate Pastor in Colorado Springs for a couple of years before God opened the door to come here to Fowler. It took time for God to open the right door to where he was calling me to go.

The disciples are in this place between where Jesus has ascended to heaven, and where the Holy Spirit comes to indwell believers on the day of Pentecost and thereafter. As they wait they teach us how live in those waiting, hoping, trying to figure out what is next times. They teach us what to do when we don’t quite know what to do.

There are a few helpful hints to notice as we go. You should see them on your outline as we go along. You can fill that out, or just listen as we go.
Those points are these.
Point 1: They gathered together
Point 2: They prayed together
Point 3: They let the word of God speak to them
Point 4: They obeyed what God said

Let us look at each of these points individually.

Point 1: They gathered together

Perhaps no spiritual practice is so overlooked and disparaged as the importance of believers gathering together. Of course, I know I am preaching to the choir right now, because each of you is here this morning. You have gathered together. But even when we are together, we may take this blessing for granted.
We need each other. We need each other for our own well being, but we also need each other to live out our faith in Jesus Christ in a meaningful and powerful manner.
There are several reasons why gathering together is important, especially in those times when we are seeking and searching for the answer to that “what to do question”
· We find wise council from and with others (Proverbs 15:22)
· We find people with different gifts and perspectives to offer (Rom 12)
· We find accountability (Matt. 18: 15-17)
· We find greater power in prayer (Matt. 18: 19-20)

So often our world drives us so hard toward independence. Scripture leads us toward interdependence on one another. We are made to need one another. We are made to lean on one another.

If you feel stuck in wondering what to do, come here. Share your heart with the people here. Allow their listening words and kind actions to lift you up, to offer you hope. Let us pray with you. Cry with you. Sing with you. Hope with you.

Point 2: They prayed together

If you notice nothing else in the book of Acts, I want you to notice how the early church prayed. How the apostles prayed. How when they were joyful, they thanked God in prayer together. How when they were scared, they gathered together in prayer to pray through their fear. You need to notice that when they early church faced a big decision, they bathed it in prayer. And, when they were suffering, they brought their confusion and heartache to the Lord in prayer. We tend to think we need to go to prayer when everything is out of our hands, and we have no control. Instead, we need to be in the habit of taking everything to God in prayer. Nothing is to trivial. Nothing that is important to you is unimportant to your heavenly father.

I want you to notice that the Scripture said they prayed TOGETHER. This is hard for some of us. We go to the Sermon on the Mount and we read that we need to go to our closet to pray. And we understand that means to pray in private.

When we are told to go to our closet to pray, we are told not to make prayer a show. Not to do prayer as a performance art so that other folks are impressed.

Scripture calls us both to pray in our closet, and to gather together for prayer.

We need to pray for each other. We also need to pray with one another.

Scripture says that there is power when we gather together in prayer. Scripture promises the presence of Christ in our midst when we gather together to pray.

Prayer is especially important when we are seeking to figure out what to do when we do not know what to do. We need to gather friends around us to pray for us. We need to enlist our church to pray with us and for us in times of stress, in times of grave concern, but also in those times when we need to have God lead us in what we should do with our next day, our next week, and the rest of our lives.

It would be so exciting even if after this service you found two other people to gather together with you and pray for you once a week. Pray for each other. Support each other. We are not only called to gather together, we are called to pray together.


Point 3: They let the word of God speak to them

The Bible is an amazing book. It is God’s word. It is without flaw. You would do well to know it. You would do well to study it. It would even be better if you understood what you studied. The Bible is written, though, so that you will let it speak to your life and situations you live in.
The story goes that there was a nobleman that was taken prisoner. He asked for a Bible as his only possession. He read it and he read it. This impressed people who checked in on him and watched him. Then he died, and then went into his dungeon cell. And they looked around and there were notes on the wall. Tallies on how many names were in the Bible. All sorts of other trivia. Really meaningless trivia about the Bible. It became apparent to his jailers that he learned the facts about the Bible, but he had little interest in what it meant or how it could make its way into his heart.

My friends, I want you to read the Bible. I want you to be faithful in doing it. But I don’t just want you to know facts and figures about the history of Scripture. I want you to allow the truths of Scripture, the stories in the word of God, the proverbs and the prayers, I want you to let all of that speak into your life. I want you to not just know the Bible, I want you to let the Bible guide and direct your life. I pray that the Bible will guide and direct your decisions.

I pray that as you read Scripture you will be challenged about how you raise your kids, treat your spouse, how you speak to your neighbor, and how you talk about people around your friends. I pray that the Word of God will speak into how you live and relate in relationship with others.

I pray you will allow the Word of God to speak to how you make your decisions, how you spend your time, and how you spend your money. I pray you would allow the Word of God to influence what you listen to, what you watch, how you drive your car, what you speak about, and what you think about.

The early church allowed the Word of God to speak to their specific situation. They found Scriptures after they prayed that spoke to a specific situation. In their case, it was what to do with their small little community after one person had betrayed their cause and killed himself. They found Scriptures about the Messiah which seemed to say that they needed to appoint another apostle, so that is what they went about doing. They sought God through his Word, and they allowed Scripture to speak to their lives where they were at.

