Attraction.

Payson, Arizona

Been reading parts of a book, our host Chuck gave me, called The Shaping of Things To Come(Frost/Hirch).  This morning I read this:  Built into every fabric of New Testament teaching on the extension of the Kingdom is the assumption that when the Christian community embraces a godly, holy lifestyle, it will so tantalize the wider community that they will seek after God.  And yet so much of what typifies the so-called holiness movement in the fundamentalist-evangelical churches has had the opposite effect.  When the wonders of life in Christ are boiled down to teetotalling, it’s hardly likely to arouse great interest in the community about us.  If by holiness we simply mean no drinking, no smoking and no dancing we have a very limited view of the concept. 

This is not particularly new.  We know withdrawal doesn’t work, but the quote got me thinking about what will work.  Has there ever been a period in American history (perhaps the Civil War era, or the Great Depression) when the culture as a whole needs the Kingdom more than it does today?  The cultural upheaval we are experiencing right now, starting with new leadership, for good or bad, right on through a total revamping of the financial world, has opened the door wide to a Kingdom culture and way of life.  During this shaking season, it appears whatever can be shaken will be shaken, but the writer of Hebrews says “we have been given a Kingdom that cannot be shaken”.  So it makes sense, doesn’t it, the culture badly shaken and still shaking could use something solid to come to for safety?

If we who are Kingdom people will handle this crisis personally, corporately, relationally, economically in a way that mirrors the Kingdom of our God and not the kingdom of this world we will make this Life so attactive that there will be a move of the Spirit in our world the likes of which we have never seen.  If we are respectful, self controlled, kind, loving, and faithful along with soundness of mind, integrity, seriousness and display a faith that sees not what is easily seen by every one, but a faith that sees what our Father sees, there will be an attraction to our King that false holiness has never had.

It is fine to abstain from the use of alcohol out of devotion to God, but if our lives are marked with greed, self-centerdness, arrogance, fear, holding tight to our stuff, and trying to simply gut it out, preserving our own stake, in what way will our light ever reach the culture?

What can we do to shine during these days, so there is an attraction to the Kingdom and not a repulsion? Frost and Hirch offer some suggestions and I have expanded them to reflect what I am Hearing:

• See to it that no one has to face their problems alone.  Challenges like we face today tend to isolate people and loneliness and despair are the result.
• Make safe places for people to reveal their pain and struggles. Let it be OK to struggle.  We don’t have to fix, just care.
• Allow each person to have a voice, not just the strong and the wealthy.  Seek out the poor, weak  and those nobody else wants.
• Don’t isolate the young or the old.  Both ends of the age specturm are the most vulnerable in crisis. Be a real Family.
• Invest resources in people not buildings or programs.  We cannot afford to do business as usual in the Church.  While we must not abandon those who serve us as their vocation, we do need to evaluate every dime we are spending with Kingdom values in mind. Use our Spirit filled creativity to create jobs and grow the resources we have.  Just doing “church” won’t get it done.
• We must not require agreement in order to have deep, meaningful relationships.  This is the part of church the culture just doesn’t get.  Why can’t we get along?  This crisis is going to cause all kinds of fights and disagreements in the government, schools, states and cities and among neighbors and on and on because the world will be doing what the world does, trying to preserve and protect what they have and take advantage of a bad situation to protect themselves.  A “City on a Hill” will be a bright contrast to all that darkness.
• Expect the Supernatural.  Anyone can do what comes naturally but Kingdom people can live Supernaturally and when people see what God can do, they will come in droves!

If Kingdom people will do these things and more, there will be a revival and the culture will be regenerated in a positive, Kingdom way.  Something no bailout will ever accomplish.

Someone must have some thoughts and ideas on this one.

Monday morning meanderings. Vol.68

Sayre, Oklahoma

The weather has been real nice, a little windy of course but lots of sun and warm temps.  Feels good.  The weather allowed me to get some much needed maintenance done on the truck and trailer, this weekend, so that was productive.

