YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks be to God! South Blvd is NOW OPEN! A full 5 weeks later than expected!

What a Great Night....

We stumbled onto a great thing last night! It is so wonderful that we couldn't pull off going out on Saturday to invite our neighbors to the Pork Roast. Last night we learned that the "at home" rate is much higher during the evening hours. We encountered a lot more of our neighbors by going on a week night.

The five teams all had very positive encounters! Lots of welcoming people. Many who were surprised to hear that it was totally free and some who were genuinely interested in coming.

My prayer is that our Pork Roast and Fun Fest will be an absolute blessing to all who come!

Thanks to all who helped last night!

Label or Lifestyle?

In Luke 6:46,Jesus asks a very important and telling question: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I tell you?"

His point is that IF Jesus is your Lord (leader) then you would do what he tells you to do! And if you don't do what he tells you to do, then the question is: how can Jesus be your Lord (leader)? If you don't do what Jesus tells you to do, then you are simply wearing a label, not living the lifestyle. Jesus calls you and me to live a lifestyle. Anybody can wear a label! But only those who truly love Jesus and want to follow him, will do what he says!

Our actions will speak louder than our words! Not that we don't need our words or that it's not important for our words to match our actions... but if we are truly in love with Jesus and follow him, then we will do what he tells us to do!

So, are you wearing the label or living the lifestyle?

Thoughts on Forgiveness

Forgiveness is so important to experience and to extend in our lives. Here are some thoughts on Forgiveness.

"Ultimately, forgiveness is a gift of grace rather than an act of will. I have to be willing to forgive, but I cannot will myself to forgive. I can forgive with my mind, but forgiveness is finally a matter of the heart. And forgiveness of the heart comes from God, not from me." Madeleine L'Engle

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." C.S. Lewis

"He who cannot forgive another breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself." George Herbert

"When we genuinely forgive, we set a prisioner free and then we discover that the prisioner we set free was us." Phillip Yancey

A Powerful Thought...

Forgiveness is an incredible power that we SHARE with God. Just like when we give, we are most like God... so too, when we forgive, we are most like God. For God is giving and forgiving!

It's all GOD!

So often these days, you hear some one say "it is all good!" But these days, I am saying it is all GOD!

In reflecting over the last 10 years serving as Pastor of Community of Joy, I am filled with excitement and satisfaction... It is all GOD!

In my daily Bible reading, I came accross these words penned long ago by the Psalm writer. They could have been penned by me... they sum up well how I feel about our journey together at Community of Joy since Oct. 3, 1999.

"Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts' so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my songs, I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. O save your people and bless your heritage; be their shepherd and carry them forver." Psalm 28:6-9

Invitations are Important...

Over the years, we have found that personal invitations work best.

So, each year for our annual Pork Roast and Fun Fest, we choose part of our neighborhood to personally invite to join us. However, this year, we are struggling to get enough help to do this task. So, we are changing the date from Saturday to Monday September 28 @ 6 p.m.

We will also use our sign out front, but that doesn't work too well right now due to decreased traffic since the road is closed at one end.

Hope to get lots of help on the 28th!

YEAH, the passing of another chapter in the saga!

Yesterday's post about Erie needs to be qualified somewhat... they finally came through with a number and it was a GREAT number. So, while it took a long time to get the number, they were very fair in terms of what they offered me for my truck! In fact, when you do the calculations, I drove my truck for 4.5 years and 50,000 miles for 3,500 plus maintenance. Not bad!

This was a hard thing for me, but thankfully I was able to not get too anxious and wait. I kept praying that God would guide the process and that the number would be fair as I was out of debt on the truck and didn't want to incur any new debt in the transaction. So, I tried hard to sit back and trust that God had it all in control... and I must say, PRAISE GOD for his provision!

Not only that, but, I got the number I was looking for on my new truck as well! And I am told that this is unheard of! So, once again, in this saga, I am Praising God and oh what a relief it is!

Reality or Just Words???

