Sojourning Pilgrim

Like a phoenix . . .

2011-07-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

Three years.

The Sojourning Pilgrim has been sojourning. Quite the wilderness. Many changes, too many to list.

And learning to become a wounded healer.

Just thought I'd let you know . . .

What jogged my thought pattern is a book I'm reading. The quote is "A sojourner is one who listens and encourages us to talk about the real pain and struggles in the wilderness." And the followup quote - "Our sojourner needs to be someone we trust with our pain and story and be an active listener."

I've been in the wilderness. I'm learning to listen . . .

The Pilgrim . . .

So far . . .

2008-10-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hunting Season has been a blast.

A week (Mol) in Burnet. 4 pigs, good food, time away, plenty of work on camp, blinds, and my feeder. The weather was mostly pretty warm.

This last week/weekend (Wednesday - Sunday) Gary and Greg and I went to McAlester on a traditional deer hunt. Recurve bows - stick and a string - archery without training wheels. Saw some deer, flung one arrow - missed.

Realized on Sunday, on the way home, that I had not heard one lick of political or financial news for 5 days. And the world didn't stop turning . . .

I need to get back in the habit of visiting this thing every day.

The Pilgrim

election upon us

2008-10-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, of have you found any Republicans who are voting "for" McCain. Everyone I've asked so far are voting "against" Obama.

I might be wrong . . .

Never too late . . .

2008-10-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

I've been gone for a while.

Just one explanation - divorce.

My last post was over a year ago. The last months have been a life transition of epic proportions.

And now I am in a different place.

My plan is to find my voice again on this blog, and not to wallow in the past.

I wonder . . .

Sojourning into a new life.

Ok - Don't get so excited . . .

2007-07-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

I just saw something interesting today . . . This doesn't mean I'm going to start writing again.

I went across the street to get a haircut, and there was a short wait. I didn't want to look at any of the magazines, so I took a gander at the others who were sitting in the chairs. A couple of children, one older man, and a young man. She was working on his mohawk - and then I noticed she was shaving off his mohawk - and then I heard her say "Iraq." His last haircut in the States before he ships out.

I felt a chill . . .

And I told him to be careful . . .

Ok - so maybe I'll say something . . .

2007-05-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

I've been in a self-imposed exile from blogging. Lots of reasons - not that anyone other than me really needs to know. I've told a few - that's enough . . .

Anyway - it arrived in the mail this afternoon. My very own, personalized

AARP Application Form

>
Just thought you'd want to know . . .

I may post for a while - thinking of a post (or two) under the title "Things I've Learned by 50 . . ."

trying again

2007-01-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

Back from the mountains.

Sorry that the last post didn’t work so well. Blogger isn’t letting me post an entire thought from here – probably something to do with the settings on this computer. I am going to try to post from Word, so here goes.

Back to Sunday. I preached to three churches on Sunday – a small mission church for early service (about 30 in attendance), then at Timotei’s church for the late service (he estimated that there were 1000 in attendance). That evening, I drove to Hunedoara, and preached to about 120 in their evening service. At that service, I found myself just a little weepy – I suspect the jet lag was catching up a little, but I had the strangest feeling of homesickness – not so much for Enid or the States, but for Sunday nights like I remember them from 20 and 30 years ago.

The spirit of these people is amazing – they have so very little in terms of possessions, but they have wonderful family life, and their dedication to their faith is inspiring. I think perhaps because they have so little, they rely on their faith more than those of us who possess so very much.

Monday morning we traveled up into the mountains for the pastor’s retreat. It was an idyllic retreat setting – small, intimate cabins, with a small meeting area for the group. Larry and I both commented about how wonderful their fellowship is – these pastors love one another, and enjoy spending time with one another – I think they don’t get to do so very often. We were also quite amazed at how well our different teaching areas related to the other – I talked about using spiritual gifts in building the church, and he spoke on the pastor’s devotional life. We had a wonderful two days, and are now back in Deva, waiting for evening service. I think both of us are slated to preach – short sermons – this evening.

Here’s hoping this works.

musufir and hunedoara

2007-01-07T22:17:00.000-08:00

I tried to blog this last night, and Blogger saw fit to erase the entire entry. Let's try again.

pace . . .

2007-01-07T03:15:00.000-08:00

What you see as title is pronounced "pache" - it is from the latin for peace, and in the churches this morning, it was offered as greeting from each christian to one another as you and I would say, "Mornin'." There is an ancient christian tradition called "passing the peace," and I experienced that very thing this morning.

We left the house just before 9. Went to Timotei's church, and there we sent Larry on his way with Timotei's associate, and Tomotei and I left for the "granddaughter" church (church started out of a church that they started several years ago). There were about 30 in this little mission, and they were already underway when we arrived. We were introduced, and I brought a short message from Romans 1:16-17 - "For I am not ashamed of the gospel . . ." Then we returned to Timotei's church, and I preached to 1000 people in a rather large sanctuary. The 100 voice choir was magnificent, we shared communion (I kept my little cup - just slipped it into my jacket pocket), and then I preached a little longer sermon from Romans 8 - "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed in us . . ." Afterwards, I stood at the back of the church and shook hands with about 700 of the 1000 who were present. Pace, pace . . .

I am impressed by these Romanian Christians - they do more with quite meager resources than we ever thought about doing with our rather vast resources. Their's is not a faith of convenience - they really rely on their faith, their church, a word about the gospel - to dispel some of the physical gloom they experience every day. Most of these people are poor - there's no simple way to say it.

More later, it's time for lunch . . .

At home in Deva

2007-01-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

Larry and I arrived in Deva just about an hour ago. 30 hours of travel - I tried to sleep on the plane, but that's not much good. Jet lag is hitting, and I'm about to turn into bed.

There is an 8 hour differential between here and central standard time. It's 11:00 pm on Saturday here, so it's about 3:pm in Enid.

Our host and family are wonderful - such a sweet family. The plan is for me to preach 3 times tomorrow - we'll see. The good news is that I have my own bed.

More tomorrow.

The Pilgrim Sojourns to Romania . . .

2007-01-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

Friends,

I am making final preparations to leave for Romania this Friday morning. I will be traveling with three other pastors to Bucharest, and then Larry Stevens and I will travel on to Deva, some 150 miles west (in the mountains). There, he and I will preach and lead a pastor's conference with some 20 Romanian pastors for three days. We will journey back to Bucharest, and minister there for another couple of days before we return to the States on the 13th.

I covet your prayers.

I do not make these long trips casually. Partly because I do not travel well on airlines for long distances. And I miss my bed when I am gone. But I feel the hand of God in this, and I need to make this trip.

Sharing ministry with pastors whom I do not know is not daunting, except in the sense that I do not currently know their needs, or what they might best profit from as I am there. I can talk about any number of subjects - what is the most profitable for them??? There will be a distinct language barrier (although several of them speak rather good English) and they live in rather meager accomodations. But I understand their spirit is good, and so I expect to profit as much as will they.

I do not know if I will have internet access, but should I, I will attempt to post to this site.

The Sojourning Pilgrim

On the eve before Christmas eve . . .

2006-12-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of thoughts about the season . . .

Many are adept at making much to do about the "reason for the season." So much of the ballyhoo comes from the integration of politics into Christianity. My concerns are somewhat deeper than all of that . . .

And they follow, somewhat, the themes for my two sermons tomorrow. That's right - I am preaching twice tomorrow!! What a concept. Regular morning worship, and our traditional Christmas Eve. service. I hope faithful Christians will attend evening services, even though they've "already been to church" that day . . .

The two themes - A.M. worship takes off on the Micah text - "little Bethlehem", and the gospel - the "smallness of the child" within Mary - to contemplate the smallness of the good news within all of us. Nothing grandious - Christ comes into our hearts in small ways. The title is "from one of the little clans," and I will have something of a special word for my church regarding God's choice of us to bear the "good news."

P.M. worship - takes off on the scriptural statement - first given by Isaiah, and later restated by the shepherds - "for unto us . . ." The gospel is for us. I don't think we really stop to contemplate that truth sometimes. It is "for us." Plenty to ponder there, me thinks.

I wish you a wonderful Christmas celebration - with family, friends, fellow worshippers.

Messiah

2006-12-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

If you live in Oklahoma, and are wondering what to do with your evening tonight, you could do worse than making the drive to Enid to listen to the Enid Symphony Orchestra and Chorus presentation of Handel's Messiah. Last night was the first performance, and the final performance will be this evening at 7:00, Symphony Hall.

The Messiah is a rather long piece, but at Christmas, most groups who perform this wonderful work do mainly the Christmas portion - the first part of the piece, and then add a couple of scenes from the end, including the Hallelujah Chorus. That's the way it's being performed in this setting.

The soloists are rather good, and the chorus ain't bad, either. Tickets are $15, and I'm sure there are still seats available.

good news, bad news

2006-11-30T14:50:00.000-08:00

First, the good news - the weather service has cancelled the Winter Weather Warning for our region. Whew!!! Now the bad news - we are now under a "blizzard" warning.

A moment ago, in an effort to get down my driveway, I had to shovel a 14 inch drift of snow (in order to roll down hill). I'll certainly work off a few of those holiday pounds tonight and tomorrow . . . and Saturday - shoveling snow. Ain't it grand . . .

Where in the World have I been . . .

2006-11-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

Absentee blogger sought - and finally found . . .

Well, hunting season isn't over, but the trips are done for now. The fall take - three turkeys, four hogs, three deer. The freezers are full - now it's time to starting chasing the dogs as we hunt pheasants - news from the high plains is that there aren't any quail . . .

I have caught up somewhat on sermon posting - still missing one, but you can catch up on several on the Cornerstone Pulpit.

Snow in Enid - of course, unless your head is in the clouds, you seen the reports on the news - they're saying that we're going to get between 8 and 12 inches today. So far, I can report that they're probably on track . . .

Advent starts Sunday - I'm really not ready for this - think I'll work from the Old Testament for the Sundays of Advent - and then hit the gospel on Christmas Eve. It should be interesting, especially since the sermon resources I typically rely upon have nothing to say about the OT.

I feel that I need to apologize to you for my blogging absence - I have been licking my wounds and grieving the loss of a friend over some things I said in a sermon, which was of course, published on a blog. Blogging is a transparent sort of thing, and I cringe when I am attacked for what I have to say. But, I will take the advice of other friends, and crawl back into the saddle with my opinions - such as they are . . . During the Advent season, I intend to have a few things to say about the season.

Thanks for checking back in . . .

Good Ol' Boys, Ellie Mae, and Squeaky the Chicken

2006-10-30T14:47:00.000-08:00

Back from McAlester.

