Blessing Others Feels Good!

At Community of Joy, we teach and encourage people to bless others because we are blessed by God so that we can!  Today, I had the privelege to drop off the three baskets (see pictures and other info in post below - made earlier today) we are donating to Pinehurst Elementary School's Destination Imagination Global Competition Team travel expenses.   It was such a great feeling to be able to do so!   Blessing others makes the heart sing and the soul soar!  

When I entered the office with the first basket the buzz began and it continued throughout my trips to bring all three in.  I have already gotten feed back from my contact there that the baskets are being bid on at a high level.   In addition to the baskets we will give tomorrow $270 (this figure also increased from the earlier post)!   With this cash gift, they have raised over $3600 of the needed $7000.

What an incredible feeling to bless others!  Do you want to find out how it feels?  It is easy!  Take a look around and look for a way that you can share something that you have with someone else as a way to bless them... and look out!  Your heart will sing and your soul will soar!

Blessed By God SO THAT We Can Bless Others... Pinehurst

Community of Joy is Pinehurst Elementary School's Faith Based Partner and we are always on the look out for ways that we can share a blessing with the students and staff of the school.

A week ago, I got a phone call from a staff person at the school sharing the great news that a team from the school is headed for Destination Imagination's Global Competition in Tennesee and they needed to raise $7,000 to send them.  One of the things they were doing was auctioning theme baskets at the PTA to raise funds.  I put out an email asking if anyone in our congregation would like to coordinate an effort to donate a basket.  Before long, I got a response from Tracey Townsend that she would step up to coordinate a basket... actually she wanted to do two baskets and in the end made THREE!

I am overwhelmed by the generousity of folks at Community of Joy and by their deep understanding of what it means to be blessed by God so that we can bless others.  In addition to the three theme baskets, people also gave $240.

WOW!

Emma's Junior Prom

A Surprise...

Last Saturday when I was turkey hunting with my nephew Ben, we walked by an old deer stand - one with sides and a roof... we saw a big bird fly out...so I climbed up to explore. I discovered what I thought I would find...but not exactly as I thought I would find it. There were two eggs and no nest. Beautiful eggs but an ugly bird. Anyone know what kind of egg they are?

Easier than you might think

On my flight out yesterday, I atarted reading a book that was recommendednto me recently..."Quiet Leadership:Six steps to Transforming Performance at Work" by David Rock. two interesting insights so far...1. "we tend to see the world as we are not as it is.". Take a few moments to think about that one. 2. because of the way our mind works and hardwires habits..."changing a habit is hard but leaving it where it is and starting a new one is easier.".

Get Nailed Group Shares Love...

Our men's group has taken it to the next level... on Saturday, some of them gathered at the home of an elderly couple in town to do some major yard work as a way of sharing Christ's love.  I was unable to be of much help since I had previously committed to take my nephew turkey hunting.  But I did stop by on my way home as they were winding down.  They filled 3 full size trucks - 2 with yard debris and 1 with busted up cement.  It was so cool to see the group move to this stage of applying what we learn each week.   We are Blessed by God so that we can Bless others!

Beauty All Around...

Was honored yesterday to be able to spend time in the turkey woods with my 13 year old nephew Ben.  It was a pretty uneventful day as far as turkey activity goes, but we sure enjoyed some beautiful sights in God's world.

The excitement was just too much for Ben at times... I couldn't resist taking this photo...

PInk Slippers, Bald Eagles, Running Deer, Gobbing Turkeys and Delmarva Fox Squirrel

What a day!   Arrived at the farm at 5:30 and promptly headed to a road in the woods where I listened for a gobble... heard what I was listening for on the other side of the farm, so headed over there quickly.  Turns out that there were at least 9 or 10 gobblers sounding off over there.  In three different directions.  One was a group of Jakes.  I wasn't aggressive enough and set up too far away.  Was unable to call them in before the hens joined them and led them away.  Made one move trying to get closer and played with two gobblers throughout the morning but the hens were still with them and they were not leaving them to come to me!

While sitting on the ground, I had 5 deer walk as close as 5 yards away from me and didn't even know I was there.  Wish I had my camera out at that time.  It would have been a great picture!  I did have a delmarva fox squirrel come by and was able to get a picture of him... notice the spider web on his nose!

Enjoyed seeing pink lady's slippers, 13 deer total, a green inch worm and a pair of bald eagles along with a young.  God's creation sure is beautiful!  Can you see the spider in the pink slipper?

In the last picture of the inch worm... do you see the tick?

When Uneventful Is REFRESHING...

Today was day two of Turkey season and I went again today and plan to go tomorrow a.m. too as all of next week I will be in Indiana for church business.

I went to the same spot as yesterday, because it is a great spot. But today, I had a gun instead of my bow.  I heard one gobble on roost about 6 a.m. and he gobbled about 5 times then sounded like one time after he flew down and that was all I heard today.  And I saw nothing either.  Most folks would find an uneventful hunt like this depressing.  But not me!

For the first hour or so, I sat there as the dawn broke and prayed.  I prayed for Community of Joy, for my family, for the guys in my mens group, for their spouses and families.  Then after a long time of prayer, I got out my kindle and began to read a book and the Bible.  I had anticipated that not much would happen until at least 10 a.m. today, so I planned to occupy my time in a manner that would bring refreshment and boy did it!

In the overfilled lives that we lead where everything is coming at us fast, it is refreshing to get away from everything in the middle of the woods, sit on the ground as the night breaks day, basking in the breaking rays of sun and the harmoneous dawn chorus.   We need down time...time away...time for refreshment... time to make space for God.  Days like today are envigorating because they make time for God and give him priority rather than fitting him in the midst of all the busyness!  Part of why I think Jesus often went off by himself to the mountains to pray!