Item one. For some of you, your worst fears will be realized tomorrow, when Barrack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.  But not mine.  I am optimistic, as optimistic as I can be when my president does not support some issues that are very important to me.  The weight of the office must be huge and it has a way of changing the way presidents view things, once they get a close up view. Perhaps this will be the case for Mr. Obama.

Even though I will not agree with all his policies, like all patriots I am going to rejoice in the ceremonies of the day. I am going to celebrate the peaceful transition of power, the working Constitution, and the wonderful symbolism of an African-American president. I will not agree with some of the things he says or does, but that will not take away from my happiness as an American. Tomorrow, Mr. Obama will be my president, and as head of the government of the country where I live and am a citizen by birth and choice, I will pray for him and honor him. When he acts as head of his party, I will act as the loyal opposition when given the opportunity.

Did you know there are other verses to our National Anthem?  Here is one I hope they will sing at tomorrows ceremony: Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!  Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, And this be our motto: “In God is our trust” And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave  O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Item two.  Have you heard of Mark Driscoll?  I have never listened to any of his sermons but I suspect if I did I would like them.  What I find interesting and troubling about him is not his style or the anti-church, church he has built in non-church Seattle, but the theology he is committed to.  He is an unabashed and a full on Calvinist and   Calvinism, in my opinion, is both scary and wrong,  for many of the reasons he embraces it.  I just read a very interesting article from the New York Times on Driscoll and found it a very good read.  You can find it HERE. 

Item three. Interesting changes in higher education that the church could pay attention to.  Read this, right HERE.  Do you think the way we teach in the church is really as productive as it could be?  Are we paying attention?

Item four.  Great website to introduce you to some of the best writing from the world of blogging.  It is like having access to the best writing out there, updated every hour, on almost any topic or interest.  I use it to find all kinds of helpful information especially related to the church and teaching but I just looked at the page on fishing.  It is called Alltop and can be found right HERE.  Check it out.

Item five.  I dvr’d the two championship games yesterday and watched them both in about an hour each.  Best way to watch football if you just want to see the game.  I am not a big professional football guy but I watch it this time of the season.  Pittsburg is stout, no doubt about their ability to punish you, but I like Arizona’s big play potential and I really like Kurt Warner’s willingness to put it all on the line, on and off the field, including his faith.  So, I am going with the Cardinals in the Super Bowl.  How about you?

 Blessings on your week.

Monday morning meanderings. Vol. 64

Sayre, Oklahoma

Knowing what family and friends in the Northwest are going through, related to weather, I really can’t complain about here.  It has been really cold but no snow to speak of and the wind has been mostly under 20mph, for the last couple of days, which is nice.  The best thing about out here weather wise is that the sun almost always shines.  Sun does make things better.

Item one.  Speaking of weather.  This article from the Seattle PI caught my eye this morning with these fun facts about Seattle weather:

• The biggest snowstorm of the last century was in 1916, when 33 inches fell between Jan. 31 and Feb. 3. That storm holds the record for the most snow falling in 24 hours, at 21.5 inches between 5 p.m. Feb. 1 and 5 p.m. the next day.
• During an unexpected storm that began on Jan. 13, 1950, the Puget Sound area was choked by almost 2 feet of snow that fell in 24 hours. Winds whipped the snow into drifts 6 feet high and blinded those caught out and about, making it the area’s only snowfall on record to be considered an actual blizzard. The storm left 13 people dead and caused $1 million in damage.
• Seattle’s snowiest winter on record was in 1968-69, with a total of 67.5 inches.
• A storm beginning on Dec. 18, 1990, dumped a foot of snow in and around Seattle. Teachers stayed overnight with 2,600 stranded pupils at 37 schoolhouses around King County rather than send them off into the hazardous elements.
• A series of snow, ice and rainstorms beginning on Dec. 26, 1996, caused 16 deaths in the state and $57 million in damages in Seattle and King County. Two storms — one dumping 6-12 inches and another of 10 inches of wet snow — followed by heavy rain collapsed carports and covered boat moorings and snapped power lines.