Gary Shields, Greg Shields, Mike Dotson, and the Sojourning Pilgrim (aka. - Doc) made our way to beautiful southeastern Oklahoma this past Wednesday for the annual McAlester Traditional Archery Hunt. Traditional archery, as defined by Bill Starry (game biologist in that area) is a "stick and a string hunt" - and Starry was wearing a shirt that said "Traditional Archery - archery without training wheels".

We borrowed a pop-up camper, and pulled into the Army Ammunition Depot in McAlester. We camped next to a covered picnic area with two tables, and were joined on one side by a fellow named Mike, and on the other side by a fellow named Tom and his sister, Janis. Later her husband, Tracy, caught up with the group. I can only describe all these people as "good ole boys" (Not Janis).

That first evening, Greg was our chef, and we enjoyed a sumptous meal of pork chops and mixed veggies. While we were eating, Tom and Janis opened up their "Showtime Rotisseri" (I didn't know anyone actually bought those things - you know the infomercial - Ron Popeil - "set it, and forget it") Anyway, they put this chicken in the rotisseri, and set it, and it started cooking. After a bit, we heard this squeak - how do you say this in type - "int, innnnn". Over the next hour, that squeak got louder and longer with each occurrence. To the point that we named that chicken "squeaky."

And then later that evening, one of us commented to Tom about the unusualness of a woman who uses traditional archery gear to hunt, and Tom said, "Yeah, my brother-in-law definitely married Ellie Mae Clampett." The name rather stuck for the rest of the weekend - especially after she started talking about "eatin possum and armadillo."

I'd tell you more, but suffice it to say that there was much laughter over these five evenings.

Toward the end of an eventful week (or not) . . .

2006-09-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

While I am avoiding writing my sermon (and I might add, "successfully avoiding"), I'll tell you about the grand highlight of the week - a trip to Missouri on Monday and Tuesday for the CBF of Missouri Pastor's Conference. I had been looking forward to this one all year, for the speaker was our dear, wonderful Bishop Will Willimon.

He was tremendous. Tired, but tremendous. His luggage didn't arrive until Tuesday, and he was running on about 2 hours of sleep when he started lecturing on Monday afternoon. But still, with half his brain tied behind his back, he was magnificent. And who knew he was so funny. He kept us in stitches.

Willimon did something for me. Commenting consistently about Mark's gospel (since we're in year B, and the gospel is Mark), Willimon "desanitized" Jesus for me a little - uncovered some of the "earthiness" of our Lord, and generally gave me the idea that if the clergy feels beat up by the congregation, they have no one to blame but themselves.

My favorite line from the sessions was from his story about a student who stopped him to express concern about a theological point she was struggling with. His response - grasp her by the elbow, and say, "Thank God you came to a liberal, mainline minister with this concern." I think I'll put a derivative of that on the back of my business cards - in italics. "Thank God you found a liberal, mainline minister."

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

2006-09-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

Today would have been Dad's 81st Birthday.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!!

Ragweed and the Hunting Dog . . .

2006-09-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

I can report that the ragweed in Jefferson, OK is "world class" this year.

As Deer season is approaching, I had need and opportunity this morning to travel north, for the expressed purpose of hanging a deer stand. I decided to double up on the opportunity, and so I took Amy on her first field outing. She was so excited. I didn't run a check cord on her - just let her run loose. She never strayed farther than about 50 yds from me, coming back to check on me regularly as we walked through the fields. She flushed some meadowlarks, smelled every different kind of flower, and ran through a covey of quail. She is so small, and the weeds were so tall, she literally bounced from place to place around the field. She had a blast.

I got my deer stand hung, and a feeder.

And I sniffed a snoot-full of ragweed.

a report from the front lines . . .

2006-09-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

First off - I saw gasoline for $2.11 this morning. I filled up for $2.15 yesterday. I feel like I live in Walmart - the prices keep falling . . .

Spoke to the Dean at the college yesterday. I had an experience last week where my new obligation to be at the college conflicted with my perceived need to be a pastor, and I didn't like that feeling. So, I told him that I won't be teaching again come spring. I shared with him all the things I like about teaching, and the things that I don't like - how I have gotten past nearly everything I don't like, but that I wouldn't be able to get past this feeling when I am needed in both places at the same time.

As an afterthought as I was leaving his office, we discussed the possibility of me teaching an "on-line" class. I kinda like that idea - can fit the teaching more into my hit-and-miss daily schedule, get to use the computer, and will be bringing in a little cash to boot. We'll see . . .

It looks like Enid has a football team. They've won the first two games - got behind this last Friday night, and then they took control and won the game. This week will be something of a test, and then week 4 is the real deal - against Tulsa Union.

We've had a little cool snap - it got down into the upper 40's last night. It's supposed to be warmer by the weekend. Anyway, the grass is slowing down a bit . . .

Amy has reached the "brat" stage. She looks at me, and says, "I don't have to do what you say." We may have to introduce her to "Mr. Shock Collar" sooner than I wanted to. I think tomorrow I'll take her north early in the morning and let her run in the pheasant field. I'm looking forward to the look on her face when she gets her first whiff of pheasant. And I'll hang a deer stand.

Headed to Missouri for a pastor's conference on Sunday evening. Will Willimon is the speaker - he's a guru to most moderate pastors. I'm really looking forward to it.

That's all for now . . .

2 days later . . .

2006-09-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Friend Gary, his son Greg, and I sat in a different field. Harvested milo. I can report that I'm stuck on 9. Harvested 9 doves again.

My shooting was some better - still nothing to brag about.

Making plans for Miss Lynn's 50th birthday. If you know and love her, send her a birthday card. The party will be Sunday night - 6:30 at the church.

Opening Day of Dove Season

2006-09-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

I can report that friend Gary and I each collected 9 doves this evening.

I wish I could report that I only shot 9 times . . .

In sections of the county, the ragweed is "world-class."

That is all - for now.

Goodbye, Pluto

2006-08-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

"Pluto's status as the solar system's ninth planet became a relic of history Thursday when international astronomers meeting in the Czech Republic decided it was too small to remain a full member of the planetary club."

It was good while it lasted. Back to eight planets. Gustav Holtz will be pleased.

sojourning back into academia . . .

2006-08-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

Something new for the Pilgrim . . .

Back into the classroom. I've taught a little college before, but its been a while. I have agreed to teach a class this fall at the local college. Northern Oklahoma College has offered me one section of Social Problems. I told the Dean that it sounded like a good opportunity to make young democrats . . .

It is an ITV (interactive TV) - students at two remote locations, as well as the local site. That part should be interesting. Tuesday and Thursday evening at 5 pm.

Yesterday was a good morning. Pretty good attendance, and the worship service was wonderful. I was glad to be back in the pulpit - I missed it last week.

Nothing else for now . . .

I came home and flew my flag . . .

2006-08-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

My friend Faith Sarver wrote this yesterday. She is a thoughtful person, and until yesterday, I didn't know what a good writer she is. I asked her permission to share this essay thought.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

I came home and flew my flag.

"The front page of today’s local newspaper carried an article titled “A hero’s farewell”. A full military service was being held for a local soldier killed in Iraq. Thirty year old Staff Sgt. Clint Joseph Storey had given the ultimate sacrifice for his country – his life.

My heart had been sadden for several days as I had followed the story of this family’s loss. At the end of today’s article I noticed that the church in Kansas who travels our country protesting at the funerals of our fallen military personnel was going to be in town. I made a mental note to avoid that street. I should have made myself a big sticky note to wear.

I was following my normal morning errand route. I approached the intersection and turned, realizing too late that I had driven to the protest spot. A neon poster board sign reading “God Hates Fags” confronted me. My Spirit immediately became broken hearted. I have not felt such heaviness in a long time. I focused my eyes straight ahead, but was not able to ignore the counter protesters on the other side of the street or the police and highway patrol men stationed along the road.

My thoughts raced in my head. God hates fags? Really? My Bible tells me God hates sin, not sinners. Somehow, their message did not seem to be the “good news” Jesus called us to share. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “Whosoever” means even those who hate – grace is extended even to them. I could not manage anger, only broken heartedness at their message.

My thoughts went to the family of this soldier. His life was given for the right of all Americans to lawfully protest. Even for those who would use his death to spread hate.

I thought of how fortunate this family was to be able to bury their beloved with military honors. Not all of our fallen heroes have had this privilege. Veterans of other wars and conflicts have been flown home in the middle of the night to avoid confrontations with protesters in airports and cities.
I thought of my husband’s young cousin who is completing one of his training stations to become a Navy Seal. His willingness to serve at this time makes me feel honored to know him. Our thoughts and prayers are continually with him and his family.

My attention was turned to the several flags being flown downtown and in our neighborhoods. As I returned to the office I noticed more than normal on display. It was a reminder of freedom. Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the right to assemble……freedoms enjoyed by few other people in the world.

I came home and I flew my flag."

Faith Sarver

a full heart . . .

2006-08-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

For the strangest of reasons, my heart is full this evening. Not really sure why - there has been enough activity and plenty of troubling distractions to have caused even the most stalwart of servants to be a little on the depressed side - but I'm feeling a little chipper and full of faith.

This week has been crazy. I made the huge mistake of agreeing to teach a course this fall at the local college. I will be teaching "Social Problems" - which sounds like a wonderful opportunity to make young Democrats . . .

Anyway, this week has been inservice. Over in Tonkawa. That's an hour each way, three days in a row. I learned virtually nothing Monday, absolutely nothing on Tuesday until the 3 pm meeting, and nothing today. Why do they have these meetings . . .????

However, tomorrow, I learn about the interactive television system I will be using to help deliver classroom sessions to remote locations. I actually did my Doctorate in the area of distance education, and so that part of this course will be rather interesting, I think.

Amy is doing super. Smarrrrrrrttttt. When I have her "whoa," she waits until I verbally deliver the next command until she responds - she actually ignored a visual command this evening until I delivered the verbal command. I don't know if that's what I really want, but I think she's tremendously smart.

I noticed that I'm only getting 3 hits a day on this blog right now - could that be a factor of the reality that I'm writing about once a week????

For your reading pleasure . . .

2006-08-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

Especially if you're a Democrat, you simply must read the Militant Moderate today.

BTW - good article in the Enid News and Eagle this morning about our State Senator, Patrick Anderson - leading the charge to encourage people to get out and vote in the run off elections.

We are getting new windows in the church. The workmen are here, tearing out the old ones, and we will soon have new, energy efficient windows. Yeah!!!!

