Holy Hesitancy?

I used an illustration Sunday about the days when I was Police Chaplain I could walk into anything and go anywhere when I had my "official" Police badge or pocket insert out, and I looked like I knew what I was doing. I walked through Police stations, including Head Quarters, into Emergency Rooms and through almost any "Restricted" or closed off room or area. Part of it was that even the official people didn't want to take a chance on challenging someone who looked confident and who could possibly "out rank" them. I could tell you lots of stories about things I did and places I went into that, prior to being a Police Chaplain, would have never crossed my mind to do or go. Experience and confidence, along with a badge, were a big part of it.

Probably the most challenging part of grasping and truly identifying with the passage in Hebrews 4:14-16 about Jesus being our great High Priest is that marvelous sentence in verse 16: "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence." I am humbled by the opportunity to approach God, and I am overwhelmed by His love that calls His throne a "throne of grace," but coming before it and Him with confidence? Whoa!

Now go back to my illustration about my access to things as a Police Chaplain. Confidence didn't happen the day they handed me a Police badge. It developed over time as I learned what I could do, that it was expected, and that it was necessary to doing my job. That was especially true when it came to the people who worked in the hospital emergency rooms I had total access to. They trusted me because they saw what I did, and over time, they called me to come help them. At the same time, as my experience and confidence grew, I stopped hesitating, wondering, and doubting - I just did it! Confidence - the kind the Holy Spirit it talking about - isn't about pride, arrogance, and showiness. It's - from experience - boldly and fearlessly knowing you can trust God's love, and trust how passionately He waits for us to approach his throne of grace - any time and for any reason - when we need mercy and grace to help in time of need.

Our Florida Tour

Our 14 day cruise was actually two 7 day cruises. So, we were back at Ft. Lauderdale on the second Saturday, but Princess had some neat excursions for those who were continuing. We went on an Everglades Air Boat Ride & Botanical Garden tour that was pretty neat. The above peacocks were walking around the Everglade park.

It was a pretty cool way to see some of the Everglades, but the ride was not the fast-water-skimming experience I was expecting. It was still fun. There were about twenty people in each boat, which is way too much weight to be zooming around anywhere.

They were able to accommodate a huge crowd with the many air boats they had. I did see a two seater off in the distance, so if you really want one of those high speed experiences, that is the one to take. Again, it was still fun.

This is one of my distant pictures of the alligator show. This guy is on one of the TV shows about alligators and it was a good presentation. The problem was that it was in the low fifties temperature wise, and I was in shorts and T-shirt and cold.This was a mountain lion snoozing at the Botanical Garden. It was a pretty nice place and would have been a lot more fun - and beautiful - on a sunny warm day. It was still a fun tour.

These are all really plastic and stolen from peoples front yards. NOT!

We crossed a bridge right over were this guy was calmly resting in the water - I presume - waiting for one of us to fall in.

More Vacation Pictures

This was just a great view of the Old Town San Juan with our cruise ship in the back ground. We didn't get to San Juan until 4:00 PM and the excursion was from 4:30 til 7:30. I couldn't believe it, but we were actually hungry by the time we got back to the ship.

Here is another picture from San Juan. It's a good picture of our good friends Don and Kathy. We have been on a lot of trips together and ALWAYS have a lot of fun.

These are a few pictures of the one day we were at Princess Cays (pronounced keys). It was a beautiful private beach with the classic white sand and palm trees. We splurged and got a bungalow that was small, but had AC. When it got real warm in the afternoon, that AC was nice. We shared the tropical room with some more good buddies, Glenn and Vickie.

This is Glenn and Donna standing in front of the bungalow. It had five chairs and a table inside and two loungers on the porch and two more under the umbrella. The scene from our porch was incredible. The snorkeling was also wonderful.

This is the view to the right of our bungalow or to the left from the last picture. They had a nice sidewalk that went the full length of the half mile beach. The had some incredible food in the serving lines and some great little shops too. It was a lot more fun that I though it would be, and I'm especially glad that we got to enjoy it since the stop there the next week was cancelled due to high winds and too choppy seas to use the tenders. We got to see it from the boat, but only long enough to turn around and head to the next stop.

I'll put a few more pictures up later of the two stops we had ours second week in Curacao and Aruba.

I Get it!

