you know who they are... right now, if you gave it just a couple seconds time, you could think of somebody (or more likely somebodies) you will never forget.
I will never forget my wife. My best friend, my life companion... my soulmate; the very best part of me...the best cook ever (I mean look at me!). For almost 24 years, she has helped make me a much better person than I could have dreamed... the best momma ever, a prayer warrior, and as beautiful inside as out (and that's saying something!)... simply and exactly what I need everyday. Thank you God.
I will never forget my momma. She was the best momma a boy could ever have... sweet, loving, hospitable, caring, smiling... you know.... momma.
I will never forget my daddy... again, he is the best ever! Example, leader, teacher, provider... I learned how to laugh watching mom and dad...
I will never forget my mom-in-law... I know all the mother-in-law jokes (and have told a few hundred myself!) But June is the best... she loves her kiddos and her grandbabies fiercely! and they all know it 'cause she shows them daily...
I will never forget Libby Baker... she is maybe the best example of someone 'living Christ' that I will ever know.
Edna, my dad's wife... rarely is one man blessed with the perfect wife... my dad has been blessed with two. She is giving and kind and, most importantly to me, she has given daddy a new life.
My best friend Sandy. We may talk once a month and see each other 3 or 4 times a year, but he is an awesome friend... a true Believer and spiritual giant...
Oh, there's a bunch more.... but those come immediately to my mind.
The older I get, the more convinced I become that the 'richness' of a person's life can be measured by the number of 'unforgettable' people one knows... God places them in our path, sometimes unexpectedly, almost certainly undeservedly... but always with perfect timing... His.
So, how rich are you?
Take a moment today to think of those unforgettables in your life... then, if you are blessed enough to still 'have' them with you, call them or stop by and tell them that they are profoundly unforgettable.... If they have gone Home already, just think of them for a while... and let the smile creep onto your face...
and thank God for those who have left their indelible mark on your life...
Blessings!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Aiden Mullin is back home
For about 12 hours yesterday, a little boy was taken away from his family. For the last half of that half a day, the parents and grandparents were despondent and helpless...
Aiden was taken from a local daycare by a stranger yesterday just before lunchtime, and when his momma showed up after work to pick him up, she was told that a family member had picked him up at 11:30 am.
I cannot even begin to imagine the depth of despair his momma felt as that news began to sink in. Within minutes a search was mounted and prayers began... and in a couple hours a Morgan Nick abducted child alert was posted. As I went to bed last night, I had the horrible thought that the person who took this 16 month old baby could have put a lot of distance between him and Mountain Home in the 12 hours since they had picked him up. My mind made the terrible leap forward... and I was imagining my friends a decade from now still mourning like the Nick family must be...
Then, as we turned off the lights to go to sleep, my wife got a phone call from a friend who works with the momma saying they had gotten Aiden back!!!
Our family had been talking and praying and waiting for any news all evening... so I went in and woke up the girls to tell them that Aiden was safe with his momma and daddy... they were very happy. As I was turning to leave Cassie's bed (after a really long hug), she said, "Daddy, I prayed."
I couldn't find my voice to reply, so we hugged some more...
Praise God for Aiden's safe return. I know I speak for Heather and Jaime and Tim and Terri when I say THANK YOU for all your prayers for Aiden's safe return...
He is with his momma and daddy... where he belongs.
Aiden was taken from a local daycare by a stranger yesterday just before lunchtime, and when his momma showed up after work to pick him up, she was told that a family member had picked him up at 11:30 am.
I cannot even begin to imagine the depth of despair his momma felt as that news began to sink in. Within minutes a search was mounted and prayers began... and in a couple hours a Morgan Nick abducted child alert was posted. As I went to bed last night, I had the horrible thought that the person who took this 16 month old baby could have put a lot of distance between him and Mountain Home in the 12 hours since they had picked him up. My mind made the terrible leap forward... and I was imagining my friends a decade from now still mourning like the Nick family must be...