News on Amy the pup - WOW - she is coming right along with the commands. Here's the latest one - she is learning "Whoa" real well, and I stop her, face my hand toward her while I reissue the command, and then I turn and walk 30 yards away, drop to one knee, and call her to me. She actually comes straight to me. An obedient dog. COOOOOOOOL!!!!!!

an interesting exercise . . .

2006-08-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't worn a watch, except for Sundays, in nearly three weeks now. It really is for a sort of practical reason - it's so darn hot here in N.W. Oklahoma, and the watch I wear has a leather band, and leather bands tend to get really stinky when you sweat on them too much. So, the watch is sitting in the cup holder in the car, and I have donned my Dad's watch the past two Sunday mornings for worship hour. That's it . . .

There have been three interesting side effects. 1. the skin on my arm under the watch is now just as tanned as the rest of my arm. 2. I still know what time it is - a factor of a rather good internal clock, and a plethora of clocks in my reguraly daily path, and 3. I haven't accomplished near as much in the last three weeks as I usually do.

I'd be interested in hearing your theological or comical responses to this phenomenon.

BTW - sorry I haven't been posting much lately. It's a factor of several things, but suffice to say that I intend to say a little more as these days ensue.

a MUST read . . .

2006-07-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

"If all these politicians were as Christian in action as they are in words, we would have no poor, no hungry, no illiterate, no injustice, no homeless, no friendless in jails, no unwanted and abused children, no mentally ill on the streets, and no unwelcome strangers in our midst."

You simply must read the Militant Moderate today!!

Correcting a mistake

2006-07-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

If you have been here in recent days, you have noticed that I have removed the last post to this site. That is the very least I could do.

At the very least, I need to reconsider some language choices I made. My words were considered by some hurtful and harmful, and that is never my intention or my will.

I will not repost this entry, but will be spending some time in the next several days attempting to apologize to those persons I have offended.

not sure what the problem is . . .

2006-07-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

but you may have noticed yesterday or this morning that my blog went bonkers. For some unknown reason, it suddenly threw the sidebar all the way to the bottom of the blog.

So . . . I have played around with the templates, and this is one of the only ones that will put the sidebar back up there.

I will have to rebuild the links section, so be patient with me.

an unexcused absence . . .

2006-07-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

I have been away from the computer - heavens, away from the office, for that matter. I have been "Habitating" at the Dunn house.

So - what progress have you made, O digger of dirt and builder of fences???

Well, the dog pens are complete. Including roof. Crockett and Amy couldn't be happier. BTW - we have been letting them "play" together in the yard, and Amy continues to be a holy attack terror. Crockett put up with it for quite a while, but then she tried to steal his bone, and he let her have it. I got to them about the time he was going back in for the kill. I think I'll have to let them play separate until she's a little bigger . . .

The placement of the dog pens requiried that I move the gate to the garden - so I sunk two new posts, and reattached the fence. Makes for a nice look, I think.

The pool is repaired. We had a collapsed return line, so a hole had to be dug under the concrete to the side wall of the pool. We took out the slide, and then we decided to move the Polaris to the side wall as well, so another hole had to be dug under the concrete. Those repairs have been completed, and the holes have been filled in.

The sprinkler system is up and running, as of yesterday afternoon. What a difference - no more schlepping of hoses for Doc Dunn. Bryan even installed a pipe to the garden, complete with two faucets, and so now I can water the dogs with well water using the sprinkler system. Pretty cool.

And on the 4th, Travis and I sunk 7 posts along the east fence to "shore things up." He was actually quite helpful. He manned the wheelbarrow, loaded the 40 lb. sacks of Quickcrete into the wheelbarrow, brought it around to the back fence, opened the sacks with a shovel, and then began adding water. He would control the wheelbarrow while I fed the concrete into the hole - it was quite a blast. He slept well that night . . .

There are a few projects left, and we'll keep at it until things look better. But all in all, things are starting to shape up.

Thanks for your patience during my absence from the keyboard . . .

too relevant not to post . . .

2006-07-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to Christian Quote of the Day - it is downloaded to my e-mail every day. You can access it at http://cqod.gospelcom.net/. This one was too good not to post.

Quotation:

We sometimes come to God, not because we love Him best, but because we love our possessions best; we ask Christ to "save Western civilization," without asking ourselves whether it is entirely a civilization that Christ could want to save.

We pray, too often, not to do God’s will, but to enlist God’s assistance in maintaining our "continually increasing consumption." And yet, though Christ promised that God would feed us, he never promised that God would stuff us to bursting.

... Joy Davidman (1915-1960), Smoke on the Mountain [1955]

_______________________________________________________________
Quiet time reflection:

Lord, may I not take Your bounty for granted. Lead me to understand my stewardship more thoroughly.

Amen, and Amen.

progress??

2006-06-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

The sprinkler guys left yesterday afternoon. Most of the system is in, but we are waiting on some of the pool work now, and a little electrical, before they can test the sprinklers. I feel a little decadent.

I started on the dog pens yesterday at 8:30 am, and worked throughout the day. Dog tired at 9:15 pm, friend Gary and I completed Crockett's new home, and moved him in. He was delighted.

Okay - I am going to venture out there and make a political comment. I have to agree with the Militant Moderate and our Governor on their assessments of our most recent legislative session. There was too much "politics" played during this last legislative session.

By the way - I have a simple way to define politics. You break the word down into its parts - poly, meaning many - ticks - meaning blood sucking creatures - and there you have it - many blood sucking creatures. Actually, it kinda works as a working definition.

I have spent a little time in our State Senate. Two years ago, I was invited to share "Pastor of the Week" duties. I was privileged to be able to say the prayer, and to offer a "mini-sermon" on Thursday of that week. It was all a kick. Anyway, I used the Micah passage as the focal point of the sermon. It reads "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?(NAS) - Micah 6:88 " I personally think that anyone who enters the political field should have to have this passage tattooed backwards on their forehead so they can read it in the mirror each morning as they prepare to do "the people's work."

the best laid plans . . .

2006-06-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

turned into mud this morning. I was starting on the dog pens, laying things out, etc., and it started sprinkling. Sprinkling turned into a shower, which turned into 5 hours and 2 inches of rain. Finally the sun came out this afternoon, around 4, and maybe things will work out for tomorrow.

So I wrote today. The sermon is complete - finis.

Amy doesn't like the leash. In fact, she gets this kinda wild eyed look in her eye as she spins when she hits the end of it, and then waits for me to drag her to get started again. Patience, patience.

Not much else. Going home a little early tonight.

I really should post more than once a week . . .

2006-06-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Ya look up, and it's been a week . . .

Close on the heels of Travis' surgery, and the resulting convaelescence (for both son and parents), the weekend happened, and then the first of the week.

I said in the sermon Sunday that everything I own is broken. Thursday I tried to go fishing, only to putter around in the cove in which I launched because the throttle assembly went kaput. So, now the score is: boat in the shop, pool broken, fence broken, dog pens need replacing, sprinkler system being installed, garden non-existent (except for the weeds), and mowing twice a week. UGH!!

Speaking of - the sprinkler guys showed up Wednesday morning, and they got a good start yesterday. But we got a little rain last night, and there is more in the forecast for today and tonight, so they are holding off until at least tomorrow.

Amy is doing great. She has transitioned from Bandit leaving to go back home, and has decided that the most fun a girl puppy can have is torturing Crockett when he is eating dinner. I have a feeling she's in for a rude awakening when the snarls turn into a snip.

We got the youth off to camp yesterday. Pray for them this week.

Happy Blogging Anniversary to Me . . .

2006-06-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

This is my blogging anniversary. I began this blog one year ago as opportunity to express my thoughts - most especially about the passing of my father.

Just a few statistics. This is my 170th post. That means that I have posted, on average, every 2.14 days. You know it has been more sporadic than that. Since I installed the Site meter, 7221 people have visited the blog (okay, to be honest, about 500 of those visits are mine). People have visited from every state in the union, from 50 different countries, and from every continent, except Antarctica (those people must be really busy). Currently I am recieving 18 hits a day.

Those are the tangibles. The intangibles - I have found more of my writing voice. I have discovered friends from many corners of the globe, and the depth of some of my friends is astounding. I have found this to be a wonderful tool, and at the same time I have been able to use this tool without becoming addicted.

I want to thank you for stopping in and sharing my thoughts. Thank you for being my friends, and thank you for praying for me, my family, and my church.

I hope to expand my work through this medium in the coming year. I may venture out into some political discussions, and I definitely want to increase my theological observations.

Do me a favor - I would hope that each person who reads this blog today would take the time to post a comment. That would be great. Thanks.

This day could have been much worse . . .

2006-06-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

The people who care for Travis called us this morning around 9:30 to let us know that he had been taken to the hospital. We immediately jumped in the car to make our way to OKC. By 12:30, they had made the decision to take him to surgery to repair his shunt (call, I'll be glad to give you details).

He came through the surgery just great, has eaten, and settled in for the night. Lynn will stay with him tonight, and then he shall return to Enid to convalesce.

These things, with Travis, are always an emergency. Even at 26, we still go through the same roller-coaster emotions with him that any parent does. God was good this day. Good surgeon, great nurses, staff at his home that got him to the hospital and then stayed around all day. And the friends at the hospital - my, oh my.

This day could have ended a lot worse.

Amy is becoming official

2006-06-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

I sent in the registration papers on Amy earlier this week. Field Dog Stud Book will register the dog, and for a nominal fee, send pedigree on a beautiful chart. I did this with Crockett, and have never regretted it. I asked for the registered name of "Doc's Maggie Fitzgerald." I know - then why am I calling her Amy. When you see her, you'll see why. Anyway, the Maggie Fitzgerald comes out of the 2004 Academy Award Winning movie "Million Dollar Baby." The lead character was a boxer, but she was the "runt" of her family as well. Watch the movie.

Took her to the vet yesterday morning, and she checked out just fine. She weighs in at 5.6. Eating just isn't all that important to her, although she's getting better. She found the "demand" feeder the other day, and frankly prefers Crockett's Dog Chow to Puppy Chow.

Sermon today. Church Garage Sale tomorrow. Oh boy!!!!

I need to go fishing.

Happy Birthday to #2 brother.

Amy lives here . . .

2006-06-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

Picked up the pup this morning. Gary bought one as well. And we transported a third dog to Enid for another friend. Let it suffice to say that my truck smelled like puppy inside.

Amy has taken to the family well thus far. She eats and plays and poops just fine, thank you. She comes out of a pretty high-powered line of pointers, and she has, shall we say, style. She seems to be a very smart little dog - watched Crockett play in the yard (he is ever so slightly jealous) and she mimicked much of his behavior (pointing, fetch, etc.) This will be fun . . .

I'm not terribly happy with the sermon - I hope it preaches better than it reads. I'll post it tomorrow.