We are back from our vacation. Actually, we got back Saturday evening, but I have been so busy playing "catch-up" that I haven't been able to do a new blog. I plan to share a few more pictures from our trip - for family and friends who want to see them - but I think I'll wait until later this week. I'm still reflecting on a couple of things from my Sunday morning lesson that have been filling my head with things I haven't thought about before. Maybe that is the result of having spent two weeks thinking, studying, and preparing that lesson.

I have always struggled with chunks of Hebrews. I guess it is the Jewish focus and all the Old Testament comparisons and analogies, but it's also occasionally the teaching itself. The series I've been sharing for the last several weeks is all about the Extreme Privilege we have of having such an amazing high priest who represents us to God (Heb.4:14-16). Right off the bat you have the problem of being a twenty-first century modern Gentile trying to identify with the concept of having a high priest. It doesn't mean the same to us. It doesn't compel us and fill us with the same kind of honor and appreciation that it would to one who was raised and immersed in Judaism.
Then - add to that the fact that Jesus "is able to sympathize with our weaknesses" and "has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet without sin." How beautiful is that? He understands! He sympathizes! But then I'm supposed to identify with someone who has had every temptation I have ever had "yet without sin"?
The next chapter in Hebrews (5) is another passage that has always given me reason to feel confused. As our sinless high priest, when he was growing up he "learned obedience from what he suffered." What? He struggled with obedience? He learned some things "the hard way"? What is this all about?
The key, I believe, to understanding this and truly being able to identify with our sinless high priest, is recognizing that the struggle is with temptation not with sin. Once we sin, the struggle with that temptation is over for that point in time. The true struggle is not letting our "passions and desires" control us and cause us to give in to the temptation. Temptation is not sin. It is the natural pull to let our selfish desires guide us, and it's not sin until we choose to give in. Jesus felt every one of those pulls. His temptations were not limited to the three "big ones" in Matthew 4 and Luke 4. Luke's account said that Satan only left him for a more opportune time. He never stopped tempting our Lord.
What that means is that we truly do have a high priest, a Lord, a friend, a brother, and a Savior, who understands us completely. The extreme privilege is that he loves us in spite of our sins. How wonderful is that?!!!

Pics From Last Week

I tried to download these pics last week but the system on ship just wasn't good enough. So, after trying several times and using a lot of very expensive minutes, I gave up. This morning, however, I'm down in the official "Internet Cafe" and the reception is good so I was able to download these pics from our stops in St. Martin (above) and San Juan (below).

It has been a very relaxing and enjoyable cruise. We are in the final two days of travel back to Ft. Lauderdale and should be back in St. Louis Saterday afternoon. I will put more pics up after we get home, and tell a little more about the trip.

Vacation Alert!

Just take a look at the above pictures for a few minutes and you'll know why I won't have very many new blogs for the next two weeks. It's the Grand Princess and yes, for the first time in our cruising history, we decided to go for a mini suite. We love having a balcony to sit on and watch things from our room, which is especially great if you ever do an Alaska cruise, but we are also thinking about having all 14 of our group into our room for our own private communion time on Sunday. Donna got some grape juice so we don't have to hit the bar for some wine this time (for some reason - with every kind of food you can think of on board - they never have grape juice). Anyway, I'm writing this to simply let any of my fellow bloggers know that we'll be on vacation for the next couple weeks. I will probably put some pictures up of the Caribbean islands we stop at so our family can see where we are and what we're doing. So, if you don't want to feel Winter remorse and risk having feelings of envy toward us as we walk beaches, wear shorts and sandals, and develop February tans, you might not want to check this blog for the next couple of weeks.

We are really looking forward to a true "get-a-way" with some special friends, and family since my sister is going, and just relaxing in warm sunshine in the dead of winter.

It Wasn't Meant To Run Wild!

Guilt is a strange animal. Sometimes it's unwarranted yet you feel it eating at you like a cancerous sore. Other times you totally ignore it even though it is chewing on your heart like a crazed dog with a new bone. As a concept it's neither good nor bad, it's simply waiting in the closet of our mind to be called out by broken convictions or misunderstood grace. We make it good or bad, depending on whether or not we deserve it or are diminishing the power of grace to cover our sins. Like many things, it is a God-given tool to help us recognize that something is wrong in our life. If our conscience is trained and tender, it tells us we've disappointed our Father and it drives us to repent, change, and learn. If we find ourselves feeling guilty about something we've done in the past, but received forgiveness for - we're trying to pay for something that has already been paid for, and something which we are incapable of paying for anyway!

