As the Deer Pants for the Water

I'll be taking some time away this week to look for the illusive Buck. It may be panting for water, but I am just looking to put some meat in the freezer. I have been hunting since my time in Titusville, and continue to enjoy it. But there is one thing that I have not yet done and that is bagged the big one! Because I have a doe tag, I intend to fill it. But because of the antler restrictions in Pennsylvania - seeing a buck with at least four points on one side is often difficult. I have seen buck - but often they are too small. So this year as in all the others, I hope this is the year.

At the very least, I will be out in the woods enjoying some quiet time and time with friends. If you're out there - be safe and good luck!

Festivus for the Rest of Us!

In honor of Brett and his five week's of Advent, this year College Hill has decided to go with Festivus. We have erected a traditional festivus pole out front. High strength aluminum.

Here is an exerpt from the episode of Seinfeld.

Frank Costanza: Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.
Cosmo Kramer: What happened to the doll?
Frank Costanza: It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born: a Festivus for the rest of us!

On one of the Sundays, I think we will have the traditional "airing of grievances."

Actually though - this is the flag pole that is being erected by one of our young men for his Eagle Scout Project. He should be done soon, but as we were standing around the pole on Sunday as it was going up, someone mentioned Festivus - so I thought it was an apt picture.

Спасибо

Two years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Moscow, Russia on a mission trip. It was the first time that I had ever been out of the county, as a communicating human. That is a strange way of saying that I had once been to Canada as a toddler. I wouldn’t know it other than the fact that I have seen a picture of me with the caption “Niagara Falls.”

Because it was the first time that I was able to travel out of the county, I was given a lot of advice about traveling and some things that I would need to know in order to make my trip more enjoyable. One piece of advice that I heard often was that you should learn the language at least well enough to communicate some basic words.

In preparation for that trip, I did just that. I purchased a phrase book and began to learn some basic words and phrases. In addition, I also learned the alphabet and pronunciations. Therefore, even though I could not always pronounce words accurately all the time, I was able to grasp the language at a basic level. As we traveled, I was able to pick up on words and phrases other than those I learned from the book. This was especially helpful when we were traveling on the subway – I was able to read the stops and be reasonably confident where we were based upon our maps.

Of the words that I was told I should learn, probably the most important was Spasiba. It is a basic expression of gratitude. I used it often in conversation and you could tell that there was some appreciation on those we encountered a willingness for our learning their language.

I often catch myself today, two years later, using the word around the house and in casual conversation. It kind of sticks with me as a way of expressing thanks. Spasiba is Russian for Thank You.

This week, I am sure that you are doing a lot of thinking of things for which you are giving thanks. But I guess my question is, “Are you actually saying it?” We do lot of preparing, thinking, sitting down, eating, watching football, preparing for shopping the next day – but do we do much giving thanks. Further, do we actually express it verbally?

And I guess that question goes as deep as you want it to go. Have you actually said, “Thank you” to God for those simple things and expressed them in a way that is more just a passing thought? Have you prayed about those expressions of thanksgiving and really said it?

Again, one of the best pieces of advice when I traveled oversees was to learn some basic expressions. I was told that it would make my journey more enjoyable. It would break barriers and express something deep within us. Even if you didn’t know other words – these words would get us past the barrier. So “thank you” was one of those expressions that made the journey more enjoyable. I probably said it more than anything else on that trip – even for the little things.

So I’m going to try to say thank you, spasiba, Dankschen, merci, gracias as often as I can this week. For the food, for you, for the little things, and for the big things, thank you. Thank you for being a part of our lives and Thank God for ways in which he is present in our lives.

The Psalmists talked a lot about thanksgiving. Psalm 100 says: "Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

Spasiba and Happy Thanksgiving

This week in worship we will be talking about the end of the world. Actually, we will be talking about Christ the King which is a celebration of Christ’s anticipated return in triumph. I pray that you have a great Thanksgiving Weekend and I look forward to seeing you in worship on Sunday. “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.” REM.

Pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg

A Classic Double Edged Sword

As you can imagine, I have been thinking about technology quite a bit over the past few weeks. Having come face to face with the possible loss of information and frustration of losing a hard drive on a laptop computer, I have thought a lot about how I use technology. At the same time, however, I have been thinking a lot about how technology uses me.

Having just turned 37 years old, I feel as if I am not that out of date. I use technology to a point that is somewhat cutting edge. I frequent the Internet, I have a cell phone, I use a palm pilot for my calendar and phone book, and I can often figure things out without using directions (much to the chagrin of my wife.)

