Hunting with a camera

While taking a mid day break yesterday from bow hunting, I took my camer out of the bag and outside to hunt some fall color.

Here is some of what I found in my parent's yard.

Cold BUT....

I was in the whitetail woods this morning for the first time this fall.  It sure was COLD, but it was a beautiful time out! 

The wood ducks and mallards were very active about 30 yards beside me in the river.  The squirrels were not as active this morning as I thought they might be.  A bald eagle flew around and over me.  Saw a nice buck as I walked in and jumped a deer that I did not see but nothing while on stand.  Nothing deer wise that is.  I did enjoy watching three young foxes playing nearby in the woods.  Two ran off.  And one decided to lay down to take a nap - twice.  He laid there over an hour just 20 plus yards away.  For a while he groomed himself and then he fell asleep.  The sound of a squirrel hoping in the leaves awakened him, but he was too much in a daze to catch it.  Rather than laying still and waiting for the squirrel to take a few more hops, he stood up and stretched and thus gave his location away... the squirrel jumped on the nearest tree and was out of there!

Beautiful to be out in the woods this day!

The Beauty of God's World...

This is one of my favorite times of the year!

Look around at the pure beauty of God's world... and you see why!

More thoughts on fruit...

Sunday's discussion of John 15:1-17 is swimming around in my being today.  

Someone raised the concern that often times christians judge other christians by the lack of evident fruit in their lives.  It is NOT our place to judge others at all!  That is God's role. 

That said, the way we live our lives, the way we treat others, the way we conduct ourselves when situations don't go our way... all gives testimony to the presence or lack of presence of the Spirit of God at work in us.   We can't just say we are a Christian and then not live like one.    There must be evidence.

That's what Paul works at in Galatians 5:16, 22 -24.... "Live by the Spirit, I say , and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.... By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generousity, fiathfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against such things.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it's passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit."

The presence of the Spirit in our lives transforms us from desires of the flesh to desires of the Spirit.    May the Spirit work his transforming power in our lives so that the way we live gives testimony to the love of Jesus!

First time for this...

First time ever in my 21 years of pastoral ministry that I "filled the pulpit" for myself... but I did it yesterday and it was fun!   Decided to use the 5Q method of Bible Study as the medium for the message time and it was rich!

I love engaging people to read, reflect, and interact with the Bible and then to apply it to their lives.  Found the participation to be plentiful and insightful.  Had several people mention how good it was when they were leaving.

While it doesn't take as much prep time as a sermon does, I did find that the tiredness level after the time is equal.  But after a wonderful walk in the beautiful outdoors at Pemberton Park with my lovely wife yesterday, I found rejuvination!

Bummer Vacation...

This should have been an awesome vacation!  But instead it is a bummer...

First, I learned too late in the weekend that my coverage for this Sunday was not available and I didn't have time to figure out how to take care of that, so I will guide our conversations on Sunday!  Thankful that we just had a weekend away with Caroline.

Second, thought I was working at getting things ready for the sika hunters at the place I am guiding... but that didn't pan out.

Third, I thought I was guiding all three days of the muzzleloader season, but it now looks like it will only be Thursday. 

So, this week has not been what I hoped it would be! 

Outta Here for a bit....

This week was supposed to be a week's vacation for me, but due to some sad circumstances I am not taking the full week.  Praying for the family of our District Executive, whose father died this past week.  Gene was scheduled to preach for me on Sunday and now can't due to the memorial service for his dad.  So, I will be back from vacation to fill-in on Sunday.

It will not be a sermon as such but a time of reading, reflecting, and listening to God as we look at John 15:1-17.

I had promised a friend that I would work with him this week guiding sika hunters for the early muzzleloader season on Thursday through Saturday, so I can't change the dates of my time off.  It just seemed easier at the last minute to step back in on Sunday.  Thankfully, we had another Sunday off so that we could go to Caroline's Family Weekend at Bridgewater College and that weekend was not a vacation due to my being away the entire week before for my Advance Foundations of Church Leadership Cohort.

I am looking forward to the next week in the marshland of Dorchester County... Crapo, MD.  Love the harsh habitat, and the sounds and sights of Maryland's little elk.  Also looking forward to seeing some good friends who will return this year to hunt with us! 

Hopefully I will get some great photos too!

An interesting approach....

As I travel long distances by myself, I listen to podcasts of several pastors sermons and other leadership material.  Yesterday on my way to and from the Area One Church of the Brethren Pastor's group I was listening to the final two of Andy Stanley's sermons in a series called "Road to Recovery".   I HIGHLY recommend this series.  Infact, it might be fun to watch them in a group and discuss.  I think Andy has lots of good things to say about the state of our nation and our economy.

One thing he said that resonates with me is this.... he says that many churches and non-profits are struggling financially right now and are blaming the economy for it.  He says it is the economy but not the way we think it is. Andy says that people are living in fear of the future so they are holding on to more of their funds than giving.  The shortage is not necessarily that things have gotten more expensive or funds tighter but that fear is making people hold on tighter.   I think that this makes sense.