Guilt is our inner warning bell that tells us it's a bad idea to do something, and it's the alarm that blares in our heart when we've done it. It is a help not a punishment - unless we continue to hear it but act like we don't. If it is from God it is a holy honk, but if it's from our own poor self-esteem, it may become an unnecessary and undeserved burden that we refuse to let God carry.

Sometimes we feel guilty about God's blessings. He gives us good health, good jobs, good homes, and great opportunities to serve, share, and guide others, and we let Satan tell us again how unworthy we are - so we turn gratitude into guilt and blessing into burdens. It never has been about what or how much you have, but who really is Lord of your life. Again, if we've been ungrateful and unsharing - maybe we need some guilt, but if we believe God gave it to us, the only expectation is that He be glorified in how we use it.

Grace is not a permanent guilt eraser. Guilt is what reminds us that we haven't responded to God's grace as completely or as consistently as we should. It's a call to stay on coarse, and - yes - it's an animal to avoid, but it is not a burden to bear as much as it's a beast to get rid of - as quickly as we can - with the help of God.

Da-da-da-da! I love this logo, and in case you've lived in a cave for the last 40 plus years, it comes from the PR of the classic James Bond films. This years Bible Action musical is about a Bible story, but we are just telling it in a little different way than we have done one before. God's Agents are angels, and the theme of the play is that angels are the ones who carry out God's will. The story line covers a group of Senior angels teaching a class of "newbie" angels about what their job is. To illustrate to the newbies the many different things they end up doing in service to God, they transport the class, and hopefully the audience, to the events surrounding Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, from 1 Kings 17-19. Just read the story again and picture angels doing all the things God did to take care of Elijah.

We have some great songs that are my usual combination of praise songs, Broadway songs, and Oldies Rock & Roll songs. While the angels are the main characters and the narrators, the Prophets of Baal and Ahab & Jezebel have some really fun songs. It's always fun to be the bad guys (in a play - of course).

Applications are out, casting will be in late February, our first read-through will be Sunday, March 4th, and the rehearsals will begin that week. It "aint" easy to pull-off an hour and a half musical - but it is fun - most of the time. So if you've never seen one of our Bible story musicals live - please plan to be here one of the four nights. As mentioned we do four performances: Thursday - May 31st, Friday - June 1st, Saturday - June 2nd, all three at 7:00 PM, and then Sunday - June 3rd at 6:00. I'd offer room at our house, but we usually have a house full of family here to see Nana & Papa's play. (Yes, with grand kids, Nana's name always comes first - as it should.)

Sing it for me!

This coming Sunday, right after our assembly time, I will be sharing with all those interested what this year's Bible Action Musical will be. I'll be revealing this year's logo, which I am particularly excited about. This year we are back in the Old Testament doing a musical about a well known Bible character and how he/she carried out the work God gave them. While it is about a Bible story, the major theme of the play will actually be about a biblical subject that is all through the Bible, and the OT story will be told as an illustration. Lord willing, I will blog about it after my church family gets to hear about it first.

I finished the script in December and the music was all picked out back in the early Fall. The last thing I did was the rewriting of some lyrics in some of the songs. That's always one of my favorite things to do when I'm writing the play. Anyway, it was the putting together of the Cast Application form where I ask people to tell me how they fit into the SATB categories that made me think of cat picture above. I think I saved it from some pictures my brother sent me a while back. I love the look of devotion and drama on the face of the above cat.

To all my church family folks, you'll find out on Sunday, and for everyone else - click on to this blog Monday or Tuesday for a revealing of the logo and play plans. The dates are always the first full weekend in June, but this year, the first performance will actually be in May. The four performances will be May 31, June 1, 2, & 3. Put it on your calender - we'd love to have you see it. This will be our seventh musical presentation of a Bible story and we're averaging around twenty-two hundred attendees each year.

Help For Men?