Find someplace to worship tomorrow.

50th Anniversary

2006-06-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

My parents were married 50 years ago today. Dad passed away just a little over a year ago, and so this day is somewhat bittersweet.

Thomas Jesse Dunn, Jr. wed Hermenia Ella Meyer at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, June 1, 1956. They lived in Fort Worth, then in Richmond, Virginia, then in Huntsville, Alabama, and then moved to Pasadena, Texas, where their four children went all the way through grade school, High School and University. After retirement, they moved to Granbury, Texas, and lived in a wonderful neighborhood for 13 years until he passed last year. Mother still resides there, is in good health, and I am happy to report, is doing well one year after Dad's passing.

Happy Anniversary, Mom (and Dad).

my life . . .

2006-06-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

just a snapshot of my life this week . . .

Rain - Lynn is trying to finish painting the pool, and we are getting rain. I am mowing every fourth day. I awoke at 4:15 this morning, turned on the Weather Channel, saw that there was a line of showers lined up west of town, and then crawled back in bed. I can fish tomorrow . . .

which means, of course, that I need to write the sermon this afternoon. Pentecost. Baptists, perpetually afraid of the Holy Spirit, have great difficulty with this Sunday. In planning the worship service yesterday, I noticed the dirth of great hymns of the faith regarding the Spirit. Such a travesty . . .

We had a wonderful first session of our children's Summer DAZE - this is our version of Vacation Bible School. We meet every other Tuesday, and it's more like a summer day camp - we do have bible lessons, then there is some kind of mission action project, we have some kind of "crafty" activity, and there is something fun for the kids to do. This year our theme is "Children of the Bible: Fishing Poles Optional." Tuesday we took a look at Miriam (O.T.) and Timothy (N.T. - yeah, I know Timothy was a stretch as a "children," but we did it anyway). Then we went to the local Soup Kitchen to serve a meal to the homeless and generationally poor of Enid. Back to the church to meet with our CBFO Coordinator, "T" Thomas (real live missionary), and then we wrote pen pal letters to children at the Ruth School in Romania. All in all a good day. This way of doing Bible School is, in my opinion, the perfect prototype for small churches.

Beyond all this, and the occasional fishing trip, life consists of home and church maintenance issues. The trees have been trimmed, the shrubs still need it. The back fence needs mending, and the garden is a shambles (I'm not planting this year - just killing weeds for the entire summer). And I must do something about my dog pens before Saturday, because . . .

I'm going to pick up . . . . . . . . . Amy.

BTW - something about Blogger will still not let me post pictures. I may have to have a friend do so - I suspect it's something in my computer blocking access. I'll let you know.

time to focus on the sermon - "When the Advocate comes . . . "

The new pup . . .

2006-05-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

I decided on my new pup. I had been thinking about getting another dog - Crockett is 8 now, and it's time to "retool" on the hunting dog. I like pointers, and decided this time around that I would look at a female. I may breed her to Crockett down the road - we'll see.

Anyway, I went to look at the available females this morning, and the one I had wanted has already been spoken for. That left, I thought, only one option - a rather gregarious black faced female (perfect markings). I really didn't want a black one, though, and then I found out that the runt of the litter hadn't been spoken for. Lemon pointer with cute markings, and she's not so much of a runt that I'll worry about her. She's interested in most everything, pointed the quail wing pretty well, high activity, and held her tail straight and high. I watched her for about 30 minutes, and then told the owner that I'd pick her up next weekend. I'm thinking of calling her "Cindy" or "Amy." I'll let you know.

Brought Travis home for the weekend, and he is already destroying stuff. His mischevious childhood is never ending.

Whoops!!!

2006-05-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

I won't even mention the name of the blog (three ago), but I had to delete a post. Evidently I had possibly infringed on copyright with that post, and so it has been deleted.

To the author (or publisher) of the deleted post. It is not my habit to make such errors. I always attempt to give credit where credit is due. Please forgive my oversight.

Winding down Easter . . .

2006-05-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

Easter is winding down - this coming Sunday is "Ascension" Sunday, and then we are full force into Pentecost.

I noticed yesterday that we have Easter Lillies blooming in the church flower bed. What a glorious exclamation mark to the end of the season.

I've been thinking about adding something to this blog - I have kept this thing rather benign - politically speaking - and I've done so on purpose - two purposes, really - 1. I am a huge separation of church and state advocate, and 2. I don't want to irritate my readership. Okay, there's a third reason - every "religious" blog that I read that dabbles in the "political" tends to take up that cross to the point that they forget to mention the "religious" any more. I don't want to ever go there.

But I ran across something this afternoon in one of the mags I take - Christian Century - insightful, stimulating, all of the appropriate reasons to take a mag. There is a question about clergy silence in this issue, and a journalist is quoted as saying "three years into the war against Iraq, the silence of the clergy is deafening . . ." So, I am faced with something of a dilemna.

I may venture out here into the "political" a little - still contemplating. It could come in the form of a detached, separate blog. That way if the politicos want to read what I think, they can go over there and do it.

Do you have opinions??

A lull in my spirit . . .

2006-05-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Some of this comes with the increased pace (although I can't imagine what a person who is so incredibly unbusy has found to keep one so occupied) of the mid-spring season, but I find myself in something of a spiritual lull. Not in a "religious" spirit sense - more of a personal, "what am I here for" sense - nothing dramatic, either positive or negative. Marking time - no pace, and relatively no direction.

Some of it is the plodding of the increasing tasks associated with moving back into the out of doors after the long winter - getting the yard in some semblance of shape, working in the garden (don' even ask - dandelions are a crop, aren't they) and paying some attention to the house. Then that whole process is repeated at the church. Monotony - bordering on boredom.

Next to last Symphony Board meeting tonight - I'll be glad to relenquish the reins. Looking forward to retooling and putting my volunteer efforts in some other things.

As an aside - did I tell you that Travis is playing softball. I haven't seen a game - probably need to - but I'm being told that he's doing well. That doesn't surprise me - he has always had great eye-hand coordination. I think he plays 2nd base . . .

I'll try to write more often.

How 'bout a weekcap . . .

2006-05-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Not just your average week.

Fishing - 12 on Sunday afternoon, 12 on Tuesday evening, 45 on Thursday afternoon (in just over 2 hours - best time fishing I've ever had), and 4 this morning (with Travis, and an east wind).

Sermon - I think it's one of my best.

Symphony - closed out our "Centennial" season with a concert in the park - Beethoven's Fifth was the feature piece. I was privileged to help receive accomodations from the Mayor, the Governor, and the President. Standin' up there in front of God and everybody . . .

Met my new pup - not sure which one, but looked at some beautiful pups yesterday - they'll be ready in about 3 weeks.

Read Matthew Fox's A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity. Couldn't put it down. Long quote in the sermon.

Co-signed the note on daughter's new car - Honda Civic (Hey! Wasn't that my first new car - circa 1976?? - 30 years later . . .)

And my sister turns older - today - 38, I think . . .

I'll post the sermon in the morning on the "Pulpit" blog. Find some place to worship tomorrow.

Flowers on the altar

2006-04-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Dad died a year ago, today. As sister Tracy says, we've made it through the first year - a year of firsts - first birthday without him, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, first Easter. But we've made it.

Mom sent flowers to each of our churches in memory of Dad. The flowers on our altar are beautiful, and I've seen pictures of Tracy's flowers.

I miss him.

I thought this morning about the first time I ever remember thinking about the relationship between me and my Dad. It was nighttime. We were on our way to visit my aunt and uncle, Peggy and Alan. We were supposed to be sleeping in the back seat, but I was too excited. Mother was asleep in the front, and my two brothers in the back seat. Dad was driving, and I was pretending to sleep. But I kept glancing at him as the cars would pass us, illuminating his face. I could see part of his face from the profile, and I could see part of him as reflection in the rearview mirror. I thought about wanting to be like him in some way, even though we were different in so many ways. And I thought about how I knew he loved me, even though I was somewhat the "problem" child.

Profile and reflection - those words remind me of something one of my friends wrote last year as an offering of condolence.

". . . We try hard to grow up, to catch him and be his peer, but he won't wait for us. He gets away and we grieve because we believe we have lost his presence, his guidance, his voice. But he is trickier than that. He has doubled back on you, Richard. Only death would let him do that. It is the only way to let you catch up. Since you were born, he has been hiding small pieces of himself in you. Look in the mirror. One day you will see him looking out of your eyes. You will have his voice in your head guiding your decisions. You will hear his words from your mouth, his inflections. You will see his expressions on your face . . ."

Profile and reflection . . .

Thanks, Dad.

On turning 49 . . .

2006-04-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday!!!!!

One should pontificate on what one has learned on such a momentous occasion.

1. I have now lived 17897 days - or I could say 2548 weeks - or 588 months.

2. A man should not be docked time at work for time spent fishing.

3. Most television is a waste of time - but occasionally necessary, and often enjoyable.

4. As my Dad said, "Aging isn't for the faint of heart." Sound observation.

5. Life doesn't get any easier, but the choice to smile and laugh at the little things does.

6. Wisdom and intelligence aren't the same thing!!

7. Staying put in one place is better than moving around.

8. My memory isn't what it used to be.

9. My memory isn't what it used to be.

10. Rush Limbaugh doesn't know squat.

11. It rains on the just and the unjust.

12. God is good - all the time.

Subject: Don't Leave it on the Desk

2006-04-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

I received the following story in an e-mail - I usually don't share stuff like this, but I really liked this story. Enjoy, and learn.

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his or her freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him.

"How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, ! Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time."

"
Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said the professor.

Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it."

Dr. Christianson said, "Good. I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?"

Cynthia said, "Yes."

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

"Sure." Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship.

When the professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?"

Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?" With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten pushups.

Scott said, "Hey, I said I didn't want one"

Dr. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. ! He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Sternly, Jenny said, "No." Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these pushups! done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Ste! ve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. >>
Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your pushups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO, don't come in Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him?"

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut."

Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut."

"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?" Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"

Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone, I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."

"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?" As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said. "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten."

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

"Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words."

Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid."

"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"

The fish are spawning!!!!

2006-04-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the change in this post. Blogger had some problems, so this is written ever so slightly different than originally.

Gary and I had a pretty good evening Saturday night. It was windy, so we put in north of the islands at Canton, and stayed in that cove. We had two 30 minutes spurts where the fish were really biting. All in all, we kept 10 - 7 sand bass, 2 crappie, and one channel catfish. Four of the sandies were huge (nearly 3 pounds) and one of the crappie went over 2 pounds.

But the good news is that all of the fish were females, and seeking spawning grounds. So, with the fish spawning, the question becomes - yard work, or fishing?? Hmm - yard work or fishing??