Then, as we turned off the lights to go to sleep, my wife got a phone call from a friend who works with the momma saying they had gotten Aiden back!!!
Our family had been talking and praying and waiting for any news all evening... so I went in and woke up the girls to tell them that Aiden was safe with his momma and daddy... they were very happy. As I was turning to leave Cassie's bed (after a really long hug), she said, "Daddy, I prayed."
I couldn't find my voice to reply, so we hugged some more...
Praise God for Aiden's safe return. I know I speak for Heather and Jaime and Tim and Terri when I say THANK YOU for all your prayers for Aiden's safe return...
He is with his momma and daddy... where he belongs.
Monday, June 23, 2008
An Uncomfortable Paradigm Shift
So for all my life, I have 'gone to church'. As long as I can remember (and I have photographic proof to help me remember), my family has attended church regularly… we have always been an ‘every time the doors are open’ bunch! Sunday morning, Wednesday night, Sunday night, gospel meetings, ladies days (well, the ladies in my family went), lectureships, Vacation Bible Schools, Seminars, workshops, work days, revivals, men’s Bible studies… if it was happening ‘at the church’, we were there!
My momma and daddy, God Bless ‘em, taught me the habit of ‘being there’. And I will never forget that… I will always be thankful for that.
There is, however, a new wind blowing… and there has been for a while, actually. The ‘every time the doors are open mentality’ does not seem to be carrying on to the next generation… when it first began to ‘blow’, I would sit back and cast my self-righteous judgment toward the heathen families who ‘missed service’. That seed of condescension grew into full blown righteous indignation within a few years, and found its way into the sermons of a certain young man who was given the opportunity to preach from time to time…
I railed against those who ‘stopped coming to church’ on Wednesday night… I would blast away at those ignorant heathens and openly question their commitment to God to the delight of the Pharisee leaders who had asked me to preach. I was on fire! (and, of course, it caused people to fill our pews to overflow - NOT!)
I am just now beginning to see how utterly stupid I was. And I repent of that horribly destructive mindset… I want to go back to every person who heard me speak and apologize. Not for encouraging (I use that term loosely) commitment… but for the barometer I was trying to use. I apologize for the lens I was trying to view everyone through…
Let me be clear: I am more convinced than ever that we are (and seem to be perpetually) experiencing a commitment crisis. And now, more than ever, we need leaders who encourage us and help us develop our gifts and, yes, exhort us to be a more committed people who search for opportunities every day to serve and show Jesus to others!
But for a couple generations now, we have applied some 1960s gauge to measure others’ commitment to their Lord. And that paradigm is not shifting… it has shifted. And it further widens a generation gap that we should be trying to shrink… My father’s generation is still using the language which endeavors (sometimes unwittingly) to judge commitment through attendance… they use phrases like ‘going to church’ and ‘were they at church Sunday?’, and ‘they should have been in church!’ and ‘let’s bring ‘em to church’, etc… and I know they mean well and want what’s best for their fellow Christians… and I know the importance of gathering with the saints… but I wonder now if we have placed so much emphasis on ‘going to church’ that we have missed the point?
Even the new movement of mega-mall churches (Rick Warren’s Saddleback and Bill Hybels’ Willow Creek) are openly wondering if they – the leadership – have been paying attention to (and emphasizing) the wrong thing (Hybels said this):
“We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.” (see entire transcript at http://www.revealnow.com/storyPage.asp?pageid=6)
Wow. These are some pretty good people trying, I think, to do what is right… and, by all accounts, they have been unbelievably successful using the 'participation' method of measuring spiritual growth… yet they are saying – like a football referee who looks at the replay under the hood – “upon further review, the call on the field was wrong, and should be reversed…”
All I'm saying is this: we need to understand that attending every time the doors are open is not equivalent to (nor a prerequisite for) being Christlike. Sorry, but there it is. And it will take a lot of courage for us to acknowledge that fact. It is an uncomfortable paradigm shift.