I wanted to share and elaborate something I used as a side point in Sunday's lesson. I was talking about what an "Extreme Privilege" it is for us to have Jesus, our "great high priest," representing us to God when they clearly have the best communication any relationship could possibly have. After making some comments about the importance of communication (you know: "There is no relationship without communication" and my all-time-favorite "If you don't communicate, you speculate."), I did point out that most men are not as good at communicating as we need to be. I offered what I call The Total Communication Package for Men. With tongue-in-cheek, here are the only three phrases any man needs to know to respond to any communication demand.
1. "Whatever": I know, we thought it could only be used by teenagers, but it works well for any ocassion when a man can or doesn't want to make a decision or commitment. Like when your wife asks for your opinion, but you know she's not going to pay any attention to it, or when you are reminded, while watching the football game, that the yard still hasn't been mowed. It is truly an amazing all-purpose response that will gradually lessen the need for communication in the future.
2. "It is what it is": The closest thing to saying nothing while still seeming to talk. It's the perfect explanation for world events, politics, empy checking accounts, and why you haven't shaved. If you can wrinkle your forehead and gently rub your chin as you say it, you can even come across as Confucius - or Archie Bunker.
3. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do" : The ultimate explanation for anything and everything that one can't put into words. Just think of Vinnie Barbarino as a Jedi warrior - or Meathead using the "ter-let" and you can see its universal appeal. It's the language of Mars (where men are from - remember?) and the only quote you know fits John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck, George Clooney, and Frankenstein. It sings and has an element of drama, and it's a lot more colorful than saying "I have no idea!"
Yes, there's no need in complicating life by being open and honest with those you love. Being vulnerable is asking for trouble! It takes time! Time away from hunting, fishing, watching football with the guys, and eating hot wings. There is, however, one other response - but it's hard to write about due to the many variations there are of it.
Grunt!

Finding what you're looking for!

One of these days I"m going to have to go into my blog bio and change or add something to my "Favorite Movie" list. I really enjoy The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and have watched it multiple times. At least a couple times a year I will watch all three over a slow weekend, and I am always amazed that I like it more each time. The truth is, it took about three viewings for me to fully understand all the names, places, and plot twists. I'm not good at remembering all the names in movies or books with a lot of characters. The Lord of the Rings is classic, and for me, it's up there in my top five all time favorite movies.
Did you know that there is a huge amount of information out there just about the mistakes in all three movies? If you Google search Lord of the Rings movie mistakes, you can read and watch more material than would be in a fourth movie. According to those who researched it, and care, in The Fellowship of the Rings there are 263 mistakes, in The Two Towers there are 257 mistakes, and in the Return of the King there are 225 mistakes. Most of them have to do with inconsistencies of small things as the movie changed scenes or camera angles, and many of them are extremely picky and insignificant. The one thing they all have in common is that if you didn't know to look for them - you'd never see them.
When I think about that, I can't help but wonder if we'd see the things in the Word of God differently if we didn't know what to look for. I have mentioned several times that the first casualty of biblical interpretation is objectivity, because we carry everything we've been taught into our interpretation of scripture. We don't have open hearts and minds when we read it, because we've already been told what we should learn from it.
If we could erase all the preconceived conclusions, doctrinal divisiveness, and proof-texting of verses, and somehow turn our hearts to blank slates again - would we understand it differently? Would we read about church leaders as simply spiritual shepherds and servants, who are mature enough in the Lord to mentor others, in stead of seeing Church Office holders in an organizational chart of Elders - then Deacons - then just members? If we didn't know that Matthew 28:19 & 20 was The Great Commission, which it is never called by anyone in the Bible, would we continue to infer that Jesus was talking to every Christian rather than his apostles? If we didn't know that Eph.5:19 and Col.3:16 were proof-texts for singing without instrumental music, would we just be encouraged by verses that give us a tool for lifting one another up, and has nothing to do with a "formal worship service"? If we hadn't been taught about, and had so many battles about baptism, and if it hadn't been transliterated from Greek to English by the Church of England scholars who feared "rocking the doctrinal boat", as opposed to really being translated as "immersion" or "burial," would we still think of it as only a physical act we perform to receive the forgiveness of sins? It might not change our conclusions, but it might change our understanding of "taking up our cross" to think of being "immersed in Christ". It's not just a ritual, but a description of totality. We're in all the way!
These are just a few examples of things that we need to look at with fresh - more objective - eyes if we care about really understanding God's plan. Again, it's not about changing conclusions, though we shouldn't be afraid of that either, but about being honest, open, and humble enough to learn and grow.
And just for the record, I haven't found any mistakes in it - only interpreter errors.