Easter service

2006-04-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful service Easter morning. The church was full - I counted 95. We had to dip into the third tray for communion. The choir was wonderful, we had a baptism, and all is well in my world.

Gary and I took the inaugural fishing trip for this season. 1 bass (2.5 lbs.), one channel cat, and four crappie (two really large monsters). The boat performed marvelously, new carpet and all. I can't describe for you the beauty of the evening as the sun reached the horizon, and the water settled to a calm. It was tremendous.

I pray you had a good Easter morning.

Friday Night

2006-04-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

I want to tell you about our worship service tomorrow night - our Good Friday service.

It is a dark service - by that I mean we take a good look at the horror of the cross and the crucifixion. Not maudlin, mind you - but a good, honest look. We acknowledge the pain, the suffering, the cause, our inability to do anything but stand by and watch (unless we actively participate in the death experience, but that's another post), and we sing hymns that point us to the cross.

Our choir is prepared to sing, and they are going to sound great. We rehearsed last night, and the two pieces are ready. There will be wonderful music, and I will have a short homily.

When the service is over, the children and I go outside to the cross, and they help me change the cloth from red to black. Every year, the children realize the symbolism of what we are doing, and perform admirably. And every year, we turn around to see the church at the door, watching the children "take hold of the faith."

. . . and then He died.

Changing the cloth on the cross . . .

2006-04-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Monday of Holy Week - this is the day that I change the cloth on the cross outside our church from Lenten Purple to Holy Week Red. Things change rapidly on our cross this week. It will change again on Friday - to Good Friday Black.

And then it changes again before Sunday. I say "before Sunday" because I always sneak up here in the middle of the night to change it - just like what happened that first Easter Day.

If you're in town, keep an eye on the cross - things change this week.

Home again, home again, fiddle-de-dee . . .

2006-04-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

Home from S.C. - the memorial service for Lynn's mom was just right - the right balance of Dot and Jesus. (Sometimes, I couldn't tell the difference between them - now, there's your testimony).

The April dates are filling up . . .

2006-04-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

When I was a child, April was my favorite month. It probably still is - but I have to work harder at it these days.

April is my birthday month. April 28. I always loved turning the calendar to April, because I knew that for one day, I would be special. That's the way it is when you are a kid.

I became a parent in April. Twice. Travis (April 3) and Chelsea (April 19) both share the month with me.

And then came last year. And now this year. Dad died last year on the 29th, and yesterday Lynn's mom died - April 4. The significant dates in this month are filling up.

"And that's all I have to say about that" - Forrest Gump

and so, I found my opening sermon illustration at Starbucks . . .

2006-03-31T10:01:00.000-08:00

Got to the office about 10 this morning, answered a couple of phone calls, and then moseyed over to the south office. Ordered my Caramel Machiato, and found a place to sit - someone was sitting in my usual chair (I claimed it yesterday, don't you know). Opened up the Lectionary Homiletics mag from 6 years ago (because it dealt with the Jeremiah passage) and waited for my drink to be delivered to me.

A group of experienced adults (how's that for tact) entered, began moving chairs around a table, and went to order their coffee. Then they sat down, their drinks were delivered, and they immediately started to gripe. "This is way too strong for me!!!!!!!!!," exclaimed one lady.

I began to reminisce about my trip to England in 1987. On the plane, the flight attendant asked me if I wanted my coffee American style or European. I asked what the difference was, and she proclaimed "Americans drink their drinks backwards from Europeans - Americans want their coffee weak, diluted with cream and sugar, and they want their tea straight."

Over the years, I have come to appreciate the wisdom of her observation. The longer I live, the stronger I tend to prefer my coffee. So, I couldn't help but smile (internally) at the recalcitrance of these "experienced" adults who prefer lightly colored water to coffee.

It occurs to me that our recalcitrance to change and other possibilities, especially as Americans (who exercise our freedom - to be right or wrong - with great bravado), makes the faith walk ever so much more difficult. God desires an inner change, and we respond with outward resistance.

Heading toward a sermon . . .

2006-03-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

"You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart."

This thought couples with Jeremiah 31:31-34 quite nicely, and is the direction I am intending for the sermon this week. Jeremiah says that God says, "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts." I like that image.

I've entitled the sermon "Intra-cardia Faith." I'm thinking about this idea of God writing God's law on our hearts and teaching wiscom to our secret hearts. We know what we think. God knows what we think. We may as well cut to the chase and meld our heart toward the heart of God. It makes sense. And in some strategic sense, it even works toward and understanding of our freedom according to the design of God - not that we are obligated toward God's law, but that we learn to desire the parameters of God's law. Or something like that . . .

about 1/2 point Calvinist

2006-03-29T13:52:00.000-08:00

Calvinism is all the rage, especially among neo-orthodox Baptists. I do not count myself among the latter - my Baptist heritage would speak to principled belief which shies away from neo-orthodoxy. Anyway, be that as it may, I have been asked to speak from time to time about my understanding and belief in Calvinist doctrines. I usually respond by saying that I am "about 1/2 point Calvinist." Let me explain.

Five point Calvinism is most easily explained through the acrostic T.U.L.I.P. Those speaking points refer to these ideas. "T" - Total depravity - the idea that man, in his essence, is without any hope, totally depraved, in need of salvation from without; "U" - unconditional election - God chooses whom God will redeem, apart from any determinable concept other than God's choice; "L" - limited atonement - Christ died for those who will be saved (meaning that Christ did not die for those who will not be saved); "I" - irresistible grace - any resistance man might attempt to effect in response to God's offer of salvation is without power (we cannot resist the grace of God); and "P" - perseverance of the saints - any person who God has chosen for salvation will ultimately persevere to the end, and will receive salvation. Many would argue and/or disagree with my analysis of these doctrines, but this brief explanation captures the general sense of the overall doctrine.

I don't buy any of the last four of those doctrinal ideas, and so I think that I am about 1/2 point calvinist - my belief comes from Psalm 51:5 - "Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me." The psalmist indicates that we were born in sin. We possess a nature that is sinful. None of us were born without this nature. Romans 3:23 - "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Another proof-text.

I swallow about half of that. As a student of educational psychology, I acknowledge the role of "nature" in the development of the individual. But I also acknowledge the role of "nurture" as well. That is always the debate in ed. psy. circles - "Nature vs. nurture." And to further complicate the issue, I see man's goodness and badness in both "nature" and "nurture." I am not a proponent of the idea that man has no good within him with which to respond to God - we are given faith capacity with which to respond, thus, for me, discounting this idea of "total" depravity.

This verse from psalm 51 reminds us of our need for God. It also reminds me of our ability to respond to God.

One and One (to go)

2006-03-29T12:48:00.000-08:00

When I installed the site meter on the two weblogs, I started keeping track of where my visitors came from. Some time ago, I reached the point where six of the seven continents had been accounted for (still waiting on those Antarctic bloggers to check me out). This morning, two states checked in (South Dakota and Rhode Island) and now all I'm waiting to complete my United States readership is Alaska (come on, you frigid nose rubbers).

I am also keeping track of countries, and to date I have heard from people from 46 different countries.

Ain't this interesting???

Our Sin - what is known

2006-03-28T13:17:00.000-08:00

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment."

Two always know of our sin. We know. God knows. We hide our sin from others, but we do not hide our sin from God, or from ourselves. Sin is embarassing. At the same time, sin is choice that exemplifies the autonomy of the individual. While autonomous choice is not sin, nor is it embarassing, rebellion is sin, and exposed rebellion to God is certainly embarassing. Ask any sinner.

I would say that for the most part (the vast, most part), we know our sin. We know when we do, think, or say the wrong thing. We also know when we fail to do, think or say the right thing. That is the very definition of sin. Especially during Lent, we know our sin. We spend these 40 days taking a look at ourselves, and what we see, we don't like. How could we?

And while we do sin against one another, our sin is always against God. God is righteous, we, in our sin, are not. So according to the psalmist, God is both just and blameless when God passes judgment on our sin.

This analysis of sin has something of a "matter of fact" sense to it. Sin is definitely a problem.

THE Lenten Psalm - 2006

2006-03-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

I put part of this passage on the marquee at the beginning of Lent. Create in me a clean heart, O God. I hope that has been the prayer of our congregation for these days. Lent is starting to wind down. This coming Sunday will be the 5th Sunday in Lent, and then the next Sunday is Palm Sunday.

Part of the mystique of growing up Baptist is our lack of sensitivity to the idea of confession - any kind of confession, really. We don't like public confession. We don't like repetetive confession - going back to God with the same old, tired things day after day. We don't like to enumerate our sins. Mostly, we just like to remind ourselves that Jesus saved us, and that we don't have to worry about our sin anymore. It is a backlash to Catholicism, I'm sure . . .

But that response to our sin isn't honest. It certainly doesn't square with the testimony of the Psalms. Psalm 51 starts out - "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." The psalmist speaks as though forgiveness is anything but a forgone conclusion. His is a testimony of a continued relationship with God in which the sinner goes back to God as occasion requires and asks for forgiveness.

So I live in this tension - a tension between knowing that my sins are forgiven, and knowing that I must ask for God's forgiveness. Sometime back, I tried to reconcile that in my mind by suggesting that what we really ask for is that God help us appropriate the forgiveness to our lives that is already ours. This Lent, that explanation doesn't feel quite right.

I plan to write about this psalm for the whole week.

Back to the basics

2006-03-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

The discipline of Lent takes me back to the basics. Daily introspection, prayer, bible reading, taking on additional disciplines - all of these thing remind me of a faith of my youth.

I will admit that I am more uncomfortable with the dichotomy this year. I want to continue on in my maturing faith - one that is steeped in free-form practice and thought. But Lent - especially this Lent - seems to be taking me back to a place where I practiced - emphasis on the word "practiced" - something more simplistic.

Maybe that's okay from time to time. I'll use a hunting analogy. My English Pointer, Crockett, loves to roam. We hit the ground, and he's off hunting his quarry. Every now and then, he comes back around to see what I'm up to - to check in with the "hunter with the gun."

Tomorrow is the Lord's Day. I wish you blessed worship.

Lenten Prayer

2006-03-24T11:59:00.000-08:00

I started enjoying reading other people's prayers a few years ago - I think it is an incredible thing to write a prayer, to pen thoughts focused toward God that people might read, appreciate, understand, and perhaps know the same thoughts.

I ran across this prayer this week - you wouldn't necessarily describe it as a Lenten prayer, but it serves as such for me this day . . . this season.