Does that mean that we shouldn't yearn to be together every time we possibly can? No... indeed we should! Marvin Phillips has called the 'gathering of the Saints' a holy family reunion.... and one we should all look forward to each week... I couldn't agree more! Incidentally, if you have ever lived outside the Bible belt (or especially in a foreign country), this weekly assembly is even sweeter! So please let us never take that for granted....
But for most of us, attendance is the easy part. It's the life that happens between the Sundays that challenges us and hones us and develops us and proves us...
Let's live every day showing Jesus to others. Let's be the church at the bowling alley or at the softball field... let's live so that people see the same 'me' on Tuesday afternoon at the grocery store that they see on Sunday morning in the worship gathering...
then that 'attendance' barometer will be relegated to a lesser place in our mind... and, for my part, rightfully so...
Blessings!
My momma and daddy, God Bless ‘em, taught me the habit of ‘being there’. And I will never forget that… I will always be thankful for that.
There is, however, a new wind blowing… and there has been for a while, actually. The ‘every time the doors are open mentality’ does not seem to be carrying on to the next generation… when it first began to ‘blow’, I would sit back and cast my self-righteous judgment toward the heathen families who ‘missed service’. That seed of condescension grew into full blown righteous indignation within a few years, and found its way into the sermons of a certain young man who was given the opportunity to preach from time to time…
I railed against those who ‘stopped coming to church’ on Wednesday night… I would blast away at those ignorant heathens and openly question their commitment to God to the delight of the Pharisee leaders who had asked me to preach. I was on fire! (and, of course, it caused people to fill our pews to overflow - NOT!)
I am just now beginning to see how utterly stupid I was. And I repent of that horribly destructive mindset… I want to go back to every person who heard me speak and apologize. Not for encouraging (I use that term loosely) commitment… but for the barometer I was trying to use. I apologize for the lens I was trying to view everyone through…
Let me be clear: I am more convinced than ever that we are (and seem to be perpetually) experiencing a commitment crisis. And now, more than ever, we need leaders who encourage us and help us develop our gifts and, yes, exhort us to be a more committed people who search for opportunities every day to serve and show Jesus to others!
But for a couple generations now, we have applied some 1960s gauge to measure others’ commitment to their Lord. And that paradigm is not shifting… it has shifted. And it further widens a generation gap that we should be trying to shrink… My father’s generation is still using the language which endeavors (sometimes unwittingly) to judge commitment through attendance… they use phrases like ‘going to church’ and ‘were they at church Sunday?’, and ‘they should have been in church!’ and ‘let’s bring ‘em to church’, etc… and I know they mean well and want what’s best for their fellow Christians… and I know the importance of gathering with the saints… but I wonder now if we have placed so much emphasis on ‘going to church’ that we have missed the point?
Even the new movement of mega-mall churches (Rick Warren’s Saddleback and Bill Hybels’ Willow Creek) are openly wondering if they – the leadership – have been paying attention to (and emphasizing) the wrong thing (Hybels said this):
“We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.” (see entire transcript at http://www.revealnow.com/storyPage.asp?pageid=6)
Wow. These are some pretty good people trying, I think, to do what is right… and, by all accounts, they have been unbelievably successful using the 'participation' method of measuring spiritual growth… yet they are saying – like a football referee who looks at the replay under the hood – “upon further review, the call on the field was wrong, and should be reversed…”
All I'm saying is this: we need to understand that attending every time the doors are open is not equivalent to (nor a prerequisite for) being Christlike. Sorry, but there it is. And it will take a lot of courage for us to acknowledge that fact. It is an uncomfortable paradigm shift.
Does that mean that we shouldn't yearn to be together every time we possibly can? No... indeed we should! Marvin Phillips has called the 'gathering of the Saints' a holy family reunion.... and one we should all look forward to each week... I couldn't agree more! Incidentally, if you have ever lived outside the Bible belt (or especially in a foreign country), this weekly assembly is even sweeter! So please let us never take that for granted....