Grumbling & Grace

Every time I read the story of the Exodus, I am astonished by the tendency of the Hebrew people to continue to grumble in spite of what God does for them. And it's not little stuff that He does! We're talking miraculously saving them from Pharaoh's army with a pillar of fire; the crossing of the Red Sea on dry ground with walls of water on either side of them; the destruction of aforementioned army; and the providing of water, Manna, and quail - just to name a few. Still, over and over again, they grumble to and about Moses. What happened to being impressed with the goodness of God? What happened to the spirit of gratitude that should have dominated their hearts as they enjoyed real freedom for the first time in their lives? What happened to the concept of trusting God?
I think we all read that story and can't imagine that we would ever act that way. Unfortunately, grumbling is more a signature identifier of the church than the love that Jesus wanted us to have and be known for. We grumble constantly - mostly about what we want, don't like, and prefer in our Sunday morning assembly. How did we ever allow a tool for edification to become the focal point of what it means to be "simply and only New Testament Christians"? How did the pep rally become the game? Grumbling robs us of focus, giving to others, gratitude, sharing, shepherding, unity, and love - just to name a few.
Here is a premise that I shared in my lesson Sunday. I believe it explains why every church and every child of God struggles with the ability to truly "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." Think about this:
Whatever negative feelings we have about our beliefs, our commitment, and our church family, all come from our failure to recognize what an extreme privilege it is to have Jesus as our Lord.
Even if the grumbling is true and justified, it's not the attitude of a heart that has been changed by grace. That IS Paul's argument in Romans 6 when Christians thought that grace was permission to sin! When you understand grace - what it means and does for us - you don't want to have anything to do with sin! Grace produces gratitude not grumbling!

Outsiders?

Last Sunday's lesson actually came from a question a friend asked me to deal with. Since it caught me at a good time - between sermon series, I decided to put my thoughts together and share with the whole family. The question was: How do you want the members of your church to view outsiders?
It was intriguing on a couple of levels. First, how do we define insiders and outsiders? And secondly, as children of God, do we or should we treat one different than the other? The first challenge I saw was the problem of our biblical mandate to draw closer together in a loving, intimate family support group. That is what the church (local and gathered) exists to do. The nature of a family is that some are in it an some aren't. We are part of our physical family by birth, by choice, and/or by invitation. Our spiritual family is the same. God invited us, He chose us and we chose Him, and we were added to His family at our new birth. BUT - more than anything else - we are family by the grace of God! If we are insiders - it's about His grace not our worthiness. That means that others/outsiders are not "less important" or "worthless"! That must never be the way we think of them. The bottom line is that we must think of outsiders the way Jesus would think of outsiders.
How did Jesus view outsiders? A quick look at the Prodigal son (Lk.15), the parable of the feast (Lk.14), and remembering His encounter with the woman at the well (Jn.4) gives us a very clear picture. It's a picture of loving, longing for, and reaching out to everyone. In fact, these examples from the Gospels teach us that many who saw themselves as insiders really weren't!
There are a least three things that we should consider when we ask ourselves how we should look at outsiders:
1. We must look at them as people who need compassion not judgment!
2. We must look at them as people who need a witness not an arm twisting!
3. We must look at them as people who need to see Jesus not religion!
The word "outsider" only appears three times in the New Testament NIV and they all deal with being a good influence on them and representing God appropriately. Remember, Jesus was the ultimate insider and the religious world declared him and outsider!

A Sick Blog

I have so rarely been sick in my life that I almost feel guilty about even writing about it. I'm just recovering from some kind of bug that had my body competing against itself to see which part could expel the most. Not a nice mental picture - I know, but then it wasn't nice to experience it first hand. I am so thankful for the great health God has given me for sixty years. Yes, today I just had another botox shot for my spasmodic dysphonia, and yes, my stomach is gurgling a little with the Arby's Roast Beef Sub I had for lunch, my knee aches, but hey, you can't be around this many years and not have something fall apart.
Here are some random, and not-so-profound, thoughts I've had about being sick over the weekend. (Not for the faint of heart!)