The full article can be found HERE.  Hopefully no records will be broken this week!

Item two.  We are into the third year of living full time in our RV and the last couple of weeks have been the most trying, that I can remember.  We like most things about it; little maintenance, can be cleaned in a few minutes, not much stuff to store or take care of, we can live anywhere…  But what isn’t good about it is severe weather.  We have been really fortunate for most of the time we have lived on wheels to be in places where the weather is warm most of the time.  Last year we were in Arizona at this point. We are still planning to be in Arizona for most of the winter but we really miscalculated the time to head out this year.  We have frozen up a couple of times, go through the propane like we never have before, which fogs up the windows and I find I worry more about what might happen to the rig than I like.  I guess that is the trade off for living this lifestyle. 

Item three.  We are leaving in the morning sometime, (Tuesday) to drive to Washington via Colorado.  We will spend Christmas with my father, brother and his family and then start driving toward the NW.  My father will be 85 in March so wanted to spend some time with him during the holidays. This will be the first Christmas not spent with our children, ever.  But given the state of the weather out there and the airport closures we probably made a good choice for travel.  We don’t mind long drives and we don’t have to be in a hurry so we will get there when we get there.  Our goal is around the 29th-30th.  We are excited to see Traci and Brandon’s new home.  After several months of close quarters they are enjoying their own place, especially a wood burning stove for these inclement days.  Can’t wait to see our four kids and 5 grandkids!  Want to see some videos of Canyon Paul?  HERE.

Item four. I realize that most of you don’t hit the links I put in here that direct you to things I think are worth reading.  Did you know I can tell what people read and don’t read on this site?  However I want to point you to something very valuable I read this morning from the Seattle PI.  The times are changing, whether we want to acknowledge them or not.  It seems most people expect our new President to fix things, as quickly as possible, so as to get us back to the the way things were.  Is it not possible and probable that the Father wants things in our world to be the way they are in order to get us to live in a Kingdom way.  Most of the problems we face in this country were caused by us-we are greedy, selfish, and overly focused on acquisition and consumption at levels far beyond what is right, ethically or morally.  We cannot continue to live as we have the last 25 years and expect any other result than the one we are experiencing right now.  We need this wake up call to get back to what is important and what it really means to live with Kingdom values and lifestyle.  The following link is not written by a follower of King Jesus, as far as I know, but what he writes is about Kingdom values and the need we all have to stop and realize who and what we have become.  I encourage you to read it.  Find it HERE.

Item five.  Here are a few other links you might find valuable is you have the time.  HERE on the Rick Warren prayer flap, HERE on church growth during hard times, HERE is one that says, under the old model you dated a few times and if you really liked the person you had sex, now the model is you hook up a few times and if you really like the person you might consider going on a date, and finally HERE, a post on why I miss the NW and fly fishing for steelhead and chums on the OP (Olympic Peninsula).

Item six. In my recent recapping of our Convergence School of Ministry Summit I have focused on Bob Mumford’s teaching.  I suspect many of my readers who were not at the school have passed over reading these posts but I don’t want you to miss this.  As we approach the day of celebrating the birth of our Savior and King I want to leave you with two things Bob said repeatedly while he was with us here.   The two most expensive attributes of the Kingdom are unqualified love and unlimited forgiveness.  There is nothing more Kingdom related, nothing more Biblically true, and nothing harder to do, yet more important than living out these two attributes.  Living with no restrictions on how much and who we love and who we are willing to forgive were intended by our Father to change the world.  Is there any doubt He is right?

Have a wonderful celebration of Jesus birthday.  I appreciate your visits here to The View From the Juniper Tree.  The fact that several hundred of you visit every week blesses me a lot.  Thank you.  See you down the road!

Monday morning meanderings. Vol.61

Cold this morning but the sun is shining.  That does make a difference.  As I have said repeatedly, the weather is very good here except for the wind. 