But for most of us, attendance is the easy part. It's the life that happens between the Sundays that challenges us and hones us and develops us and proves us...
Let's live every day showing Jesus to others. Let's be the church at the bowling alley or at the softball field... let's live so that people see the same 'me' on Tuesday afternoon at the grocery store that they see on Sunday morning in the worship gathering...
then that 'attendance' barometer will be relegated to a lesser place in our mind... and, for my part, rightfully so...
Blessings!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
on a wire
This is a cautionary tale to all who lead.
Whether you lead a boy scout troop, teach a Bible class or coach a summer baseball team...
Whether you sing in a Christian band, preach to the congregation, lead worship or lead a 'tribe' at VBS...
If people look to you in any fashion for an example (and, by the way, that fits anyone who is reading this), please read on...
You may feel tremendous pressure to be 'on'... you may feel a lot of stress about how much someone looks up to... you may feel very undeserving of the attention or accolades given you... it may be that you feel like crumbling under that microscope or escaping from that level of scrutiny...
If you are feeling any of this kind of pressure to 'perform', Christian Artist 'Third Day' captures your emotion perfectly in the lyrics to their song 'Wire':
If you have ever feel like this (and sometimes I have...), Let me encourage you to stay strong. Keep your courage up. Take heart in these words from the the prophet Isaiah:
The New International Version renders 'wait' as 'hope'... "they that hope in the Lord will renew their strength..."
So maybe it is when I am feeling the most 'pressure' that I need to check who it is I am 'hoping' in... perhaps I am placing all the pressure on me, and not 'waiting' on Him to take the lead and let me do what I am made to do....
follow Him.
maybe.....
Whether you lead a boy scout troop, teach a Bible class or coach a summer baseball team...
Whether you sing in a Christian band, preach to the congregation, lead worship or lead a 'tribe' at VBS...
If people look to you in any fashion for an example (and, by the way, that fits anyone who is reading this), please read on...
You may feel tremendous pressure to be 'on'... you may feel a lot of stress about how much someone looks up to... you may feel very undeserving of the attention or accolades given you... it may be that you feel like crumbling under that microscope or escaping from that level of scrutiny...
If you are feeling any of this kind of pressure to 'perform', Christian Artist 'Third Day' captures your emotion perfectly in the lyrics to their song 'Wire':
Turn on the spotlight, strike up the band
Everyone’s looking my way
They came to see the excitement firsthand
And hear all that I’ve got to say
Oh, it makes me wonder:
Oh, it makes me wonder:
What if I slip, will they catch me
Or watch me fall?
If you have ever feel like this (and sometimes I have...), Let me encourage you to stay strong. Keep your courage up. Take heart in these words from the the prophet Isaiah:
but those who wait upon the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
The New International Version renders 'wait' as 'hope'... "they that hope in the Lord will renew their strength..."
So maybe it is when I am feeling the most 'pressure' that I need to check who it is I am 'hoping' in... perhaps I am placing all the pressure on me, and not 'waiting' on Him to take the lead and let me do what I am made to do....
follow Him.
maybe.....
Friday, June 13, 2008
AAAAHHHH Summertime!
Yep, it's that time of year when the days get longer and the nights get hotter (wait, that's from some 70's rock-n-roll song.... sorry!)...
anyhow, it's summertime! My mom used to LOOOOVVVVVEEE summertime... she loved all the seasons, but spring into summer, then the hot ol' summertime... that was her very favorite! And I think she passed that love on to me... 'cause I love it!
things are a little more laid back (even at a busy place like my house), and smiles are even more plentiful.... the laughing comes a little easier and even more often than usual... yep, it's summertime!
Man, do we live in a lovely part of the world or what? last night we sat out on our patio as the sun disappeared behind the trees and listened to the symphony of insects as they celebrated the end of another day and the beginning of another balmy night; and, thankfully, most of them are not biting me... (I know, I'm easily amused and entertained...)