* It feels good to feel good. Duh - but Donna says that after every headache, and it's true.
* I wonder how much of "being hungry" is all mental. My stomach was totally empty, yet every commercial about food on TV made me gag. Usually I want it - even if I'm not hungry.
* You don't appreciate really clean commodes until you see them up close and personal.
* Toilet paper can't be TOO soft when you are using it every fifteen minutes.
* Chicken Noodle Soup - I've decided it must have been Manna.
* A stomach virus doesn't need a medical name. Yuck works just fine.
* Classy is leaving the church office, jumping in the car to get home quickly, and just as I pulled onto the main street I had to pull over in front of the church building - throw open the door and projectile vomit in view of every car on New Halls Ferry Road. At least it wasn't the church van. (And... I didn't quite get the car door open in time.)
* While it may be a fact of life that you know you're getting old when you spend more time talking about a good BM rather than a good GM, it's also a fact that you're a true lover of puns when you can talk about going to the bathroom and refer to the results as, "Man that's solid!"
* The up side of my "yuck" is that I've lost the weight I gained over the holidays, and I've got three weeks to get my appetite completely back before we leave on our two week Caribbean cruise vacation. Boy, wouldn't that be a terrible time to have a stomach virus. I don't EVEN want to go there with a mental picture.

The Holy Spirit: Unseen but active

I meant to write a blog on Thursday or Friday, but a stomach bug changed my plans dramatically. I'm still a little groggy and light-headed, but some might think that was normal. At our monthly ministers meeting on Thursday morning (pre-bug), we had a presentation and discussion about the work of the Holy Spirit in evangelism. It's a heavy subject for any group to talk about, but put a bunch of preachers together and you get all kinds of ideas - mostly good. Personally, I think the Holy Spirit is active in helping people find Jesus, but only if that person is first seeking Jesus. That help is not some kind of miraculous sign or whispers in the dark, but providing opportunities to hear and learn about God's will. For those seeking to share the gospel, I also believe the Holy Spirit is active, as God's agent to carry out His will, in giving us opportunities to talk to others. The key is our being sensitive enough to see the opportunity when the Holy Spirit gives it to us.
One of the guys in our group asked a question as we were finishing up that we didn't have a chance to discuss. He asked why the Holy Spirit has always been such a controversial subject in the church of Christ? I have always believed that there are two reasons for that. First, is the simple fact that our heritage is based on a rational approach to interpreting and understanding scripture, and trying to fit the work of the Holy Spirit into a rationally explainable category is impossible. There is a reason why God didn't give us all the facts and information about how the Holy Spirit works, but we still seek to package it into a logical - and usually limiting - comfortable doctrine. The other reason it has always been a controversial subject for us is our fear of emotionalism, which is just another way of looking at the first reason. We have always had a fear of Pentecostalism that, like many doctrines, causes us to go to the other extreme and, in my opinion, "quench the Holy Spirit".
One of the things that my study of Galatians has taught me, is that the Holy Spirit will only work in us to the extent that we allow the fruit of the Spirit to be a natural part of our life. The more we exemplify the fruit of the Spirit, the more we are freeing the Spirit to work in us. It's not frightening, illogical, or out of control. It's simply the same thing as "For me to live is Christ." They're not interested in who gets the attention!

Growing God's Fruit

I try not to re-preach my Sunday morning lesson on my blog the week after I share it with my church family, but last week I offered some suggestions for deepening our relationship with God in the coming year. Of course, it is only useful if having a deeper relationship with God is something we really want. That is why I specifically pointed out that these are not about New Year's Resolutions but all about New Year honesty.

Every growing relationship will only continue to grow if it includes increased communication, thoughtfulness, and acts of devotion. The same is true for our relationship with God. So, here are my suggestions:

1. Communication = prayer (talking w/ God) Phil.4:4-7

Suggestion: Begin each day with a prayer that includes:

a. Thank you for today

b. Give me people to talk to (so I can be Your witness)

c. Help me to glorify you today

2. Thoughtfulness = Study & Equipping 1 Peter 3:15-16

Suggestion: Read the New Testament three times this year

a. Average person can read it in 14 hours

b. 3 times 14 = 42 hours x 60 min. = 2520 divided by 365

c. Just under 7 minutes a day listening to God

3. Acts of Devotion = Service in God's Name Gal.6:2 & 10

a. Help a ministry of this church family

b. Help w/ the special Service Day

c. Help someone else grow

If we are honestly seeking a closer walk with God, can we enter another new year with no plans to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"?

Seventeen, but who's counting!

There hasn't been a family picture taken in a lot of years so it was nice to finally get one done. This is the whole gang, including the newest addition in Deborah's arms and Great Grandma Curtis (or Mither to some) right in the middle. We've had a great week of eating too much, saying up playing games too late, and getting up way too early with all the little ones who got up with the sun. God has truly blessed us. And of course, it was super wonderful to have Jonathan and Holly with us for the first Christmas together since we left TN seven Christmas's ago. Even as nice as today was (mid 50's) they aren't sad about heading back to the mid 70's in LA.