Prayer

Eternal God,

light of the minds that know you,
the joy of the hearts that love you,
and the strength of the wills that serve you:
grant us so to know you that we may truly love you,
so to love you that we may fully serve you,
whom to serve is perfect freedom. Amen.

Augustine of Hippo, 15th Century Bishop

a day off . . .

2006-03-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

Thursday is supposed to be my day off - I rarely take all of it. Today I was able to keep myself away from the office until about 3:30.

There was nothingness today. That is, after the excitement and commotion. Chelsea was leaving for San Antonio this morning. Dropped by the house to give us a kiss, and then called her mother less than five minutes later to say she had slid off the road getting out of our subdivision. I pulled on clothes, drove to where she was, and then called my friend with a much bigger truck. Ronny drives a F250 diesel - obviously 4-wheel drive. He snapped her out of the bar ditch quick as you please, and she was on her way.

She made it to San Antonio.

I need a bigger truck.

Then there was the nothingness of the day. Sleep, reading, a little TV - quite a relaxing day. Nothingness.

Those days are good for the soul - occasionally - just occasionally.

The nothingness this day reminded me of the tomb that held Christ. Dark - quiet - nothing.

It's good to remember things like this during Lent . . .

It turns out Starbucks doesn't need a chaplain, but . . .

2006-03-22T12:47:00.000-08:00

I did get a cup of coffee for the trouble of asking. I'll save the cup on my bookshelf, along with all the other magnificent memorabilia I keep there.

It turns out the manager knows my friend Tim Youmans. Blogging is a small world. I told her that I was just 100 yards away, and that I had been blogging about this for months. She asked my blog name, and I told her. She said, "You're friends with Tim Youmans, aren't you?" Blogging is a small world.

Another story. This last Sunday, sister Tracy was in town, and she (Thankya darlin) got to meet Leslee (Fresh Cut Flowers). A reunion of blogging pals who had never met face to face. Cool.

So, here's the spiritual twist. Lent - the spiritual discipline of - is a common (catholic) experience. We, each of us, take a look at ourselves - introspection - for the purpose of coming to a greater awareness and appreciation for the sacrifice of Christ and His resurrection. I'll let you put the rest of the story together for yourself . . .

Back to the grind . . .

2006-03-21T12:27:00.000-08:00

After most of the week off from blogging (due to my work with the Marquette Students on the Habitat house), it's back to the grind . . .

Some observations from the week and the weekend - hopefully spiritual in nature. The week was tremendous - the Marquette students accomplished so very much, and friendships were established. They painted the inside of one house, and framed the floor level of another - all in all a pretty good week. As they prepared to roll out of town, they gave me a picture of all of us gathered in front of the house we framed - I love these annual pictures - they give me so much to remember. I spent a week with Catholic students, and come away blessed. Catholics know so much more than do we Baptists about serving others - they come by it rather naturally. It is always a privilege.

The weekend was tremendous. My childhood pastor, Dr. Presnall Wood, was our guest speaker at Cornerstone. I haven't been able to spend much time with Dr. Wood since college - it was good to listen to him preach. He did a thing for us on Separation of church and state - we did get it on DVD. I think he was impressed with Cornerstone. Much of my extended family was here - Tracy and her bunch came over from Hereford, Rusty and his two kids came down from Wichita, and Mom was here. The church had a blast, and all is well with my soul . . . except . . .

back to the grind. Lent isn't over. I am re-determined to practice the discipline of self-introspection. Last night I watched "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" - we are viewing this as an assignment for our Pastor Peer Group meeting in two weeks. I love the line at the end of the trial of the local parish priest. "Father, I pronounce you guilty. You are free to go." Watch the movie - you'll be touched. Just don't watch it before you go to bed.

Starbucks opens Friday, March 31. Hiring new employees. I wonder if they need a chaplain . . .???

Missing the Mark

2006-03-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

A part of the definition of sin that they told me when I was a child was that of "missing the mark." Well, my intended goal for Lent this year was to blog every day, save Sundays, on something spiritual. Thus far, I have accomplished half of that goal - every day that I have actually blogged, I have said something at least quasi-spiritual.

Sunday afternoon, I hooked up with the Marquette students who are in town working with our local Habitat chapter. Monday morning we started framing a new house. Monday night I could not move. Tuesday morning was worse - Tuesday evening even worse than that. I am really out of shape for this kind of intense physical labor. Today it got a little better, but I've been taking naproxen sodium for two days . . .

I will say two spiritual things. First, these kids are great. We speak of the way that our young people are so bad - well, I tell you it isn't all true. Here we have 15 great kids, taking their spring break on a mission trip to build a house for someone else. Great kids - they breathe a little life into my tired soul every year.

The second thing is this. About Sunday, I ran in to the Lenten wall of failure. By that I mean that I had been working at identifying areas of my life where sin had crept in, and by Sunday, I had just about enough - and started to remember that working at removing my sin is hard work - I almost want to give up and give in, and then I remember to lean on the grace of Christ. We are saved by His grace - not by our work - even our work at not sinning. That's good news.

The Lenten Easter

2006-03-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

They say that every Sunday during Lent is like a little Easter. If that's the case, today I've felt a little like I'm waiting for the tomb to open, letting Jesus out so He can minister to me again.

Lent is hard work - at least the introspection part of it. After a while, you've swept out the obviously dirty corners of your life, and it's time to do the deep cleaning. That's about where I am right now. I've looked at the stuff stacked on the tables, but I've yet to go take a look under the bed, or behind the chest of drawers, or God forbid, look in the closet. Not even gonna talk about tackling the garage.

In our lives, stuff piles up. We let a little garbage start to gather, and sooner than you think, things are a real mess.

In the coming week, the students from Marquette University are going to be helping with our Habitat project. They take their spring break to come down here and help frame a house. I'm looking forward to it - they always breathe a little life into my Lenten journey.

Enjoy your little Easter tomorrow.

Friday Potpourri

2006-03-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

Just catching you up on three or four things.

STARBUCKS - they put the sign up today. 100 yards from my doorstep at the church.

The boys lost last night to the #1 team in the state, Edmond Santa Fe (defending state champs), ending their season @ 20-6. I want to thank the Enid Plainsmen for a memorable season. You were a joy to watch.

RAIN - we had rain over the last two days, and there is more scattered through the forecast over the next week.

Marquette Students arrive tomorrow for a week on the Habitat site. I rotated off the board this year, and so next week will be my contribution to Habitat for the year. This is always a highlight to my year - these students take their Spring Break to come and work with us on a house. We will plan to frame a new house over the course of a week.

Lenten Devotion - Interest

2006-03-09T15:17:00.000-08:00

It has finally rained in Northwestern Oklahoma. We were beginning to wonder if God knew where we were any more. I tell you, rain is one of those commodities that you can start to take for granted sometimes. Other times, like in the northeastern part of the country this year, you can have too much of a good thing. But when you haven't had significant rain in 4 months - well, let's just say that it captures your attention.

Anyway, we've started getting rain, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Over the last 48 hours, we've had an inch or so, and there is the promise of more in the future.

Devotion surrounds interest in God. We are interested in that to which we are devoted. During this drought, I found myself watching the weather forecast with more regularity - even though it came up lacking night after night. When we express our devotion to God, interest in God, our relationship with God, all the things of God - these become matters of great interest. To put it in the negative - people who are not interested in God and the things of God will not be devoted to God.

I'm four days into this discussion of devotion. So far I've noticed that time, focus, conviction, and interest are connected to our devotion.

Lenten Devotion - Conviction

2006-03-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

I was so very happy last year when our new Episcopal Rector moved to town. We have similar interests and personalities, and have become friends. Steve writes a column for their church paper once a month, and I just read his article for this month. Expectedly, he talks about Lent, and I want to share his opening paragraph.

Lent - it's such a serious and ponderous time, one that so often catches us out-of-mood. Of course, that's the point. When we become comfortable with our routine, comfortable whether it's healthy or unhealthy, Lent comes along and asks us to look at life in a different way. Lent is a matter of balance. We are drawn to that which affirms us, and we avoid that which convicts us. Lent convicts.

I have spent much of the day thinking about the conviction that surrounds our devotion. I had been thinking about conviction in a different sense of the word - commitment to, allegiance, and so on. But Steve's words caught me up short. Conviction speaks to something deeper - something captivating. I could mention parallel words - purpose, hope, promise - these are words that touch on conviction and devotion as concepts. Devotion requires conviction. We find purpose of belief, hope in that to which we are devoted, and a promise of a better life, relationship, existence as a result of our devotion.

Lenten Devotion - Focus

2006-03-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods is known for winning golf tournaments - lots of them. Those who watch him with rapt attention notice that Tiger is also known for being able to focus. When he crouches to examine his putt, he has a stare - a focused stare - that is almost eerie. Golf announcers say that they've never seen anything like it.

We could call it "Spiritual ADD" - the seeming inability of people of faith to actually focus their faith on God. We talk about God, we sing songs of praise about God, but we have the hardest time focusing our attention on God.

Devotion requires focus. You can't be devoted to something that you are'nt focused on. That's true in our jobs, our recreational pursuits, our relationships. It is certainly true of our relationship with God. Devotion to God requires focus.

I am trying to focus during these days on God. It isn't easy.

Interesting Post . . .

2006-03-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

My friend, Tim Youmans, has written an interesting post on his blog, Anabaptist Monk. I encourage you to read this post, and then I hope that a discussion ensues on the Cornerstone Universe blog. Thanks, Tim, for your insight and bravery.

Lenten Devotion - Part One

2006-03-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Once a month I attend a Pastor's Peer Group meeting in the Oklahoma City area. It takes pretty much the entire day. Generally I leave Enid before 9:00 am, and return sometime after 3:30 pm. On the trip to and from, I make use of the window time by catching up with friends via cell phone. All in all, it's generally worth the investment of my time each month.

Devotion. Devotion requires a commitment of time. I could say that I am a part of this group, but if I don't attend - don't take the time to make the trip and actually be with the other guys - can I really claim to be a part of this group.

Perhaps the simplist observation of devotion is that devotion requires a commitment of time. So, I have to ask myself - am I devoted to God.

For a full-time minister, the idea of devotion has to go beyond the 40 hour work week. Certainly I think about God - a lot - but much of that is simply part of the job. What sort of devotion do I have to God? Do I give of personal time? Do I invest time daily in maintaining the relational aspect of my faith walk? Would I still serve God, even if I were'nt a minister? All good questions.

Lent reminds us that devotion takes time. For the believer, we do not give of our time to God grudgingly - rather, we look with anticipation to those moments and hours we can spend with God in prayer, praise, study and service.

A Lenten thought

2006-03-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

I went to the online devotional site I like to use during Lent, and worked my way through the material for this evening. I don't always get as much as I might out of those experiences. But this evening . . .