This morning, sitting on that same patio, I listen as that same symphony (or maybe the morning shift) announce another day of summer in the Ozarks! Lucy the Wonderdog (our 4-month-old basset hound) is up with me this morning and everyone else is sleeping soundly... a couple of my girls will be doing that for a while yet... in a couple minutes, Kelly will join me with coffee and we will start the day together listening to the music.
Yep, God has blessed me... immeasurably beyond anything I could have asked or imagined (now that's not from some rock song, that's from Paul's inspired pen...though a couple artists have put it to music)
Keep your eyes open today... God will place someone in your path who needs a helping hand... just watch!
Blessings!
anyhow, it's summertime! My mom used to LOOOOVVVVVEEE summertime... she loved all the seasons, but spring into summer, then the hot ol' summertime... that was her very favorite! And I think she passed that love on to me... 'cause I love it!
things are a little more laid back (even at a busy place like my house), and smiles are even more plentiful.... the laughing comes a little easier and even more often than usual... yep, it's summertime!
Man, do we live in a lovely part of the world or what? last night we sat out on our patio as the sun disappeared behind the trees and listened to the symphony of insects as they celebrated the end of another day and the beginning of another balmy night; and, thankfully, most of them are not biting me... (I know, I'm easily amused and entertained...)
This morning, sitting on that same patio, I listen as that same symphony (or maybe the morning shift) announce another day of summer in the Ozarks! Lucy the Wonderdog (our 4-month-old basset hound) is up with me this morning and everyone else is sleeping soundly... a couple of my girls will be doing that for a while yet... in a couple minutes, Kelly will join me with coffee and we will start the day together listening to the music.
Yep, God has blessed me... immeasurably beyond anything I could have asked or imagined (now that's not from some rock song, that's from Paul's inspired pen...though a couple artists have put it to music)
Keep your eyes open today... God will place someone in your path who needs a helping hand... just watch!
Blessings!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
update on my brother
For those of y'all who have been lifting up my brother in prayer, I cannot thank you enough! He is progressing slowly, but a little better each day...
evidently, running over a deer on a Harley can cause really serious injury! The doctors are predicting a full recovery, but it will be slow... ribs and hips are hard to heal, and I know Greg will be wanting to get up and at 'em sooner that the doctors would like...
They are talking about moving him to the rehab floor of our local hospital in a few days, and that will be much easier on all the family members who have been camping in Springfield for the past week... and better for Greg, because he is ready to get home!
thanks again for all the prayers and emails and well wishes...
I will update again in a few days!
God Bless!
evidently, running over a deer on a Harley can cause really serious injury! The doctors are predicting a full recovery, but it will be slow... ribs and hips are hard to heal, and I know Greg will be wanting to get up and at 'em sooner that the doctors would like...
They are talking about moving him to the rehab floor of our local hospital in a few days, and that will be much easier on all the family members who have been camping in Springfield for the past week... and better for Greg, because he is ready to get home!
thanks again for all the prayers and emails and well wishes...
I will update again in a few days!
God Bless!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Riverside in Gassville goes to Riverside in Panama
Today's the day! Several of our brothers and sisters are on the road right now traveling to Volcan, Panama... Joy and Lynn and Ben anxiously await their arrival...
and I confess: I am very very jealous!
Ever since my first foreign mission trip to Vanuatu 11 years ago, I have been infected. And ever since Lynn and Joy took that incredibly faithful step to take their personal ministry to the people of Volcan, I have been envious.
Kelly and I have prayed and talked often about our personal ministry... and it may never involve a full time work like that of Lynn and Joy... but it won't keep us from thinking of them constantly; it won't stop me from living vicariously through them; and it won't stop us from traveling to be with them whenever we can!
Lynn and Joy have served as trailblazers for all of us who know them. I mean, we all know of or read about 'those people' who become foreign missionaries and move off to a faraway land to live Jesus in front of strangers... we read of folks who intentionally (yeah, on purpose!) move away from family and everything familiar to live among people with whom they share very little common ground...
but I KNOW these people! They are my dear friends! I once dated Lynn's daughter! (yes, he started his family VERY young)... Joy credits me with putting chewing gum in her hair back in high school (though I am still convinced she has me and my brother confused)...