Just for fun? What a mean looking group. It's really hard to tell who's who with all that fancy disguise!

And of course, here are all the "bad" girls in the family. I especially like the model-like pose of our only grand daughter. Deborah was busy with grand kiddo #8 and had to miss this classic picture opportunity.

It's has been a great week and we are very thankful for every minute of it.

Merry Christmas

Just for the fun of it - I introduced a "Florissant Version" of The 12 Days of Christmas. I thought I'd share it on my blog for anyone who might enjoy it and for any Florissant folks who wanted a copy of it. Enjoy! Hope you had a great Christmas! We're having ours this afternoon when the rest of the family gets here.

The 12 Days of Christmas at Florissant

On the first day of Christmas our church rejoiced to see:

1. The temperature was perfect as can be

2. Second day...: Two songs they love (and)

3. Third day...: Three close friends

4. Fourth day...: Four old Greek words

5. Fifth day...: Five - phones - that - ring

6. Sixth day...: Six guests a praying

7. Seventh day...: Seven Shepherds snoring

8. Eighth day...: Eight teens a texting

9. Nineth day...: Nine holes a leaking

10. Tenth day...: Ten buckets filling

11. Eleventh day...: Eleven minute sermons

12. Twelfth day...: Twelve stomachs growling

(It works better if you sing it backwards from the 12th day)

Deer Sign Tutorial

When you are searching the woods for signs of deer travel, you look for specific signs. All of these pictures are deer signs and they are all within about 8 to 10 feet of each other. These are incredible signs. They are both fresh and made by at least one large buck. The above rub could have been made by a small buck, but the general rule is, small rubs are made by any buck, but only big rubs are made by big bucks.

This rub is a little bit bigger - probably a three in thick sapling, but again, it's only feet away from all the others.

This is a fresh scrape. If you look close or enlarge the pic, you will see the hoof lines in the dirt. They scape the dirt to break it up and then leave their scent there to let the other guys know it's their territory and let the gals know they are available. It's easier than dating.

This is a huge rub on a 8 to 10 inch cedar tree, which the big bucks like to rub their antlers on. I'd love to have a picture of the buck that did this. ANY hunter who comes across this size of a rub will get excited. It means HE'S there!

Just steps away was an even BIGGER rub, probably made by the same buck and clearly shows that he passed that way regularly. If I hadn't arrowed my buck the day before I would have been putting up a tree stand close by in a heart beat.

And of course, nothing says fresh deer sign like these nice wet fresh deer droppings. They say "You just missed him!" (or from the size of these dropping - missed her)

Any one of these signs are an indication that it's a good area to hunt. With all of these being so close together and on a main trail through the woods - can you say "Next year's stand placement"?

Free to Be Naughty or Nice!

I wanted to wrap up my series on Freedom In Christ, by trying to pull several things together from this study of Galatians into a one-lesson-definition of what freedom in Christ really means. Whether or not I accomplished that goal will be left up the the listeners (you can hear it on the church web page). One of the most challenging questions I tossed out, after struggling with it myself all week, came after quoting John 8:32 &36. We all know these verses even if we can't always remember where they are. Jesus said, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Then in vs.36 he amps things up a notch with, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
We love these verses and can't even hear them without shouting "Amen!" But, here is the question: If it is so wonderful to be free in Christ, why do so many of us think of being a Christian as restrictive? Why do we tend to think about all the things that our faith doesn't "allow" us to do anymore? Why is our walk with God so often defined by what we can't do, better not do, and "shame on you" if we do?
Obviously, Satan doesn't want us to think about sin as enslavement. That takes away it's appeal. But Jesus was clear, "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin." (vs.34) His appeal is that in Him we become sons and sons aren't slaves anymore. That is the exact same argument Paul made in Galatians 5 and Romans 6. When you are not in bondage to sin, you are free in Christ! But that's the answer to our Challenge Question isn't it? Paul said that in Christ we have "crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires," but maybe we haven't really done that. When our passions and desires are still in control, freedom in Christ looks like Stop signs rather than an open road.
Here is the key: Freedom in Christ is only real freedom if we truly have a relationship with Jesus. Without that honest and seeking relationship, we're just church goers, image builders, and unhappy hypocrites! We have just enough church and worldliness to be miserable in both. Freedom comes from truly understanding grace and being drawn to a loving God and Savior.