Entering

I have decided to take a friends suggestion and enter the Ward Museum Photo Contest.  Here are the photos I am entering....

Only One Remains...

The two fawns are definately orphaned and now there is only one.  She is out in the field many times a day and always voraciously eating!

I can't resist snapping pictures of her... today, I took a deer call out and was able to use it to get even closer to her.

What Business Are We In?

What business is the church in?  That's a great question and one that it would do well for us to ask.  In these days... it seems that there are hundreds of ways that we could answer that question.

A friend and fellow preacher - Jim Benedict - says this in his sermon for July 31 (already posted on his church's website!)...

"We are not in the “fill the pews” business. We are not in the “boost the offering” business. We are not in the “provide entertainment” business. We are not in the “perpetuate our wonderful tradition” business. All those things may come into play as we go about our business, but they are not the business we are in. Our business is to be the living presence of God in the world, reaching out to hurting people, expressing God’s love in ways that ordinary people can understand so that they will want to enter into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ."

I couldn't agree more!  As I like to say...we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world....loving God and loving others, even our enemies!

They are regular....

These twin orphaned fawns are regular in my neighbors back yard.... aren't they cute?!

Soon Will Be 6 Months....

It will soon be 6 months since I came down with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.  While the pain of the shingles is gone now, the effects of the Bells Palsy continue to bother me.  As you can see from the picture, my right eye is still not functioning 100%... though I am not using drops near as much as I have.  A bottle lasts more than a week now instead of a few days.  And my mouth is still not released fully so that I still can't whistle or form words accurately.  It has been an interesting journey for sure.  Grateful that some day in the near future even these effects will be a distant memory.   It is amazing how much we take for granted even the simple acts such as blinking or squinting or puckering our lips for a kiss or to whistle a tune or spit.

Friends...

Proverbs 18:24 - " Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family."

A true friend is a real gift in life!  I am reminded about this reality every year when we go on our annual camping trip to Greenwood Furnace State Park in the mountains of central PA.  You see, for the last 14 years we have met up with two families - friends of ours - to share a week of camping together.  We all used to live in the same community, but time and jobs have called two of the three families away from that community, yet each year we gather and resume as if we still lived close by.  A true blessing to have such good friends.

In the between times, we communicate and connect through a variety of ways to keep our friendship strong.  We pray for one another and support one another through life's ups and downs.  Nothing makes challenging times easier than a good friend upholding you in prayer and reaching out in support.

One of the guys... Bryan, just happens to share a birthday (day, month, and year) with me which makes our connection even stronger.  It is always fun to spend time together.

Also on this trip, we have taken the same two friends of our girls most years.  It is fun to watch them enjoy a week together and to share the deep connection of friendship that remains strong no matter where life takes them.  It was cool this year when one of them asked if she would be able to bring her children along and get a campsite of their own when that time comes!  Ofcourse we are delighted at that possibility.

Also in this time we enjoy re-connecting with many of our friends at the first church we pastored... the Spring Run Church of the Brethren.  This year it was particularly exciting to share worship with them as they welcome new pastors... a team - husband and wife team... just like Sharon and I 21 years ago.  We look forward to a budding friendship with this team in ministry too!

One HOT Week....

We always enjoy our week at Greenwood Furnace State Park in PA with our friends.  We have done this now for 14 years and enjoyed having all 4 of our daughters with us!  It was HOT but we still had a great time.  Looking forward already to next years trip... hopefully in August this time.

Back from Vacation and Look What I See...

Right out my back door, while hanging clothes on the line, I see these two orphans...

Here we go...

Today is a day I look forward to all year... and it rivals the first day of hunting season!  We are heading to PA for a week with good friends in the mountains at a camp ground.  We are taking all four of our daughters... and meeting the two families that we have met there for 14 years now.  It is a week of much needed R and R.  No cell phone connection in the campground.  No email.  No facebook... no worries, but the bears and skunks and maybe too much rain, since we are in tents... but we can survive even that!

Back in a week!

Progress....

I am happy to have spent the time painting the trim white.  Have some touch up cutting in to do where the paint bled under the new edgelock blue tape that wasn't supposed to bleed... but better than not having the tape.

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow...

Last week, we got word that my friend who needs a ramp was approved for a grant for the materials from Lowes through a community give give back program.  This has been in the works for a number of years...all to no avail.  Now it is happening.

But then the contractor who was part of the picture decided he couldn't help out.  And it is a requirement from Lowes to have a licensed contractor oversee the project.  I began working right away and thanks to a good friend of mine who has a friend who is just such a person... I think we now have a contractor.  Then that person and a team from both Community of Joy and Lowes will get together to build this ramp!

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow!

A GREAT Place to Eat...

The Georgia House is now open in Salisbury.  It is at the former Chef Fred's.  This is a wonderful place to eat!

Last night they hosted the ministers of Salisbury for FREE to bless us!  What a blessing it was.  The food is delicious!  I have eaten alot of sweet potato biscuits in my life and love them, but none has been better than the ones I ate last night at Georgia House.  I am told wait till they have peach buscuits... can't wait!

The crab soup was topshelf too!

Might just find my way back there tonight for supper.  HIGHLY recommend! 

Lowarchy

The other night at Bible Study... we were talking about how Jesus welcomes the little children and rebukes the apprentices for pushing them away.  In that day, children were not very high on the totem pole!  They were marginal members of society.

That led into a conversation about how in our world we mostly operate under and build hierarchies but in Jesus kingdom, he constantly invites us to the lowarchy!  Consider this... "the first will be last and the last will be first"... "the greatest is the servant of all."... "humble yourself".

Jesus constantly invites us to set aside our visions and schemes for heirarchies and instead recognize that all people are created in God's image and are dearly loved by him and in God's kingdom there is no such thing as heirarchy.

Step One Done...

Have been painting my dining and living rooms before I put down hardwood floor.  Here is the result.  Now trying to decide if I should paint the trim or leave it the way it is or stain it a bit darker.  Such a hard decision!  Choosing the paint color was a bit simpler, but not much... it took us 108 different paint samples on cards and 5 real samples that I painted on the wall to decided on the three shades of brown.

Good News....Ramps a comin!

Got word this morning that my new friend Dick is about to get his ramp.  Lowes approved the grant and plans now are in full swing for Lowes Associates and Community of Joy folks to work together to build this ramp.  Dick is excited!

Looks like the first week of August will be the first opportunity for the build!  But so much depends on the local contractor who is heading the project. 

I am excited to be part of this effort!

Questions and Answers....

Life is filled with questions and answers.   After all that is one of the main ways we learn!  Asking questions.

Jesus was noted to asking questions and answering questions with questions.

On Sunday we will examine an important question that Jesus asks his followers.  Actually it is a question, that I beleive all of us must answer at some point in our lives.  Who is Jesus?

May Christians are known to say that Jesus is the Answer.  But to that I ask... what is the question?

I suggest that Jesus is MORE than the answer!   And our response to his question above is MORE than an answer!   And that is the very thing we will talk about on Sunday!  

If you are interested he tells us about it in Luke 9:18-27.

The Big Meeting...

This year I was unable to go to the Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren (the Big Meeting) in Grand Rapids, MI.  Would have liked to have been there in person... but was delighted to have been able to be there through the technology of webcasts!  I listened to most of the business sessions and a couple of the worship gatherings.  And am glad I did!

A cool thing for me, was that I could partake, while not expending a dime to do it... and could get my living room painted, the dining room carpet removed, the wall paper down, and half of it painted.  That's a great way to multi-task!

Especially touched by the closing worship on Wednesday a.m.   Would highly recommend you listen if you so desire... www.brethren.org/ac.