Being the Body...

Spent the day today being the body!  And it is a great thing to be!

Started yesterday when one of our folks who was having surgery today was struggling to accept the offers of people from Community of Joy to be the body... to transport to and from the surgery.  It's hard to let others do for you.  It is easier to do for others.  But it is important to be both... to be the body of Christ for others and to allow others to be the body for us! 

I was happy to be the one who was able to serve and share love in this way, but I am also delighted when others step up and serve and share love with me.  It is a two way street!

If you are one who is eager to help others but struggles to allow others to help you, I challenge you to change that pronto!  Please be eager to let others be the body of Christ to you too!  It is how God designed us... to be mutually dependant on each other!  The body is not complete unless you serve and allow others to serve you!

Here are the lyrics to a song that captures well what I am saying...

"Will you let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I might have the grace
To let me be your servant too"

Living Witnesses

The book I am reading this week is Sacrilege: Finding Life in the unorthodox ways of Jesus by Hugh Halter.  I really like Hugh's books and think he is pressing a button that needs to be pressed in today's american Christian malaise.

Here is a quote from Hugh to challenge us "When Jesus called his followers to be witnesses, he was asking them to allow their lived to tell the story of his life.  He wanted their actions, their community, their values, their love and kindness, and their visible transformation to be the most powerful way to communicate God's heart to the world."

Too many times when we try to use our words, we turn seeking people off and away from ever wanting to follow Jesus.  Largely due to the inconsistency of our words and our living.  But when our lives tell the story... people begin to see God's love and are drawn toward it not pushed away from it!

King of the World

Last night in our Bible Study group, we read and explored Mark 15.  It is the trial and crucifixion scene.  As we explored the passage, I had an interesting insight.  The charge against Jesus is that he is the King of the Jews.  Yet, that is not a title Jesus ever uses to refer to himself. 

I always understood the interaction with Pilate (in 15:2) when he asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews, and Jesus responds saying, "you have said so." as Jesus telling Pilate that it is as he said.  But last night it hit me that perhaps, Jesus is saying to Pilate, "it is you that is saying that, not me."  So, I explored a bit and found that Jesus NEVER refers to himself as the King of the Jews.  And for good reason!  He is NOT!   Rather he is King of the World!  He came to the world... not JUST the jews.  Yes he was a jew and yes he came first to them, but he came for the world.

I am so thankful that Jesus is not King of the Jews!  But that he is so much more!

Life Stages....

I love the stage of life that I am in right now! 

As our children grew and moved from one stage to another, Sharon and I would often say, how much we loved the stage we were entering and how much we missed the stage we left.  Not any more!

On Friday, we crossed into a new stage for us.  All four of us can now drive by ourselves.  And I absolutely love it!  After years of playing taxi driver, I now find that I have more time on my hands and less to worry about in my daily schedule.  Yesterday was the first day that I didn't have to be concerned about when I needed to leave to pick up Emma or take her some place and it was freeing!

Caroline is soaring in her second year of college and is going to new heights as a young adult and it is wonderful to see!  She is discovering who she is and living out of her gifts!  It was so wonderful to see her thriving in her environment this past weekend!

All of that leaves Sharon and me more time to enjoy being together and that has been wonderful too!  We enjoy walking at the mall in the morning, going out to eat, watching football together, and just hanging out!  Now we don't have to worry about who will go where to get whom.

It also leaves me more able to do things that I enjoy doing as well. 

Absolutely love this stage of life!   

Welcome...

It is always interesting to attend another church, besides the one you lead!  The place we went on Sunday was one we attend often when we visit Caroline, so we are no strangers there.  But you would think we have some horible disease!  As no one, besides the people we already know, speaks to us.

Thought that this was going to be the case again on Sunday, until this lady and her husband came up to us right before worship to welcome us - I guess that is what it was!  They came up smiling and stuck their hands out said "welcome!"  "And who are you?"...

I prefer to say, "Hi, I am Martin and what is your name?"  It feels a whole lot more welcoming!

One other reflection... when we entered the building... someone greeted us with a name tag on that said "Welcome" Today's Greeter".... Well, in my opnion, they would be better off, having people assigned to be greeters, but without name tags telling me that is why they greeted me!

It is interesting how unfriendly some churches can be!  I sure hope Community of Joy is not that way!  I am sure we miss the boat sometimes, but I hope not often!

Neat Weekend...

Really enjoyed getting to see Caroline this past weekend at Bridgewater College's Family Weekend!  On Friday night we were able to attend an Eagle Productions event that she was the team leader for and it was fun!  It is so neat to be able to see her living in her element and watch the leader in her fly high! Definitely makes her dad proud!

It was also neat to meet some of her friends and to get to spend time with them and their parents.  We had a fabulous weekend and very much appreciate Community of Joy releasing our time so that we could do this on the heels of being away all last week for the Advanced Foundations of Church Leadership cohort.