Item one.  Did you see T. Boone Pickins on 60 minutes last night.  He loves the wind we have out here.  Check this map out. (HERE)  His ranch and wind farm is about an hour or so west of here.  You can watch the 60 Minutes interview with T. Boone HERE.  I like this guy and wish he was running for prez.  He has actual plans and actually putting his money where his mouth is.  What a novel idea.  Maybe T. Boone could hook up with W. Buffett and fix things.  His view of things HERE.

Item two. Only 8 more days till the election.  Are you being bombarded with emails like I am with information about Obama?  I just don’t know what to think.  Is he a Muslim?  Is he the Biblical anti-Christ?  Are we on the door of the great tribulation?  Is he the messiah?  I know I won’t vote for him and there are a lot of questions but how does anyone actually know what is true and what is just made up?  What role does God play in all of this?  Does He place people in places of power or does He just let us have what we want?  A fairly reasoned approach to this subject can be found over at Vanguard.  I am not endorsing it, just find it interesting.  Find it HERE.

Item three.  Linda is in Washington now after a week with her family in Oregon.  She seems to be having a good time and enjoyed a few days on the Oregon coast with her two sisters.  I will join her Thursday evening for a long weekend.  Really looking forward to being back “home”. 

Item four.  Could there be anymore of a difference between the football teams of my home state and the ones in my adopted state.  Washington and Washington State are a combined 0-for the season and ranked near the very bottom of the Top 125 while Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have only one loss each and both to the #1 team in the country, Texas.  Oklahoma is #4 and Oklahoma State is #9.  Is it possible that two large state schools in the same state could be as miserable as UW and WSU? I watched a little of the UW/Notre Dame game and it was pathetic, not just horrible, embarrassing horrible.  On the other hand I watched both OU and OSU and they are very, very good, both of them.  It is fun to be in a state where the football is so good and Texas is on TV every week too.  Texas Tech and Missouri aren’t to bad either. If you like college football, this is a very good year to spend some time in the heartland. Update:  I forgot WSU did beat Portland State a junior varsity team.  There is another team here in Oklahoma that is 7-0, the Univerity of Tulsa Golden Hurricane. 

Have a great week.

Monday morning meanderings. Vol.60 (Wednesday)

The great weather has gone away for a few days, replaced by 30 mph winds with gusts to 40+, and some rain too.  I have gotten really spoiled by the weather here as it is has been so good most of the months we have been here.  The wind is the part I struggle with the most because it blows the trailer around some.  Oh well, good with bad.  The better weather will be back this weekend.

Item one.Linda left from OKC Monday to spend some time with her family in Oregon and then up to Washington to be with the kids and grandkids.  She is having a good time.  We couldn’t remember the last time she spent time alone with her parents so this is a good thing for all of them.  I miss having her here but will join her in Washington the end of the month.

Item two.  We have been doing quite a bit of travelling the last few days.  We drove up into the Oklahoma panhandle (Guyman) to bring an older 5th wheel back here for some friends.  It was a 400+ round trip. Then Monday the 300 mile RT to Oklahoma City for some business and to the airport, than yesterday a 2 hour RT up to Canadian, Texas to a meeting.  A little unusual to be out and about this much but always good to get on the road and see the country.

Item three.  For those of you in Washington, did you ever expect to see the Seattle Times endorsing a Republican for Governor?  I was so suprised to find this endorsement in the Times last week.  Even a liberal paper like the Times can see that in these times of economic upheaval we can’t have a liberal running the state. 

Item four.  Why are young evangelicals supporting Barack Obama for prez?  Apparently even the abortion issue is not enough to overcome the dissatisfaction with the status quo.  Look here for survey.

Item five.  We Christians are so often smug about the sins of others while ignoring our own.  In spite of an almost universal belief in free grace we are not very free with it.  This post is a must read.  Find it HERE.