Yet that double edge sword reaches into my 37 years, and I realize that there is so much more that has passed me by and I am actually out of touch. Last night I sat and watched my nephew type “text messages” with feverish pitch. It would have taken me 10 minutes to type what took him 10 seconds.

Technology is for me a classic double edged sword. It is both a blessing and a bane, it is both useful and useless, it is awesome and at the same time disgusting.

I love email. I can type emails off to people instantly and know that they will receive it. But if I tried to call them, I may have to leave a message or not get through at all. I love my computer. I can look up a passage in the bible with a keyword, rather than thumbing through a concordance or relying on memory. I can type a letter much cleaner and neater than I would by handwriting a note, and I can have it done much quicker too.

I am itching to move into new areas of technology too. It’s not limited to my computer, cell phone, and my palm pilot. They say that an MP3 player could hold your entire collection of CD’s that linger on your shelves. For some that may be your collection of Moody Blues, or Third Day, Rush, or dare I say Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass.

Yet the very thing that connects and frees us, actually disconnects and burdens us. Substitute the word us for me, me for you, you for whomever you choose. While the technology has allowed us more time, it takes us away from the things that really matter the most.

When my computer was down, I actually had to pick up the phone. When my computer was down, I actually had to write some notes. When I forget my cell phone, I actually have to sit and pray.

Yet I also realize that if I didn’t have technology, I wouldn’t be able to connect like this with you. We are affected by this thing called technology in different ways, but I hope that in the end, we can always be mindful of what our purpose is, and how we use it for benefiting our relationships, rather than substituting them.

It’s amazing to me to think that a type-set copy of the Bible was technology a long time ago. It was the way that God was able to get his message into our hands, to connect with us, and to make himself known. Before that – people had to rely on something different.

So I guess there are benefits to the newest, the latest and greatest. I would however, hope that that will not supplant your personal relationship with God. There is nothing that will substitute for the personal relationship that comes with communicating with God. On those same lines, there is nothing that can really substitute for person to person relationships.

I invite you to come and have contact with a human being this week in worship. We’ll be using some technology from various periods in our history, but it won’t substitute for our personal relationships that we have with each other. We’ll have an opportunity to give thanks for so many things as we prepare for our Thanksgiving Holiday. I hope to see you in worship. Until then,

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg

Just a Little Reminder

Yesterday, the girls were home from school. It was an in-service day and also a day for parent teacher conferences. They have enjoyed being home and having a few days of rest and a few days to stay up late and sleep in too. Last night we even let them stay up later than usual so that they could watch a little of the Steelers game.

Mondays are usually a day for me to make lunches for the kids, but because they were home for the day, I had a reprieve. But what made the day even more special was that they actually made lunch for me! Tracy helped them put together the lunch so that it wasn’t just Kit-Kats and crackers. Just to be sure that I knew it was mine at the office; they even put my name on it!

It was a great lunch – a sandwich, a banana, and some yogurt. Perfect! But what made the lunch even more special were the notes that I found in it. It was a great day – three notes from my girls and a card from Tracy!

Each one was special because it reminded me that I am loved. They each put their special personal touch into the notes, saying something special. Bekah had a chart, Elisabeth shared a scribble, and Sarah even included a scripture verse from Philippians 4:19. “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” There was even a little P.S. – eat well.

I know that I am loved and I know that my life is even more rich because of it. I also know that I am loved by God, and because of that love I am able to be who I am and seek the transformation to which God calls me. But isn’t it good to be reminded of that every so often, to read it, and to have it be said?

There are so many people in the world who don’t know that, and I think that is unfortunate. People don’t get notes in their lunches, and people don’t even express it personally. That’s why I think we need the church and I think it is why we need to constantly hear that God loves us. We need to hear, express, and know that God is love.

Maybe you know this, but you are loved. If it’s not by someone very close to you, I do know that you are loved by God. And the scriptures are that reminder for us.

So, today I think I will just send you a note reminding you that you are loved. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that who ever would believe in him would live for ever.

God loves you. Maybe you knew that. But if you don’t, I’m sending this to you for a little lunch reminder.

This week, we conclude our congregational study, Treasures of a Transformed Life and we will be celebrating Consecration Sunday in Worship. Rev. Fred Leasure from the United Methodist Foundation will be preaching. I look forward to seeing you this week. Remember, whatever you commit to in your prayers, presence, gifts and service, God will supply us with everything that we need through Christ. I think I found that note in my lunch this week and in scriptures too!