I am about to pull my hair out in dealing with the Erie Insurance Company. I still don't have a number for my truck. I know it is totaled, but no number yet. The accident was almost 2 weeks ago. Everytime I call them, you get a welcoming recording that says that they are all about great customer service. But my experience says that those are just words...NOT reality!

At Community of Joy, our sign, mission, and core values lift say that we want to be all about relationships that matter. But unless we work at making relationships matter, those words will just be words not reality. I don't want them to just be words... I want Community of Joy to be known for being a place where relationships matter. But it takes all of us reaching out beyond our circles to great, welcome, get to know, and serve those we don't know or don't know well as well as those we already know.

It delights me to hear from one young adult who was with us for the summer tell me what a GREAT experience she has had among us. How she felt so welcomed and valued and loved. And it delights me to hear anohter young adult who was away for the summer say that he feels so welcomed by us and so enjoys the ways we reach out to show love.

So, keep it up! Let's truly be a place where relationships matter! Really!

From What Day Off to What a Day Off!

I confess, that I have been very lax about taking a day off lately! And I confess that my life is so intertwined with my work that it is hard to separate the two... often you can't. But with the addition of the Saturday night 5:35, I have discovered that I need to be religious about a day off! It is VITAL.

So yesterday, I went from "What day off?" to WHAT A DAY OFF!!!!!

Spent the day with my friend and fellow church member, Martin Hansen doing something that we both love to do... bowhunt! It was an AWESOME day! I got up at 3 a.m. and met Martin at 4 was in the tree by 6 and stayed until 11. Didn't see a thing (oh, did see one fox squirrel) BUT I enjoyed the time of silence, prayer, reflection and just appreciating God's beautiful creation. At 11 I climbed down and talked to Martin about his hunt, then we moved a ladder stand and looked around. Saw a few young sikas near the lodge, got lunch, tried to do some work on trails - but were thwarted! Then took a long ride in an argo out to the edge of the river and enjoyed sitting and listening, praying and reflecting, and waiting for deer to come from 4-7:30. I did hear some dear walking in the water, but didn't see them. Did see one at dark, but only was a dark blob running through the water. Heard 5 stags bugle and watched several woodducks flying and swimming. Got home last night at 10 for supper and a shower and then bed!

I so enjoy getting out in the woods! What a GREAT DAY OFF!

So Excited!

Just got off the phone from talking with my friend, Ryan who launched a new church plant yesterday! He reports a GREAT opening day with lots of new connections! If you know of anyone in the Lancaster PA area who is looking for a place to connect and serve, tell them to check out www.veritaspa.org.

If you have some extra money that you would like to employ in a great way for the kingdom of God... send it to Atlantic Northeast Distrct (Church of the Brethren) 500 east Cedar St. Elizabethtown, PA 17022 and mark the check Veritas Launch.

A cool story that Ryan shared with me... his dad is not a Christ follower at all and was there for the launch and afterward told Ryan that if he were younger, the very thing that he experienced in worship would appeal to him. That is an awesome comment of affirmation that says Ryan is doing what he is seeking to do... connect with a generation that is not connected to a church expression. So excited!

And inviting you to pray with me this week for Ryan and this launch!

Weekend Numbers...

Let me begin by saying that what we do at Community of Joy is not about numbers at all... except that it is about numbers of people who experience God's transformation in their lives and numbers of people who become the hands and feet of Jesus in the world so that others can experience God's transformation in their lives!

With that said, sometimes you gotta look at numbers to measure things. We have recently launched a third worship gathering. It is Saturday @ 5:35 p.m. This weekend our attendance was up 21% as a result! Normal statistics say that you can expect a 15% increase. I am excited about what is happening and know that this is a first step toward seeing transformed lives and communities.

Thanks be to God!

This weekend...