I wrote this week that I was wondering what to put on the marquee. My assumption was that the message of Lent would be different than the message of Epiphany.

There, tonight, on the page before me, was scripture from John which reminded me that Jesus said, "I am the light of the world."

The message of Lent builds on the message of Epiphany which builds on the Message of Christmas and Advent. It goes something like this:

You waited, in darkness, in hope . . .
And then Christ came -
The light of the world.
so make your hearts ready

Each line represents the message of a single season. Combined, they present the message of christian hope which is ours.

AREA CHAMPS !!!!!!!

2006-03-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

The Enid Plainsmen won the Area Tournament this evening. They defeated Tulsa Memorial by 4 points in what was the most exciting game of the season. Our boys were actually down by 21 points midway through the third quarter when they started their comeback.

Congrats to the Plainsmen. State Tournament begins this next week.

What Lenten message to put on the marquee . . .

2006-03-03T10:01:00.000-08:00

I've gotten lazy about the church marquee. Not that folks are complaining, mind you. Most people I hear from about our marquee rave about the messages we put out there. But I've gotten lazy - on the south side of the board, I post the sermon title each week, and on the north side I keep a seasonal statement - the present statement has been up for two months. It reads "The light of the world is Jesus" - a reflection of the general theme of Epiphany.

But now we are in Lent, and I need to change the message. What to put . . .

I think I'll go with the words from Psalm 51 - "Create in me a clean heart, O God."

Therein lies the message of Lent - at least for my life this year. A clean heart is a creation of God - we can't do it. We try, but we come up woefully short of our goal. God desires that we approach God with clean hearts, and God is willing to process that life with us. God starts the process - as a result of our desire and request.

Lent is like . . .

2006-03-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

As I said yesterday, Lent was not a part of my faith or ecclesiological experience as a child. We were Baptists. More than that, we were Texas Baptists. It wasn't that we were'nt liturgical - we practiced every bit as much liturgy as did the more mainline denominations - we just wouldn't admit it. Our liturgy was somewhat more casual, but we did practice a liturgy.

No, I think the form of Baptist expression under which I was spiritually educated shied away from following the seasons of the Christian calendar mostly because that practice seemed so Catholic - and Baptists had quite a fear of anything Catholic. I never did understand that distance - I actually asked quite a number of questions during my childhood years. Two of my best friends were Catholics, and one of them actually attended my church from time to time, and would enter into conversation on the difference between Baptists and Catholics.

It has been in the last 20 years that I have realized that the word Catholic comes from the word catholic (notice that one version of the word is capitalized). "catholic" means "common" or "universal" - and while I do not believe that everyone is already saved, I do believe that everyone does have a faith pilgrimage. I also believe that everyone, as the scripture teaches, has sinned, and fallen short of God's best for their lives. It is in that spirit that I have entered into the "catholic" faith.

Lent, for me, is like a good spring cleaning. Most believers wander through this Christian life, finding times of greater devotion and times of lesser devotion. Just like the dust in our homes, time allows things to creep into our lives that prevent us from "breathing easy" in our Christian life expressions. Lent is a focused time of self-introspection - something that is necessary for every Christian life.

As Lent begins, I am asking God to help me sweep out the corners and crevices of my spiritual life. Too much has accumulated. Too much clutters my spiritual pilgrimage.

Lent - 2006

2006-03-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

As a Baptist, I heard so very little about Lent as a child. I entered this discipline just 8 years ago, and have found it to be the backbone of my spring spiritual pilgrimage. That first year, rather than giving up something for Lent, we spoke of taking on something. This Lent, I have determined to write something of a spiritual nature each day of the journey (Sundays excluded).

There is no more poignant expression of the sorrow that is ours than the 51st Psalm. Our choir does an anthem by Ruth Elaine Schram entitled "Fall, Slow Tears" that perfectly voices my heart for this day. May your Lenten experience be deep and blessed.

Fall, slow tears,

and drown all my doubts and fears
and wash away my sin and shame
in the flood of forgiveness and mercy.

Weep, sad eyes;
my soul in repentance cries.
Create in me a clean heart, oh God,
and renew a right spirit within me.

Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Take all my iniquities upon you.
Have mercy on me,
have mercy on me.

Fall, slow tears,
and drown all my doubts and fears
and wash away my sin and shame
in the flood of forgiveness and mercy.

Fall, slow tears;
weep, sad eyes;

fall, fall, fall, slow tears.

One step closer

2006-02-24T19:48:00.000-08:00

That would now be your 18-5 Enid Plainsmen - they soundly trounced PC West this evening. Tomorrow night the boys play Broken Arrow for the Regional title.

Way to go, Plainsmen!!!!!!!!

Update

2006-02-24T15:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of posts. Preachers should be given blogisphere credit for the time we invest in writing sermons.

I'm in a time of sermon reflection - what an interesting craft. I've been at Cornerstone 7 1/2 years, and I suspect I'm approaching 400 sermons here. That's a lot of writing. It's hard to remain fresh - and sometimes it's hard to find words to even begin putting something on paper. I feel dry right now - almost as though I may need a spring vacation in Burnet (a pig hunt under the guise of a turkey hunt)

Potpourri - Enid plays tonight. This is the start of the regionals. I'm somewhat optomistic - this is a good team.

Politics - I would be one to jump on the bandwagon that says that the decision to farm out port patrol to an Arab country isn't the sharpest idea this administration has had.

Weather - where is the rain? Earlier in the week, they promises us some this weekend. Now they're saying next weekend. One weatherman says it's never going to rain again . . .

Olympics - ho hum.

If the weather's nice this weekend, I may work in the garden.

I'll try to do better about the writing.

Johari Window

2006-02-16T12:45:00.000-08:00

I've been enamored by the concept behind the Johari window since I was first introduced to it nearly 20 years ago. I found this link from my friend Leslee at FreshCut Flowers, and I've borrowed the idea (and the link).

The idea behind the concept is that in interpersonal relationships, there are things that we know about ourselves and each other, and that by interacting, more of those things become known - about ourselves and about those with whom we interact.

For a look-see, go to http://kevan.org/johari?name=Sojourning+Pilgrim, and you can try to guess what attributes I see in myself. As you good folks participate, my particular Johari Window will change.

the sign on the corner . . .

2006-02-13T18:30:00.000-08:00

It went up this weekend. There it is on the corner, proud as it can be.

Starbucks

Drive up window

Coming soon.

I am so happy . . .

unraveling the mystery . . .

2006-02-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that a couple of posts that I did last week have been deleted. This troubles me on two fronts. First, I didn't notice it. On Wedensday the 8th, I looked up and noticed that I hadn't blogged since Jan 31. So I wrote something of a catch up post. Then, later in the day, my sister asked why I had deleted one of my previous posts. I hadn't noticed. Then yesterday my mother mentioned that another post was missing. I hadn't noticed that one, either. So, my first point of disturbance is in my short-term memory - why didn't I notice these things.

The second is more insidious. Where did they go. I did not delete them, and so I am left to suppose one of three possibilities, one of which I must summarily dismiss. One - Blogger is having some kind of tremendous difficulty, Two - the actual server on which my information is stored had some kind of hiccup, and Three - someone actually messed with my personal computer in my office. I dismiss option three, and so the mystery continues - I am in communication with Blogger to find out where my missing posts went. I will keep you posted (pun intended).

To repost the gist of what I said previously - the first post commented on my tendency to avoid political discussions because of my position of Pastor of my church - that I tend to err on the side of caution in perceived conflicts between church and state. I also admitted in that post that I am not necessarily proud of myself for taking this stance, and that I wish I felt the freedom to post more of my political thoughts.

The second missing post linked to a data source which posted Bono's speech to the National Prayer Breakfast. Here is that link again. I also said in that post how proud I was of Bono, and that I felt that his speech was nothing less than prophetic.

Again - I did not delete these posts, and they're whereabouts remains something of a mystery to me.

and when you haven't blogged in eight days . . .

2006-02-08T11:54:00.000-08:00

I just noticed that I haven't blogged in February. I'm surprised you people keep checking in here to see if I have anything to say . . So . . .

Enid Plainsmen - they are now 15-4 on the season. I've watched these guys since they were in the 7th grade, and it's a blast to watch them come of age.

State of the Union - not really disappointed - of course, I didn't expect much, and that's what I got out of it - not much.

Super Bowl - it was a pretty good game, I thought. Most people expected Pittsburg to win, including moi.

Starbucks - they're over there working on the building every day. Things look good.

Academy Award nominations - were there any surprises here - I don't think so. Of course, they won't ever show Brokeback Mountain in Enid . . .

Baptists - there's a lot of blogging going on surrounding a variety of subjects. I know a couple of the people in question personally, and so I won't blog on the subject.

Winter - they're having winter somewhere. Just not here.

Rain - ditto to the above.

Travis - we're fighting with DHS about how to best take care of our son. I get a little tired of the run-around.

Cornerstone - continues to be wonderful - week in and week out. I would wish for everyone that they could know this kind of sweet fellowship just once in their lives. This group of people gives a whole different twist to the idea of church and christianity. We vote on the budget this coming Sunday pm.

Books - still reading Jimmy Carter's Book, Our Endangered Values. Working on one called The Seasons of Life. Picked up a new one (to me) by Henri Nouwen - Making All Things New.

My preaching - not as good as last year at this time. I'm a little disappointed. I feel a little stale.

God - good to me - all the time.

That's enough for now . . .

ending the season in style

2006-01-31T13:06:00.000-08:00

Crockett the "wonder dog" and I ended Pheasant season in style this morning. We harvested one beautiful "rooster" pheasant, and then went over to another field and popped a couple of quail. He worked so hard. At one point in the day, we were simply crossing a wheat field, and he kept running back to me, looking with this glint in his eye - he was having a blast. They joy of bird hunting really is watching the dog work. I think I bagged 10 pheasants for the season. Much fun.

Can you believe January is over. I'm having such a difficult time (yes, my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek) deciding what to do this evening - watch the Enid Boys play basketball, or watch W. give his speech. Basketball or speech - basketball or speech. Hmmmmm.

Still praying for rain.

Happy birthday, Wolfgang

2006-01-27T14:36:00.000-08:00

Mozart turns 250 today. Happy birthday.

tell me it ain't so . . .

2006-01-27T11:49:00.000-08:00

Well, there you have it - they are cancelling the "West Wing." The article I read in the paper this morning says that there are seven shows left, they will end with the inauguration of the new president, and then, adios.