Item six. Here is a fun fall post from friend Rachel in Kansas.  It has lots of pictures and shows just how nice it can be out here in the fall.  Find it Here (especially like the finger pics!)  Rachel’s sister, Kaylee has moved to Pennsylvania and posts a lot of pictures of her new life too.  Find her HERE.  Kaden Cronquist is 3, 3 weeks that is.  Cool looking kid, right HERE.  Son Brad has several new posts as well on a variety of subjects.  Find him HERE. Good to see these young people doing so well and following Jesus.

Well, need to get on to other things.  Have a great rest of the week.

McCain, Obama and other nonsense.

I find myself lately doing what it seems I always do, during political seasons; trying to figure out how to vote for either of the two choices and wondering why it always comes down to who I dislike least.  I spent some time with my pastor and others in the Trinity office today, talking politics and economics and recognizing that once again we are all pretty much voting against the other guy.  I just get frustrated and find myself wanting to opt out.  I know there are lots of us that identify with the feeling, but we are so afraid of what will happen if one of the guys win, we just resign ourselves to the lesser of two evils (they are probably both nice guys, maybe not even evil).  No doubt for the believer the differences in these two are clear and I am at the place where, as a believer in Jesus, my decision seems to be made by these differences.  Doesn’t mean I have to like the choices.

Greg Boyd is a maverick, no doubt about it.  Out of step with almost everybody.  Probably why I have liked him for years, liked his thinking so much at one point it cost me a friendship.  A recent post on his blog caught my attention. What follows is an excerpt from it.  No doubt, many of you will not like it, some just because Greg Boyd wrote it, but read it, then post a good comment against what he says, I had a hard time disagreeing much.

The tragic truth is that the church in America is profoundly broken. Instead of addressing our own massive shortcomings and sin, however, many leaders are trying to get us to focus on fixing Caesar! We aren’t doing what we’re called to do, in part because we’re so busy trying to get Caesar to do it! We’re ignoring the log in our own eye while trying to find a speck in Caesar’s! We’re doing very little of what Jesus called us to do and spending a lot of time doing things Jesus never told us to do. Instead of bleeding to transform the world through the self-sacrificial power of the cross, we’re trying to transform the world through the self-serving power of the sword. Instead of feasting at the banquet of God’s humble, servant love, we’re joining in the world’s scramble to scarf up a morsel of power that falls from Caesar’s table.

How we need to be freed from the illusion that we’re doing anything kingdom by voting a certain way every couple years! How we need to wake up to the truth that we vote for or against the Kingdom every day of our life. We vote by how we spend our money and time. We vote by where we live, who we hang out with, the kind of car we drive and the kind of clothes we wear. In the Kingdom, we vote with our lives, not in a booth expressing our opinion about what Caesar should do.

 You can find the entire post right HERE.

Sovereign.

Thanks to all who have commented on my post What lies beneath.  They were articulate and helpful.  I appreciate your concern, prayers and hope filled direction.

What you don’t get to read in the comments are the words Linda shares with me day after day, encouraging, hopeful, consistent, loving, rebuking, exhorting and caring.  She doesn’t just read what I write, she lives with what I feel, fear and sees me struggle and goes on loving me, faithfully.  For those of you who do not know our past, you do not know what she has lived through, including the loss of our son Paul Scott, disappointment in me, the rejection by a faith community she thought was different, leaving a home she loved and work she excelled in and was affirmed by, walking together with me through some very difficult days while consistently and honestly affirming that her God will not leave us or forsake us.  That we continue to walk together and enjoy most of life together makes me a blessed man.  She seldom grows weary in well doing…  Since I do, it is good the Father put us together.

This blog has always been about the things I am thinking and feeling.  I make no apologies for it.  It is a blog, a journal, it is not intended to speak for anyone other than me.  I am grateful that there are many who read it and learn from it.  From time to time my angst does come out but I have discovered that even those posts speak in a helpful way to some of you, who also struggle with down times, doubts, disappointments and fear.