This weekend at all three of our worship gatherings, we will look at the topic "Along the way: Interruptions!" Who among us doesn't have interruptions in our day and in our lives? You know, that phone call, knock on the door, the doctors report, the injury, accident... all these and more are interruptions to the things we have planned in life. But they are also part of life. The trick is figuring out how to keep from getting frustrated by the interruptions and find God in the midst of them. That's what we will talk about Saturday @ 5:35 and Sunday @ 9 and 10:30.

Transported back in time...

Last night, I walked into the Easton High School Stadium after 25 or 26 years! Still looked the same. What was different was that I was now rooting against Easton and for Wi Hi! You see, Emma's Wi Hi Girls Soccer team played Easton last night!

It was really weird walking to the stadium by the school... having all those memories come back... then seeing my Shop teacher, Mr. Craig still there coaching Soccer (boys). Actually he said he had retired 5 years ago. Then in the stadium, I saw the librarian, Mrs. Cook and her hubby, Mr. Cook, who happened to be my 9th grade Biology teacher. He said he retired in the late 80's and was there watching his daughter play soccer! WOW!

It sure made for a fun and intersting night! Have not been back on school grounds since I left there in 1983 after graduation!

Time Consuming....

Dealing with the details of the aftermath of an accident is TIME CONSUMING! WOW!

Getting a rental, cleaning out the old vehicle, looking for a new one, getting in touch with the insurance people, doing some of the work that the insurance people should have done, researching what people say about the new vehicles you are looking at.... and the list goes on... not to mention the emotional drain of it all.

Here are some daylight pics of my truck. I am sure it is totalled.

THANKFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night about 9:30 Caroline and Emma were involved in an accident on Rt. 50. Both are okay as are the other people involved. Praise God!

The other driver failed to yeild the right of way and turned into Caroline. You can see from the pictures that both vehicles are likely totalled. But who cares! The important thing is that no one was hurt!!!

We are so thankful that Caroline was using my truck and not her car. We are thankful that the truck did not flip as it went down about a 5 foot bank. We are also thankful that it did not hit a lght pole that was there about where they went off the bank. So much to be thankful for!!!!

Great Day of Vision and Connection....

I am honored and privileged to serve on the Board of Directors of the Hazel Foundation that is in the process of shaping the legacy of Mr. Richard Hazel and the development of the 570 acre farm he left the foundation, now called the Hazel Outdoor Discovery Center. Today we had a Board meeting at 8:30 and at 10 hosted 35 persons from local conservation groups, national parks, universities, foundations, and churches; all who work with getting children outdoors and educating them about nature. It was a great day filled with lots of vision, helpful ideas, and connections.

The Hazel Outdoor Discovery Center is 570 acres of woods, ponds, trails, fields, a lodge, and pavillion that is made available for free to groups of people who teach children about the outdoors. We are in the begining stages of developing this property into a destination where children of all ethnic backgrounds can come to discover common bonds and enjoy nature!

In our scoiety where our children have an "electronic umbilica" it is important to provide a place that can help save our children from "nature deficit disorder".

God's Beautiful Creation....

Last night I was marveling at the intricate designs and colors of God's beautiful creation. I was watching some beautiful yellow and black gold finches enjoy feeding on the variety of sunflowers I have in my garden.

Ready for Wi Hi Varsity Soccer....

Having a group to belong to when entering 9th grade has been very beneficial for our girls. 3 years ago, Caroline had band. And now Emma has soccer. It has been fun to watch Emma connect with the team and get excited about playing soccer once again!

Have a friend whose daughter is a freshman at SU and she had the field hockey team this year and he concurs what a difference that makes. (btw, I saw her name in the paper today for scoring a goal!)

A first....

This year is the first time in their entire school career, that Caroline and Emma are in the same school. Yesterday was Emma's first day of highschool and today was Caroline's last first day of high school.

A must follow....

Community of Joy has a heart for homeless people and working to help our homeless brothers and sisters here in Salisbury find hope. In the winter, we are one of about 12 local churches that open their facilities to our homeless brothers to sleep in at night and provide a hot supper, bag lunch and breakfast.

Recently I stumbled accross this blog... it is one worth following...