I hope you can find some refresment from getting away from it all!  Maybe for you it isn't in the woods, perhaps it is at the beach or park or someplace else.  Where ever it is, I encourage you to make a habit of having down time!

A Tale of Three Turkeys...

Well today was the first day of Turkey Season.  I love the first day of turkey season and have not missed hunting one since I took up turkey hunting back in 1995.   And most of those years on the first day, I get my first bird... but NOT this year!  I could have but that is another story...

This morning, I woke up at 3:30 so that I could be out the door and on my way to my Somerset County location by 4.   I arrived at 4:30 which was about half an hour too early, so I sat in the truck for half an hour and enjoyed watching the sliver of a moon rise in the east just ahead of the sun a few hours later.   I was walking down the farm lane in the dark without a flashlight by 5 and got to my spot and was set up by 6.

I don't usually need to go to the farm I hunt before the first day to scout because the turkeys use the farm in similar patterns every year and if you are patient enough, then usually before the end of the first day, you will see turkeys.  That was true this morning too!  However, my heart sank when I pulled in the farm lane and saw that the farm fields were planted with winter wheat and all this warm weather has it about 20 inches tall.. TOO TALL!   My favorite spot to set up is along a field edge and that was not possible this morning!

This was taken from the spot I usually like to set up.  Not today!

So, I decided to go to another favorite spot... over the years I have killed most of my turkeys on this farm from these two spots.  Most years, I hear lots of turkeys gobble on roost.  One year I identified 27 different birds.  This year I heard only 3.  And by 7 a.m. all was quiet.  I never heard another gobble until 10 a.m.  Then I had one gobble in response to one of my calls and this bird was behind me.  I had chosen to take the bow this morning and that proved to make for the turkey's lucky day!  He came in behind me and as close as 10 yards and for the next hour gobbled, strutted, spit and drummed behind me that whole time.  His gobbles made the hair on the back of my neck stand up - he was that close.  The only problem was that I was sitting on the ground with bow in hand facing the other way (toward my decoys) and he was behind me and I couldn't move and he couldn't see my decoys...so on and on and on it went.

For the better part of an hour we played this game.   If I had had a gun in my hand, I could have spun around and got him or if I had been in a blind I could have turned around and got him... but I don't like hunting out of a blind - I am more in favor of sitting in nature.  So, I sat there and sat there... finally, I got a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye as he started to drift away (I quit calling him and didn't respond to his calls so he lost interest)   He was a BIG Tom... likely had a 12 inch beard and would have gone well over 20 pounds.  I hoped he would drift out to the woods lane and see my decoys and then I knew it would be over.   For the next half an hour he and I called back and forth as he steadily walked away.

All that calling brought two more turkeys in but they came in QUIET!  They also came from behind me and got to about 10 yards when one of them saw me so, I closed my eyes and waited till I heard him spit and drum and walk.  Unfortunately for me, I had taken my mouth call out of my mouth (this is the first year I have been able to use one - conquering my severe gag reflex!)  and I had placed my bow in it holder.   When the two Toms saw my decoys, they took off running toward the strutting decoy.  But when I grabbed my bow, the jake caught my movement and the gig was up.   I was able to draw on them and could have shot both of them with one arrow but that is not legal so I had to wait for the bigger bird to get clear... when he did, I thought I had a big enough opening in the sapplings to shoot through but not so!  My arrow hit a branch and deflected over the turkey's back... and they went away.   The jake stayed about 25 yards away for 10 minutes trying to decide if it was going to come back... it didn't.  But in the mean time, the first bird from earlier was coming back...BUT the clock was 11:50 and you have to be done hunting by 12... so, all I could do was hurry and get my stuff together and get out of there so that I didn't educate him.

This is the opening I tried to shoot through... Not wise!

What an awesome day to be in the woods!  Though, I have never been so bored in the early morning hunting at this farm.  Usually, I am done by 7 and home by 8 but not today.  Since it was the first day, I stayed the full time.  The 3 boring hours gave lots of time for prayer... praying for my family, Community of Joy, and some dear friends.   So all in all it was a great Turkey Season opener!

Surely God Smiles...

I have said for a long time... Surely God smiles when Christian Churches work together!  

I began saying that regularly when we began cooperating with Bethany Lutheran Church and Beacon of Light  Seventh Day Church to host the Men's Homeless Shelter.  And last night our Leadership Team at Community of Joy decided to take it to a new level.

Begining real soon, we will be sharing our Ministry Center on Sunday afternoons with a new Quaker (Religious Society of Friends) worship gathering - Salisbury Friends Worship Group.   It is led by Kye Parsons, who has joined us for worship on many occasions at Community of Joy.   They will meet on Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m.

We are excited to share the space with them and as we do, remember the blessing Salisbury Christian School was to us when we needed a space to gather in years ago.  I feel that our experience on the other side of the line will help us make this the best expereince we can for our Quaker Friends!

We will still hold our regular Carry-in meals on Sundays after our 10:30 a.m. worship gathering but will give them advance notice and invite them to join us for the meal and then they can use the facility.

It is exciting to cooperate and to share the blessing of God with others!   Welcome aboard Friends!  May God increase your numbers and make fruitful your witness!

Hazel Outdoor Discovery Center

One of the things in life that I am thrilled to be part of is the development of the Hazel Outdoor Discovery Center in Eden, MD.   It is a 525 acre piece of property that was left to a foundation (I am on the board of the foundation) to give shape to Mr. Dick Hazel's vision of a place where children of all races can discover the outdoors and common ground between races.  

The property is in the development phase.  Currently we have been working hard on creating trails so that visitors can experience the beauty of the property.  It is made available for FREE for scout groups, church groups, 4-H clubs, any group working with children but is by appointment only.  

Yesterday, the board met at the property with our families and took a hike along some of the new trails.