What I mean to say is this: these are normal people! and they have completely given their lives to become 'all thing to all people' in the Chiroqui province of Panama... (I'm not talking about going once every couple years to a faroff place on a 'mission trip - that's important, don't get me wrong - I'm talking about 'moving in'!) ...and I love that I know that it is possible! I love that it is sinking in to my thick skull that I could do that someday, too...
I love their hearts and I love their faith... 'cause while they are normal and flawed and broken and saved, they are, without a doubt, GIANTS!
and, today, there are a dozen or so folks who are getting on a plane in a few hours to spend a week with them showing Jesus to the people of Volcan...
how cool is that?
please follow Lynn and Joy's journey on their blog... they are both very good writers, and you will enjoy reading it... and for those of us who have been blessed with the chance to be there with them, it is especially meaningful! http://www.riversideinpanama.blogspot.com/
God Bless!
and I confess: I am very very jealous!
Ever since my first foreign mission trip to Vanuatu 11 years ago, I have been infected. And ever since Lynn and Joy took that incredibly faithful step to take their personal ministry to the people of Volcan, I have been envious.
Kelly and I have prayed and talked often about our personal ministry... and it may never involve a full time work like that of Lynn and Joy... but it won't keep us from thinking of them constantly; it won't stop me from living vicariously through them; and it won't stop us from traveling to be with them whenever we can!
Lynn and Joy have served as trailblazers for all of us who know them. I mean, we all know of or read about 'those people' who become foreign missionaries and move off to a faraway land to live Jesus in front of strangers... we read of folks who intentionally (yeah, on purpose!) move away from family and everything familiar to live among people with whom they share very little common ground...
but I KNOW these people! They are my dear friends! I once dated Lynn's daughter! (yes, he started his family VERY young)... Joy credits me with putting chewing gum in her hair back in high school (though I am still convinced she has me and my brother confused)...
What I mean to say is this: these are normal people! and they have completely given their lives to become 'all thing to all people' in the Chiroqui province of Panama... (I'm not talking about going once every couple years to a faroff place on a 'mission trip - that's important, don't get me wrong - I'm talking about 'moving in'!) ...and I love that I know that it is possible! I love that it is sinking in to my thick skull that I could do that someday, too...
I love their hearts and I love their faith... 'cause while they are normal and flawed and broken and saved, they are, without a doubt, GIANTS!
and, today, there are a dozen or so folks who are getting on a plane in a few hours to spend a week with them showing Jesus to the people of Volcan...
how cool is that?
please follow Lynn and Joy's journey on their blog... they are both very good writers, and you will enjoy reading it... and for those of us who have been blessed with the chance to be there with them, it is especially meaningful! http://www.riversideinpanama.blogspot.com/
God Bless!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Worship right or Worship God?
Terry Rush posts to his blog everyday. I begin my day with it... It inspires me and sometimes reminds me of something I would like to post here on my blog... this one, however, did more than inspire me to write something! It hit me between the eyes... so, with his permission, I have posted it (in its entirety) here (in bold type):
While my intent is to encourage deeper and greater worship, by no means do I want to imply my thoughts are law. They are not. From experience, therefore I will point out, our worship assemblies have become more meaningful due to one matter of progress. Worship teams have enhanced our praise and new songs fill my heart. Yet the fact that we have begun to sing a series of songs without interruption has done more to let me engage my mind and keep it there than any of our other useful moves.
Something good has happened to me/us. We are progressing from worshipping right to worshipping God. There is a difference. This difference shows in the spirit of the flock. We've been taught to praise God....I mean really, robustly cut loose and get lost in His wonder. We do stand in awe! We do mean it when we say, "Thank you, Lord."