So today I offer this:

God is sovereign over all things, including nations, economies (stock markets, housing, inflation, etc.) and people like us. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and the earth is yours… You rule over all. (1Chronicles 28:11-12)

God’s sovereign oversight is never shaken and His purposes are never compromised. In other words, He does not worry when banks fail nor does He call emergency sessions in heaven when markets tumble. Remember this and stand firm…I am God and there is no other…My counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all My purposes. (Isaiah.46:8-9,11)

Our sovereign God also has tender compassion for our current situation. He cares about the issues of everyday life that concern us. Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand so that at the proper time, He may exalt you, casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. (1Peter 5:6-7)

Frankly this sovereign, compassionate God is our only real source of hope.  Join me in refusing the CNN-Fox-NBC-ABC-CBS-MSNBC-NY Times-Newsweek, etc, view that the promised solution for our ills rests in market adjustments, economic forecasts and different political leadership. That is a lie that produces anxious fear. Our God alone will see us through. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. (Psalm 20:7-8) God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way… The Lord of hosts is with us. (Psalm 46:2,11)

Our lives never have been, nor will it they ever be, defined by our bank accounts, credit rating, mortgage status or retirement fund balance. We are so much more. Jesus said, ‘Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25)

We must trust God for today, and only for today. Each day is a decision to rest in Him, just for this one day. Then tomorrow we get up and do it again.  We must over and over again refuse to ask “what if?” questions. Following Jesus is nothing if not an everyday decision to trust our Father.  It is about faith. (period)  Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matt. 6:34)  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lam. 3:22-23)

Thanks for reading.

If you flunked Economics 101 read this.

I have been searching for an easy to read and comprehend explanation for the financial meltdown we are experiencing in our country.  If you are like me you find it hard to understand how things could get so bad, seemingly over night.  The fact is it didn’t happen over night it just melted down over night.

After some serious searching for help in understanding what happened I found this on one of the blogs I frequent.  It is a bit of a long read but really worth the time.  I now understand what happened and understand why the bail out was so necessary.  Will it work?  Time is really the only thing that will tell.  Find the astute article here.

Monday morning meanderings. Vol.56

Grapeview, Washington

This will no doubt be the last post from Grapeview.  We are so appreciative of Bill and Leslee sharing their driveway with us for the last 2 months.  The time has been full. So full that we have not really spent the kind of time we would have liked with friends in the area.  Truck driving school took a month, Sage Olivia’s birth was the main focus for several days and just getting quality time with our children and grand children was a high priority.  There has been little down time, which was not what we expected, but we have really had some good time with our family.  Linda already has her tickets purchased for a return trip mid October.  Not sure when I will return.  I apologize to all of you who we didn’t get to see, but that does not lessen our love for you and our gratefulness for you being in our lives.

Item one.  So we will pull out of here Thursday morning and frankly, at this point, I do not know what our route back to Oklahoma will be.  We have several options and I guess will choose them as we go.  Traci and family are going to Disneyland tomorrow for a week.  I will drive them to the airport, Linda will go up and spend the day with Summer, Canyon and Sage. I will join them later in the day.  Wednesday will be spent getting things ready to roll.  It will be hard to leave our ever growing family here, but I am anticipating some great days with our family in OK.

Item two.  While we were here we made an offer on a house that is in the process of foreclosure.  While I feel sympathy for the folks who are losing this house and have major concerns, as we all do for the housing market, it is a great time to buy real estate.  This house will be our “residence,” as in our physical address but will only be there a small part of the year, at least for the foreseeable future.  Everything we can do is done, related to the property, we have the loan in place, renters ready to move in and we are just waiting for the bank that owns the property to get to our deal and agree to the terms we have offered.  I am optimistic it will all come together and be a good investment for us, long term.

Item three.  Brad has some great posts on his blog about his new daughter and other interesting writing.  He hasn’t posted in a long time but with time home caring for Summer and his little family he has posted some good stuff including this one featuring a poem by my Dad and this one on the prez election. Check it out.

