February 2011 Front Page

Matthew 4:21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.

1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

These 2 verses come from the readings for the 3rd Sunday After Epiphany. They contain the same word in the Greek, and say a lot about how we are to be as the church. The word is also found in Ephesians 4:12. The word is καταρτιζω. It means mending or united or equipping.

We can see from the Sons of Thunder that sometimes we have to take a break from fishing and gathering to med the tools we use. We have to mend the nets in order to catch fish, and as Paul reminds the Corinthians (and us): “we need to be united in the same mind and judgment.” We have to restore what is broken and keep divisions from separating us from the work we have been called to. And that work is not the being a net and dragging people into church. I’m pretty sure we can be united and mutually equip each other to use the love that God has given us to positively affect the world around us.

Identity Theft – Sermon from Baptism of our Lord.

Here is the Sermon I preached on January 9, 2011.  It is entitled Identity Theft.

I find it interesting that a couple days after this my wife and I received letters from our insurance company that someone had been let go because they had gotten into claim files with our names and important numbers without cause.  They company was giving us a year of free Credit Monitoring through one of the 3 Credit monitoring companies…

It is important though for us to remember whose we are and that no one can take that identity from us!

Start of a good year!

Over the past few days I have been inputing my activities and other stuff on the ELCA Wellness website .

I liked the way this graph looked so I wanted to share it.  It shows my weight from the beginning of the year last year when I did this same program to get monies to help with medical expenses.  I am not pleased with that, but he good part of the picture is this years weight, which will hopefully keep going down…  I started being active when my daily pill count got to the age of my oldest child (almost) and I needed to change something to live to see my children graduate high school…

This chart shows activity for the week.  As you can see it starts with last year and my weekly activity level was not very much. This year I have kept up my walking.  Starting at the end of July 2010 I started walking everyday for roughly an hour a day.  I usually go to the YMCA and walk on a treadmill.  I do walk outside if I do not have access to a treadmill.  I started at around 2.5 miles in an hour and 5 minutes. 5 minutes for cool down on the treadmill…  The past few weeks I have been going 4.82 miles in an hour and 5 minutes walking at a 4.5 mph pace.  I also have been doing Aqua Zumba about 3 days a week for an hour along with walking everyday.  So I should get in around 10 hours and 35 minutes of activity each week.

I say all of this not to say look at me! (ok maybe a little because I am happy and feel much better now than I did!)  More I say it to say if I can do this you can too!  I never was one for activity when it could be avoided.  But I Like my early morning walks, and it is a great way to start the day.  I know when I do not walk because the day is just not as good…

Have a great year and do something to stay around longer…

Two Wolves.

TWO WOLVES 

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. 
He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.
“One is Evil  – It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. 
“The other is God – It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:  “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
 

December 2010 Front Page

FEELC under snowIT’S A MIRACLE!!!!

How many of you remember this wonderful Christmas miracle pictured above.  Christmas Eve 2004 snow fell in the south.  The fitting end to one of my all time Christmas favorites, A Year Without A Santa Claus.  Snow falls in the south and miracles never end…

But let’s not get caught up in the little miracles this year.  Yes snow would be nice, but time with family is just as important, and society is not helping us to focus on the true meaning of this time and season.  As we work through December and Advent, let us prepare for the miracle that allows us to be in relationship with God.  Let us prepare our hearts and bodies for the coming of our savior.  Let us during Advent, the season of Hope and Light, prepare for Jesus coming in the manger.

Don’t get caught up in the little miracles or the whirlwind excitement of consumerism this Advent.  Live in the expectation of the greatest gift and miracle we have all behold.  Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds and prepare you this Advent.

The Meaning of Meaning in Film with Producer Hunt Lowry, Part I & II – The Melheimian Sabbatiblog

The Meaning of Meaning in Film with Producer Hunt Lowry, Part I & II – The Melheimian Sabbatiblog.

 

Great interviews with a wonderful man about the meaning in movies and meaning in life.  Makes you stop and think about what meaning is and why we do what we do…

The yogurt is still frozen…

I was listening to KSBJ this morning on my drive to the office, and I heard one of the DJs telling a story about their 2 year old who loves yogurt.  The young one went to the refrigerator and found some yogurt in the freezer.  Now this was not frozen yogurt like ice cream, this was actually yogurt that was frozen, and it was solid.  Well the little one dug and tried to chip away at the yogurt, but got nothing, and got no where and just got frustrated…  Her mother took the yogurt and told her we would have to wait for it to thaw.  Well after sitting the yogurt on the counter to thaw, the little girl start saying, “I want my yogurt mommy, it’s mine and I want it now.”  Her mother explained that it was frozen and if she were to get it, she would just be frustrated like before, she would try to get something, but would just work in vain…

And then the DJ said, “isn’t this how all of us act sometimes towards God?”  We want what we think is best for us now, and if we can only step back and pray, and wait on God.  God maybe saying to you, “the yogurt is still frozen, my beloved child, and for now you must wait.”  How hard it is for us to wait on the Lord, ah but when that yogurt thaws, it will be the best treat we have ever had!

Burnt Biscuits

Received this today in an email and thought I would share.  Please pass the burnt biscuits…

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school.
I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!  When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits.  And I’ll never forget what he said: “Honey, I love burned biscuits.”

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned.  He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she’s real tired.  And besides – a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!”

You know, life is full of imperfect things…and imperfect people.  I’m not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else.  What I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults – and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences – is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

That’s my prayer for you today…  That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the difficult parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God because in the end, He’s the only one who will be able to give you a relationship where a burned biscuit isn’t a deal-breaker!  We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

So… please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burned one will do just fine!  And please pass this along to someone who has enriched your life… I just did!

Life is too short to wake up with regrets…  Love the people who treat you right and forget about the ones who don’t.

 

Hosea 3:1 TNIV – YouVersion.com

Hosea 31 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley.3 Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.” 4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods.5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.

via Hosea 3:1 TNIV – YouVersion.com.

 

Here Hosea is told by God to go and find his wife, who is a prostitue.  Gomer was a promiscuous woman, and she was Hosea’s wife and they had children.  God used Hosea to show his love for Israel, and for each of us.  Even when we have done the things he does not want us to do, and we turn from them and live with God, and then we fall again and go back to our former life, like Hosea finding Gomer, and bringing her back, God is out there looking for you and loves you right where you are, exactly as you are. He loves you as is…  and will look for you to the end of the world,and follow you and tell you every chance He gets how much He loves you…