Point 4: They obeyed what God said

We can pray and pray and pray and pray for God’s guidance.

We can study God’s Word for hours on end asking him to speak to us.

We can gather with other believers every time the church is open.

We can do all these things. However, if we are not willing and ready to obey God and his leading, we will end up feeling stuck, lost, alone, and awash in a sense of depression and hopelessness.
God speaks to us so that we can obey what he asks us to do.

The disciples felt like God was leading them to put someone in Judas’ position after his death. They found suitable candidates. They cast lots. They installed the person as apostle that they felt led toward.

God may lead us to do things that are uncomfortable. He may simply ask us to be still and know that he is God. God may not want to change our actions as much as our attitude. We need to obey.

If God says we need to forgive someone, we better do it.

If we feel led to have a more positive attitude and a more thankful heart after we pray, we better obey that leading.

If God speaks to you, you better obey. You better not harden your heart.

The disciples gathered together. They prayed together. They sought God in his Word. They obeyed what they had been led by God to do. They did this, and they conquered an empire with the power of their faith without ever lifting a sword.

What will you let God do in your heart, in your church, in your life. There is no limit in what God can do through us if we have the heart that they had back then. May the Lord find us faithful.

Parenting Posts #2

Some further reflections on parenting in the second month of Karis' life

• I have the opportunity of spending most mornings at home with Karis working on stuff that I can do at home. I start at 7 and drop her off at 12:30. It allows me to get the same amount done as I get done from 9-Noon generally on any other day before she was born.


• Slowly I am being able to discern between her cries. The feed me cry is most recongnizable. Followed by the "you dont quite have it, you need to move me a little bit" cry.


• She is becoming more social. A month ago when she started to make noise, we started to make a plan to soothe her. Now, she likes to thrust her arm toward you and get verbal like she is talking with you. Of course, she does not have any words yet. A month ago kicking and flailing was always a cause for concern. This month, at times, it is simply exercise.


• I am becoming more attached to her as time goes by. I am ok with dropping her off at day care for 4 hours of so. When I have had to drop her off for a full-day I have to leave quickly because I get close to tears.


• Another time I was close to tears: I went to daycare to bring by someone who wanted to meet the baby. She tried to hold and capture the baby's attention. But, Karis heard my voice. She started looking over in my direction and reaching out her hand. She loves her daddy and misses him! This makes me happy.


• I have learned that my child's anxiety is directly related to mine, especially when I hold her. If I get upset because she is a little fussy, she gets more upset. If I take a deep breathe and model poise and peace to her, it helps her to do the same. Having said that, I have not perfected this at all.


• When I preach, my daughter hears my voice amplified, but cannot find out where I am. She looks around, she gets confused, then she cries out. This is hard to deal with, but it also makes me feel good.


• Unlike every other kid I have seen, unless Karis ends up moving with her cart or the or in the car she HATES her car seat. She is ok when she is in and out of it when we take a break from travelling. But it really does not work to put her in the car seat otherwise.


• I find that part of what frustrates or encourages me as a parent is when I feel competent or incompetent as a parent. If I am able to soothe Karis or make her smile, or get a difficult burp out of her, I feel good as a father and a parent. If I fail in care of her somehow I feel like I shoulld have never been a father. In this case, parenting can be an emotional rollercoaster.

Thats about it...

Whatever this means,,,,

I write like
H. P. Lovecraft

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

The mixed blessing of television

I was born in 1973. I am a member of the "Baby Buster" generation or "Generation X". This means I have never lived in a world where there was not color television.

I like my television. I especially like watching television from August to February. This is because I love watching college and professional football. I am an avid Seahawks fan, and an even more passionate Oregon Ducks fan. Sometimes it makes me sad I live in an area where I don't get to see my teams often enough on television.

My wife likes reality tv. We watch shows like HGTV's House Hunters together. She watches the Bachelorette while I find something else to do.

Lately I have been pondering how the invention of the television has influenced my life and my world. Specifically, I am wondering how our television-centered culture effects our ability to be hospitable to one another, pay attention to one another, and love one another.

For instance, I have been thinking about how our home is organized. Currently, all our seating faces the television in both our den and our living room in the parsonage. I wonder if that was the case when the house was built over a hundred of years ago. I imagine that the seating faced others so that people in the home could look at each other, visit each other, and welcome others into their home. If this is the case, we have changed in the last 100 years from having homes being centered around relationships, to being centered around entertaining ourselves.

In many homes, the television has taken over meal time. Fewer and fewer families eat with one another and visit at the table. Instead, we often eat in the living room where we can see what is on the television at the same time.

When our small children are needing something to occupy their time and we want to do other things, it is not uncommon to place our children in front of a television with a video or children's programming. This is not always bad. Sesame Street taught me to read at a young age. However, I wonder if we use the television a little too often to soothe our kids when they would be better off with more time and attention from people that love them.