My grief occurs on so many levels. This show was, in my opinion, the smartest series that has come out. Wonderful story lines, intriguiging exposure to the way things work in our government, great character development and interaction - I have taped the show from the second season, and have looked forward each week to coming home from church on Wednesday night and watching.

But then, they gave it the death blow. They changed nights. Okay, tell me what show, so late in it's established career, has profited from a change of night. Some shows have done better after they changed nights, but that always seems to be early. What was wrong with Wednesday night. The networks need to get a clue that people watch shows, at least in part, out of habit - and part of that habit is what night they come on.

Here's the larger problem. For the first time in my 48+ years, there is not a show that I really want to watch - week in and week out. I have tired of ER, I'm not in to the cop and detective shows, etc. I'll watch Survivor, and maybe even the Donald - but you can watch those reality shows about twice a season, and get most of what goes on. Television is finally becoming a vast wasteland for your's truly.

I guess it's time to build my second garage/workshop, and become a cabinet builder.

Rumors . . .

2006-01-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Rumors are fun, aren't they. You remember I told you back last summer that we were going to get a Starbucks, not 100 yards from my office door? Well, we're still waiting. However, rumors run rampant - they're coming, they're not coming, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

Well, I can report that people have been working in the building pretty much all week. As though we are actually going to see our Starbucks.

That's all I can report.

Still praying for rain.

Pray with me, please!!

2006-01-24T08:28:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about this tremendous drought that the plains states have been experiencing - In our part of the country, with the exception of a 2 inch snow a couple of weeks ago, we haven't had measurable precipitation since October 31. Northern Oklahoma thought we were going to see rain over the last weekend, and then again in the middle part of this week. Now, it seems the weather models are indicating that the rain we had hoped for will miss most, if not all of the state. Beyond that, the models indicate that we may be in for more dry weather for the forseeable future.

Not that we haven't been, but I am committing to daily prayer on this matter. I have begun petitioning God for rain - pure and simple. God can choose to send some of the rain that the northwest part of the nation has been receiving - the've had way too much over the past couple of months, while we haven't had any.

Will you join me in daily prayers for rain?

It's a world-wide ministry

2006-01-20T12:48:00.000-08:00

I just checked my site meter, and someone has accessed my site from 6 of the 7 continents in the last 100 visits.

Where do these people come from?

And why are there no bloggers in Antartica?

Three posts in one day????????

2006-01-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

Isn't this a banner day . . .

I clicked on the ole web counter, and noticed that in the last 100 "hits" to this website, we have heard from 5 of the seven continents. I think that's so incredibly cool.

Now, in your best Forrest Gump voice, say it with me - "It's a world-wide ministry . . ."

oops - I forgot something . . .

2006-01-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

I am getting to that age where I don't remember everything I want to remember. For example, this morning I had determined that one of the reasons I wanted to blog was to mention to you the thing I am about to mention. But alas, I closed out my first post of the day, and neglected to mention the thing I am about to mention to you.

Now if I could just remember what I was going to mention to you . . .

Oh, yeah - I found a great website this morning which features a daily dose of Garrison Keillor. Those of you who love NPR and the Prairie Home Companion will appreciate this site. Five minutes of Garrison every day - just imagine . . .

Man - I'm glad I remembered to remember to tell you about this . . .

and a wonderful Wednesday to you . . .

2006-01-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

Miscelleneous thoughts on this beautiful Wednesday.

For the oddest reasons, I really miss Dad today. I would love to talk to him about Sandra Day O'Conner, my trout fishing trip the other day, and the Enid High Basketball team (way to go, Plainsmen - now 9-2). I think we would have had a long chat today . . .

HELP !!!!! - some setting is different on my computer, and I am unable to post pictures on this, or any blog. The computer is not linking to the blogger screen from which you choose your picture - do I have a block on, or something??

Did I mention that the boys won last night. Great game. I especially loved the move Ben Pontious put on the opposition as they were trying to inbound the ball. He jumped straight up, blocked the inbounds pass, jumped up again while the ball was still in the air, and then bounced it off the man who was originally trying to pass the ball inbounds (who was still standing out of bounds), and it resulted in a turnover. What a "heads up" play!!!

BTW - Baptists are fussing. If you haven't read the fodder, a local pastor is in the throws of a fight with the powers to be in the SBC. I won't blog my opinion about this - I have elected (choice of word intended) to say anything I have to say to the pastor directly - through e-mail or personal conversation. You can read his blog, if you wish, or one of the many articles floating around in cyberspace.

Maybe more later . . .

Funny, Funny, Funny!!!!

2006-01-13T09:12:00.000-08:00

Well, I agree. This is perhaps the funniest blonde joke I've ever heard. Be sure and check it out!!

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-01-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

Finally - wonderful, blessed snow. Precipitation. I had about two inches at my house, but they say that just north, and especially east of town, we had up to 11 inches. Praise be to God!!!!!

On the twelfth day of Christmas . . .

2006-01-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

This has been a wonderful Christmas season for me. Relaxed time, some wonderful worship services, time with family, a few football games, the occasional movie - even a few pheasant hunts.

In a belated response to my last blog entry, Thankyadarlin' says, "I think it's time to examine why you apparently don't like blogging anymore" - well, I've been busy. Everyone knows that after the birth of a baby, you cubbyhole for a little while, and enjoy the baby. That's what I've been up to. Christ is born, and I've been enjoying the baby. Even changed a diaper or two . . .

Seriously, though - I've been reading some. I picked up Jimmy Carter's new book, Our Endangered Values. Not finished yet, but I can already heartily recommend this book to all who have some interest in how politics works, and why things seem to be so crazy these days. It is an easy read, although some may feel that they need to keep a dictionary at hand as they work through his highly accurate language usage. I personally find that sort of writing stimulating. I'm also reading a Gordon MacKenzie book, Orbiting the Giant Hairball, as a part of a discipline for a new Peer Learning Group that I am a part of.

Mostly, I've been organizing. I'm purposefully scaling back some of my outside activities so that I can focus more specific energies on the church and our ministry. I'm in the process of planning, working out goals, scheduling - all of the stuff that goes with the beginning of a new year and the associated re-energizing thereof.

Far be it from me (tongue firmly planted in my cheek) to point out that in December, I posted seven times, plus twice on the Cornerstone Universe blog, and 5 sermons on the Cornerstone Pulpit blog - all while Thankyadarlin' only posted six times . . . but whose counting?? Rest assured, I value you as readers, and I suspect that in the not too distant future, I will resume to the normal, or perhaps even intensified pace of putting my thoughts, considerations, insights, ramblings, and drivel to keyboard.

Congrats to University of Texas - what a game!!

Now that we're into Christmas . . .

2005-12-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

Well, request from my sister indicates that I haven't posted since December 17 - she said it's been "Weeeeeeks." Actually, that would be just over one week, but whose counting???

On to larger matters - I fear I am fighting a losing battle. If it's up to me, Christmas decorations will stay up until after Epiphany - lights, tree, nativity scenes. Historically, Epiphany is the older of the two celebrations - acknowledging the coming of the Wise men to visit the Christ child. Most of the nativity scenes have Wise men in them, and so . . .

But much too much of our Advent/Christmas/Epiphany celebration is economically driven, and so we seem destined to this incredibe purchasing frenzy from - when does it start now, Halloween?? - until Christmas Eve, and then the day after Christmas, people start taking it all down. The cynical part of me knows the other reason this happens - the most important American holiday is about to begin - you know, Bowl Season. We have to get Christmas out of the way so we can start watching football unto ad nauseum.

Remember the words of the 12 Days of Christmas - well, from Christmas to Epiphany - 12 days. Historically, that's Christmas. The time leading up to Christmas day is known as Advent. It is a time of waiting. I know I'm preaching a little, but when we experience a birth, we don't just wait and wait until the baby is born, and then forget about the new child. No, we celebrate and show that child off to friends and relatives, receive baby gifts for weeks, and generally experience the joy of changed lives for some time to come. In my opinion, that's the way it ought to be with Advent/Christmas/Epiphany.

On a similiar vein - I'm not sure the church noticed - I suspect some did - that our services were planned so as to emphasize waiting and preparation during Advent, and only on Christmas Eve did we begin celebration of the arrival of the child. From the standpoint of the music, Christmas eve we focused on Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and the shepherds. Sunday morning (Christmas Day) we focused on the angels, and this coming Sunday we will focus on the Wise men. Epiphany is January 6, and then our celebration moves from the birth of a child to the more abstract focus on the coming of light into our dark world. It all makes perfect sense to me. I'll continue to teach and lead - and maybe others will follow.

On a completely different vein - Santa brought to me . . . (drum roll) - an air compressor. I suspect only the guys will understand my glee. I also received a beautiful poker set (chips, cards, nice case) - kind of another "guy" thing.

Well, there, sister-o-mine - is that enough blogging for you???

Wading in . . .

2005-12-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

Ok. I've listened to this argument enough - I've even preached a sermon last week stating that I understand all the various points of view, and rather agree with their points. But enough is enough - and so I am wading in on the "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" argument.

From the get go, I am a Baptist. Not the kind of fundamentalist, Disney boycotting, lock-step thinking, married to the government kind of Baptist that is so prevalent these days. No, I was reared in a church that respected distance between the government and the church, and taught me that separation of church and state was a good thing. I do not think the government should have anything to do with the way that I practice my faith, and I certainly don't want them telling me how or when I should pray. When the government and the church get too close to each other, inevitably the government interferes. And when the church tries to influence the government too much - i.e. force their beliefs on the government of all people, trouble brews.

Don't get me wrong. During this blessed time of the year, I will offer a hearty "Merry Christmas" to nearly every one I meet - except in those rare instances when I am aware that the other party has a faith tradition which does not acknowledge or celebrate Christmas. In those instances, I will probably offer just as hearty a "Happy Holidays" or maybe even a "Have a wonderful holiday season." I will do what I think Jesus would do, and respect the other person and his/her faith tradition or practice.

So - I was watching CNN this morning, and they did a news story about how some of the retailers are starting to see an effect on their profits because Christians are boycotting their stores because the retailers opted to instruct their sales people to wish customers a "Happy Holidays" this year. I think "Christians" are making a big mistake when we try to coerce faith or faith expressions. Didn't we learn anything from the Crusades of the Middle Ages? You can't force another person to believe something, and in fact, when you force them to act like they believe something (just so you'll feel better about things) you have actually done them and the kingdom of God a disservice.

Shame on "Christians" who think that boycotting a store because they won't say "Merry Christmas" is the best way, or even a good way, to spread the gospel. Rather, offer to them the kindness of Christ, accept a sales person's "Happy Holidays," and say, ". . .and a Merry Christmas to you" right back to them.

It's time Christian people started acting like it . . .