For Memorial Drive Allen French moved us through a veil and into His presence. When he moved on, Shane Coffman entered the Memorial scene and continues meaningful progression. We have shifted from worshipping and wondering who is upset "over that move" to wondering if God is loving our gifts of vocal/mindful worship of Him.
We enter His presence.....really. Was it not being done before? I can't answer that for anyone but myself. For me? It wasn't being done. I was too focused on who did or didn't like what was sung, prayed, or preached. I was too interrupted by singing a song and hearing comments regarding observing this note and that chorus. It seems to me the more the church learns to voice the praises of God, whether through song or testimony, the more God unleashes His grand grace upon our gatherings.
Baseball? Fun!
Grandkids? More fun!
Worshipping God? Heavenly on earth!
TM: my prayer is that we all take this attiude into our worship...
Blessings!
While my intent is to encourage deeper and greater worship, by no means do I want to imply my thoughts are law. They are not. From experience, therefore I will point out, our worship assemblies have become more meaningful due to one matter of progress. Worship teams have enhanced our praise and new songs fill my heart. Yet the fact that we have begun to sing a series of songs without interruption has done more to let me engage my mind and keep it there than any of our other useful moves.
Something good has happened to me/us. We are progressing from worshipping right to worshipping God. There is a difference. This difference shows in the spirit of the flock. We've been taught to praise God....I mean really, robustly cut loose and get lost in His wonder. We do stand in awe! We do mean it when we say, "Thank you, Lord."
For Memorial Drive Allen French moved us through a veil and into His presence. When he moved on, Shane Coffman entered the Memorial scene and continues meaningful progression. We have shifted from worshipping and wondering who is upset "over that move" to wondering if God is loving our gifts of vocal/mindful worship of Him.
We enter His presence.....really. Was it not being done before? I can't answer that for anyone but myself. For me? It wasn't being done. I was too focused on who did or didn't like what was sung, prayed, or preached. I was too interrupted by singing a song and hearing comments regarding observing this note and that chorus. It seems to me the more the church learns to voice the praises of God, whether through song or testimony, the more God unleashes His grand grace upon our gatherings.
Baseball? Fun!
Grandkids? More fun!
Worshipping God? Heavenly on earth!
TM: my prayer is that we all take this attiude into our worship...
Blessings!
bumps in the road (or deer)
So I'm all ready to 'retire' for the night last Tuesday, and my sister calls at about 10:30... since she's usually been sleeping for 2 hours by that time, I answered the phone quickly...
She tells me my older brother Greg is in the E.R at Baxter Regional after hitting a deer on his Harley Road King... not good!
When I got there, they still had him strapped to the back board with an IV and oxygen pumping into him, and he was in obvious agony. They decided that since he had multiple traumas they were going to take him by helicopter to Cox South in Springfield, Missouri 120 miles away... they are better equipped to deal with all the complications that can arise with a guy who has 6 broken ribs, a fractured pelvis, a broken nose, a broken collar bone, a broken shoulder blade and road rash...
When I got to Springfield, he was in a Trauma room and they had already done several tests and X-rays and CT Scans, and determined he was pretty busted up, but would likely recover fully.
He is conscious and aware of what happened and where he is, and he is carrying on lucid and meaningful conversations in between morphine-induced hazes.
And we are thankful.
I know it sounds really cliche, but it could have been worse.... a whole lot worse.
God's hand was on Greg. Only a few minutes after he and the deer collided, a lady in a white Escalade drove by and heard him yelling through her open window... and stopped and hauled my broken big brother into her SUV and took him to the hospital and delivered him to the E.R... Greg told me yesterday that she talked to him for the whole ride... I haven't been able to find this angel in the White Escalade, but I will... she certainly saved him a few hours of agony, and maybe even saved his life!
Thank you to the literally hundreds of people who have called and emailed... but especially I thank you for lifting Greg up to the Healer in prayer.
We covet your continued prayers... please pray for a speedy and complete recovery...
It will be a long and difficult road, but God will provide.
Blessings!
She tells me my older brother Greg is in the E.R at Baxter Regional after hitting a deer on his Harley Road King... not good!