Recently, honest, civil discussions about matters of national importance, including political matters, has become more jaded. I think this is because the news shows on tv often manipulates us with sound bites and video clips designed to insight fear and distrust. I wonder if the world looked different when people had the patience to talk through difficult issues, and the commitment to read more instead of flipping on the television and quoting their favorite newsman or newswoman.

So what does all of this have to do with the Christian faith? I don't think this power of television in our lives means this pastor is ever going to recommend that all tvs should be thrown out of the home. It does that we might be wise to wake up and take control of the influences we let into the house instead of letting them control us. It might mean we choose to be aware of the television's influence in our home, and put some limits on when we watch it and for how long. If we are concerned about the overwhelming influence of television in our lives, we may want to choose certain times of the week where we intentionally turn our televisions off so that we can visit with our families, make that phone call we need to make, write that note we have been putting off, read a book or take some time for Bible study and prayer even.

Anyway...something to ponder as you go through your day!

A Poem

It is when

I feel

the loss

of your presence

that I

know

what you mean

to me

It is when

I feel

your absence

that your presence

lingers

and surrounds me

like a pleasant aroma

It is when

I am hungry

for your touch

that I know

how much

your love

fills

and fulfills

It is when

I cannot

see you

that I see you

and when I cannot

hear your voice

that your words

ring in my ear

Your love

is near me

when you are present

and surrounds me

when I am not near

so that I will know

the strength of our love

always

Book Review of THE JOURNEY HOME by Michael Baron

THE JOURNEY HOME
By Michael Baron
ISBN-13 978-0-9819568-6-2
The Story Plant
Reviewer Clint Walker

As THE JOURNEY HOME begins, Warren’s life sounds like a bad country song. His wife has left him. He lost his job. On top of all this, Warren’s mother Antoinette is in an assisted living facility and dying of Alzheimer’s disease.

At the same time, a man named Joseph awakens in a strange place. He does not know where he is or where he is from. Joseph runs into a young man named Billy who offers him the opportunity to get out on the open road and rediscover his memory and his old life.

The book alternates between the stories of Antoinette, Warren, and Joseph. Throughout the novel, each character looks to the past to help them find their way in the present. It is an extremely well-written book that tugs at one’s heart strings.

One of the unique things about the story was the interrelationship between food, memory, and home. Walter spends most of the novel recreating his mother’s old recipes in her apartment as a way of reaching her and connecting to her memory. Each significant movement in the novel is accompanied by a meal. And the whole novel centers around both Joseph and Antoinette’s struggles with remembering.

This book has been marketed as a Christian novel in some circles Even though this book is an excellent read, I believe it will be a disappointment to readers who are expecting a Christian novel. The name of Christ is never mentioned. The theology of the afterlife communicated in this novel contradicts the plain teaching of Scripture. The only way this book seems Christian is that the whole novel communicates traditional values and a high regard for family life. For many readers seeking a Christian inspirational novel, this will not be enough.

NBA Drama

I have had several thoughts to share about the NBA free-agent period. It has intrigued me a lot. And, what intrigues me most is not where the top 8 free agents go, but rather where the next top 42 fall. I have also been interested in the big Lebron drama too, and have thoughts about all of it.

1. The Big 3 in Miami (if it happens) will not be all it is cracked up to be

A team is not made up of three players. A basketball team needs at least 8 servicable players. Maybe more. Dwayne Wade has been so beat up, I think he really only has 3 really good years in him. What if one of the "big three" get hurt? Who will fill in? Will Charles Barkley come out of retirement? He better, because that is going to be the quality of the supporting cast.

I think the Big 3 in Miami will still struggle with Orlando, Los Angeles, Boston and others.

2. My thoughts on the not so big rest of the players

Randy Foye
Nate Robinson
David Lee
Tyrus Thomas
Luis Scola
Raymond Felton
Joel Childress
Shaquille O'Neal
Udonis Haslem
Richard Jefferson
Corey Brewer
JJ Redick
Al Harrington
Z. Ilgauskas
Brad Miller--
Matt Barnes
Luke Ridnour--
Jordan Farmar--
Kyle Korver
Sergio Rodriguez
Mason
Wes Matthews
Matt Miller--
Earl Boykins--
Josh Howard
McGrady

I think after Lebron decision several things will happen.

1. Each of the teams that cleared space will go looking quickly for servicable point guards. This means that Ridnour, Farmar, Robinson, and even Rodriguez and Boykins will be signed by the end of the weekend. Also, look for some point guard trades
2. Next, teams will seek to fill their outside shooting needs. Matt Miller and Kyle Korver and JJ Redick will have offers before the end of the weekend too
3. Miami, with or without Lebron, will work at filling out their roster. If Lebron comes, look for veterans hungry to win. If Lebron does not go to Miami, look for young, lanky athletic types and a tough center to join the team.
4. After that the big moves by teams with cap space. For instance, New Jersey, New York, Chicago, perhaps Cleveland will make signings
5. Teams that are already decent will look to sign players with mid-level exceptions
6. Teams get filled out with veterans minimums