Item four. It seems I learn more slowly as I get older but the things I am learning seem to be more important.  The things I used to learn seemed to be more about having something to give to others, now they are more about just living life so as to please the Father.  Here are a couple of simple things I seem to be called to learn these days: I can not provide for others, (no matter how much I love the “others”) that which God alone can provide.  Happiness, wholeness, completeness, contentment are all things I long to give to those around me but I can’t.  Another thing I am learning is that forgiveness may be the most important of all actions we are responsible for in life.  Contentment, wholeness, happiness, completeness, not to mention freedom, hope, security, peace all seem to flow out of a commitment to forgive at all levels of relationships. Simple but important stuff.

Item five. Ever wonder if God really does forgive the junk you have done in the past?  Prodigal John has a good word on this subject.  Read it here.  If you are a fan of Washington Husky football, Saturday night in Eugene had to be really painful.  Good analysis of what happened can be found here.  For the view from Duckville look here.  Here is one that might make you think about why we are so fascinated by events like Hurricane Gustav.  Find it here.  A young friend and reader has a neat quote on her blog that caught my attention: People may forget what you said, people may forget what you did, but…they will never forget how you made them feel.

I will leave you with that thought and will see you down the road.

Monday morning meanderings. Vol.55

Grapeview, WA

The sun has made a typical NW disappearance and we are entering a cloudy rainy period.  Bummer.  Still nice enough, so won’t complain too much.

Item one.  Sage Olivia Scandrett, her parents and big brother are doing well.  We will spend a little time with all of them tomorrow.  Thanks to all who have written, called and texted your congrats.  We are so blessed.  I can’t figure out why the pictures I posted the other day don’t enlarge properly.  I will post some others later in the week and see if I can get it right.

Item two.  This is the week for visits.  Linda’s parents are coming, maybe her sister and my dad arrives on Thursday.  Not sure what we will do while they are here but I am sure it will involve grand children.

Item three.  Traci’s friend, and ours, Jenn Heckert is finally returning to the US from Kazakhstan on Wednesday.  She has been there for months working through the major complications of adopting a child.  But she and their new daughter, Alea are ticketed out on Wednesday.  Warren, the new dad and her two brothers are anxiously awaiting her arrival.  Keep praying.  Here is a link to her blog. I think it might require a password, but here it is anyway.

Item four. Did you watch the Prez forum from Saddleback Church?  I watched parts of it and some of the commentary afterwards.  Didn’t really change my mind about anything and didn’t make me want to vote for either of them any more than I did before.  Many of their comments were what I would have expected.  Nice to hear a strong pro-life stand from McCain and I thought Obama’s comment to the same “when does conception begin” question was rather flip-”…answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade,”.  McCain’s statement about the “bully pulpit” the presidency is said to be, left me cold.  Part of our problem in relating to the world is that kind of attitude.  Bullying never worked well but sure doesn’t work now, at all.  We don’t need more of the same but can we afford Obama? More here. 

Item five. I found this quote from D.A. Carson’s comments on 1Corinthians 3:13. It is a powerful summation of much of what I have been trying to say for months on The View. I hope you will take the time to read it, especially if you are in leadership in some kind of Christian fellowship or ministry.

“Each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”  1Corinthians 3:13

This ought to be extremely sobering to all who are engaged in vocational ministry. It is possible to “build the church” with such shoddy materials that at the last day you have nothing to show for your labor. People may come, feel “helped,” join in corporate worship, serve on committees, teach Sunday school classes, bring their friends, enjoy “fellowship,” raise funds, participate in counseling sessions and self-help groups, but still not really know the Lord. If the church is being built with large portions of charm, personality, easy oratory, positive thinking, managerial skills, powerful and emotional experiences, and people smarts, but without the repeated, passionate, Spirit-anointed proclamation of “Jesus Christ and him crucified,” we may be winning more adherents than converts. …the fundamental nonnegotiable, that without which the church is no longer the church, is the gospel, God’s “folly,” Jesus Christ and him crucified. (The Cross and Christian Ministry)

I hope to write more on this subject another time, but found it so thought provoking for all of us as we begin another week, I wanted to share it.

Thanks for reading.