When I got there, they still had him strapped to the back board with an IV and oxygen pumping into him, and he was in obvious agony. They decided that since he had multiple traumas they were going to take him by helicopter to Cox South in Springfield, Missouri 120 miles away... they are better equipped to deal with all the complications that can arise with a guy who has 6 broken ribs, a fractured pelvis, a broken nose, a broken collar bone, a broken shoulder blade and road rash...
When I got to Springfield, he was in a Trauma room and they had already done several tests and X-rays and CT Scans, and determined he was pretty busted up, but would likely recover fully.
He is conscious and aware of what happened and where he is, and he is carrying on lucid and meaningful conversations in between morphine-induced hazes.
And we are thankful.
I know it sounds really cliche, but it could have been worse.... a whole lot worse.
God's hand was on Greg. Only a few minutes after he and the deer collided, a lady in a white Escalade drove by and heard him yelling through her open window... and stopped and hauled my broken big brother into her SUV and took him to the hospital and delivered him to the E.R... Greg told me yesterday that she talked to him for the whole ride... I haven't been able to find this angel in the White Escalade, but I will... she certainly saved him a few hours of agony, and maybe even saved his life!
Thank you to the literally hundreds of people who have called and emailed... but especially I thank you for lifting Greg up to the Healer in prayer.
We covet your continued prayers... please pray for a speedy and complete recovery...
It will be a long and difficult road, but God will provide.
Blessings!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Worship on the Buffalo
Yesterday we met 3 other families at Wild Bill’s Outfitters south of Yellville to get all our canoe gear for a day on the river… the Harrimans, the Lloyds, the Shipmans and us…
We were floating the 9 mile route from Dillard’s Bridge to Rush, and about 2 miles in, we stopped at a gravel bar and sat on the shore, facing these thousand-year-old majestic bluffs….
Our audience was the same as the One to whom our brothers and sisters at Downtown and Riverside were singing that morning, and we missed being with them… but there is something very very pure indeed about worshipping the very One who hand-crafted every piece of river gravel under your feet and carved out every crevice in the bluff hanging over your head…
God inspired the Bible writers to pen a lot of words about a lot of subjects… perhaps the reason there is so scant little said about ‘worship assembly’ is because He didn’t want all our STUFF (buildings, preachers, budgets, parking lots, etc) to get between us and Him.
I wish every worshipper would take the opportunity to do what we did yesterday… at least every once in a while…
It may not be very practical to worship out ‘in His creation’ all the time…. But on the other hand, who ever said worshipping the Living God was supposed to be practical??!?!?!
Blessings!
We were floating the 9 mile route from Dillard’s Bridge to Rush, and about 2 miles in, we stopped at a gravel bar and sat on the shore, facing these thousand-year-old majestic bluffs….
And we worshipped.
There was no duty roster, there was no order of worship, there were no ushers (OK, my Cassie did pass the communion around to everyone )…
Our life jackets served as pews as we sang praises to the very One who used His pinkie to cut this trough where the Buffalo meanders through the Ozark hills.
The songs raised by our little 17-person choir echoed off the cliffs as people floated by… a couple even stopped and worshipped with us for a while.
And it was beautiful!
Our audience was the same as the One to whom our brothers and sisters at Downtown and Riverside were singing that morning, and we missed being with them… but there is something very very pure indeed about worshipping the very One who hand-crafted every piece of river gravel under your feet and carved out every crevice in the bluff hanging over your head…
God inspired the Bible writers to pen a lot of words about a lot of subjects… perhaps the reason there is so scant little said about ‘worship assembly’ is because He didn’t want all our STUFF (buildings, preachers, budgets, parking lots, etc) to get between us and Him.
I wish every worshipper would take the opportunity to do what we did yesterday… at least every once in a while…
It may not be very practical to worship out ‘in His creation’ all the time…. But on the other hand, who ever said worshipping the Living God was supposed to be practical??!?!?!
Blessings!
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