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg

Goin' Old School

On Friday, just as I was about to prepare to write my sermon, my computer crashed! So I quickly went to a local establishment where a "Geek" is looking at it. He cleverly laughed and said that this was usually a hard drive issue, but they would run a diagnostic on it.

So long and short of it is that I will not be doing much on a computer from the office this week. Not a problem for most pastors, but when the office is thirty minutes from home, it is.

So, I'm thinkin' about goin' old school this week. I'm thinkin' typewriter, ditto machine, model T. I don't know - I might even try to borrow a horse to see what it's like to get to work.

I just hope the Nerd Herd can recover some of my data so I don't have to reinvent the wheel too.

See you all soon.

Dirty Job?

Do you have a repertoire of channels that you watch on television? Yes, maybe I should have first asked if you watch television. But I assume many of you do, so I asked the first question.

It’s rhetorical. It’s rhetorical, because it just opens the discussion and allows me to say that I do and I’m probably not alone. My channel surfing generally begins in the early channels and moves quickly to the sports channels. But it doesn’t take me long to get to the Food network, the History Channel, and ultimately to the Discovery Channel.

I don’t know why I go to the Discovery Channel so much, but I think it’s because I’m learning something new. I guess that’s why they call it Discovery. Some of my favorite shows on the channel are “How it’s Made,” “Myth Busters,” “Man v. Wild,” and even “Cash Cab.” The latter is less educational, but interesting if you’ve ever seen it.

But my favorite show recently has been, “Dirty Jobs!” Have you seen it?

The premise of “Dirty Jobs” is that the host, Mike Rowe, explores the less than glamorous world of jobs that people do each and every day in less than clean conditions. He calls them the unsung heroes of our lives. They do things that most people will not do.

The Dirty Jobs Website says this about the show.
Our brave host and apprentice Mike Rowe will introduce you to a hardworking group of men and women who overcome fear, danger and sometimes stench and overall ickiness to accomplish their daily tasks. Not one to just stand by, each week, Rowe will assume the duties of the jobs he's profiling, working alongside rattlesnake catchers, fish processors, bee removers, septic-tank technicians and other professionals: average folks tackling extraordinary tasks that simply must get done.

At the end of Dirty Jobs, the producers invite people to write to the show if they think that they perform a dirty job. Presumably, Mike Rowe will come and experience their job first hand. It makes me think about all of the dirty places that I’ve been where people work. I keep encouraging a friend to write about the foundry where they work – it certainly is a dirty job. And then there are all the jobs that I used to see performed on the farm just below our first church in Titusville.

I have actually thought about it from a personal perspective too. I wonder if what we do in the church would qualify as a dirty job. I have a picture on my bookshelf of a mission trip with Habitat for Humanity; I was pretty dirty in that picture. I have some pictures from Russia in our work at the United Methodist Seminary. I even think about painting someone’s home, sorting food, serving homeless at a soup kitchen, or even meeting someone on the streets who most people pass on a daily basis. Does this qualify as a dirty job?

But aside from the few pictures and examples that we can submit – I wonder again, does what we do as a church qualify as a dirty job? Do we do it daily, do we do it enough?

Recently, the church began a Visioning process. The Vision Team has set out on a journey to discover where God is calling us to be. The process and the vision is supposed to engage us and stretch us to points of being uncomfortable. A vision helps us define who we minister to, and a vision helps you decide when you choose to act and what to do. Sometimes, Vision calls us to get our hands dirty and go to the places that we do not want to go, but sometimes where God is leading us to go.

In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about the judgment of the nations and warns us about how we will be judged. I think it’s pretty explicit and calls us to do the things that might land us on Dirty Jobs. It may just call us to do things that we take for granted, and calls us to places that people do not normally go.

Do we do enough? Are we getting our hands and our feet dirty for the sake of the cross? Are you going to the places that no one will go? Where will you be when the Son of Man comes in Glory? For that matter, will I be on my Lay-Z-Boy watching Dirty Jobs, or will I be out there performing one?

“God, we know where we are supposed to be, and yet we are sometimes afraid. Call us to the places of need in our community and in the world, places where we might just get a little dirty for the sake of the cross. Protect us and give us strength, for in all ways we trust you and we do it for you. In Jesus Name. Amen.”

This week in worship we continue with our Congregational Study and talk about the importance of Presence in church. You have to come to hear it and you will understand how important it is to be here. God wants you here, the church needs you here. I look forward to greeting you here.

I have to go now to submit my proposal to Dirty Jobs.

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg