...The Thing I Cannot Change....

God,
Grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change....

Well, one thing's for sure: We can't change the weather! We canceled Sunday School and worship at Alpha Baptist, during which we were going to present our Christmas program, for Sunday morning, December 21. A couple of inches of snow fell, the winds kicked up, and the temps fell like a rock, so we decided it wouldn't be safe for anyone to be out. Actually, it wasn't really safe for me to drive home to Galesburg from Alpha tonight. There were parts of highway 150 in which I got scared because I couldn't see but 4-5 feet in front of me due to blowing snow. We can postpone the Christmas program until 12/28, no problem. I really didn't want to cancel morning worship, though, especially when we canceled the community Christmas service last Friday night (12/19). I feel bad about the community service, not only because I enjoy that service every year, and it's really well-attended, which presents a wonderful opportunity to share the Gospel with folks who might not have much church involvement; I also feel bad that we canceled because it turned out that the roads and streets weren't bad at all, since the temps warmed up more than expected, and the trucks did a great job. That's all great, but it felt a little silly canceling when I found out how good the roads ended up. Which brings us back to the "Serenity Prayer": "...to accept the things I cannot change...." We just didn't know that it would be as warm as it was through the day. And now, we have to cancel again. And snow is predicted for Tuesday, which means...Wednesday...Christmas Eve service.... We'll see.

"...Serenity to accept the things I cannot change...."

We can also take all this as a reminder that contrary to what we try to tell ourselves, we're not in charge--God is!!

I probably won't post again before Christmas, so Merry Christmas, everyone!!

The "War on Christmas"

Hey everyone!
Just a thought: I hear about how there is a "war on Christmas". Friends, there is no such thing, except what some folks might be trying to manufacture. Some folks even get worked up about how store clerks say "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". If my enjoyment of Christmas and my celebration of my Savior's birth depends on some store clerk saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "happy holidays", then my faith isn't all that strong and I'm pretty insecure about how I'm celebrating Jesus' birthday. The biggest threat to Christmas isn't people who say "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas", it's people who trample people literally to death scrambling into a Walmart on Black Friday (to get at the sales which really aren't any better than the sales that are going a week or so before Christmas) and shoot each other at a Toys'R'Us and drink too much and go too deep into debt and forget to tell their children that Santa Claus and presents and candy canes, etc., are all to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.

On the other hand, I read about how there are some atheists who have put up their own anti-Christmas display in the vicinity of a nativity display on a courthouse lawn somewhere, going on and on about how the nativity scene is a message of hatred and fear, blah, blah blah. To those yutzes I say: GET OVER YOURSELVES!! For the rest of us who aren't so whiney and insecure, the best way to fight such goofy stuff is to ignore it!

"Black Friday" and Advent

Hi!
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. Mine was really nice. All the kids, plus my daughter-in-law's dad, were there. And the turkey--YUM-OH!! It was a smoked turkey from Famous Dave's. Amazing! And if I might say so myself, the sweet potato pies I baked weren't half-bad either!

Black Friday: My wife, daughter and daughter-in-law were out almost all day, starting by getting up at 3:00am (that's right, 3:00am) to get to JCPenney's by 4:00am. They had a good time, and saved a lot of money (I hope) on presents. I tease and kid about "Black Friday", but it's fun to see Kim have a good time. I read on a blog last night, and heard from Kim, that there were things that happened yesterday that were no laughing matter. An employee was killed, and a pregnant woman injured and hospitalized, in a trampling at a Walmart--I don't know where. Kim said she heard there was a shooting somewhere. This is how we usher in a "Christian" holiday? This is how we start the season of Advent, and prepare to welcome the Prince of Peace? A friend of mine says that he doesn't really celebrate Christmas, because the way that Christmas is celebrated in America has little if anything to do with the person whose birthday it's supposed to be celebrating or what He stood for. I think my friend might be right!

I know I say this a lot, but it bears repeating, I think: Don't skip over Advent! Take time during the next four weeks, starting tomorrow, Sunday, November 30, to observe "The Four R's" and the scriptures that go with them: Reflect--1 Corinthians 1:4-9, Repent--Mark 1:1-18, Rejoice--1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, and Renew--Psalm 96. There, I just gave you a sneak peak at the sermon titles and texts for the next 4 weeks!

November 4, 2008, January 20, 2009

Hey!
I haven't blogged in awhile--sorry! I thought I'd share a few "random thoughts" about current events, particularly our recent election.

First of all:
If you voted for Obama/Biden:

• It's okay to be happy, but don't gloat!
• Don't go thinking that a new presidential administration will wave a magic wand and fix all of our problems overnight. There's a lot of work to be done, hard work, and many of our challenges will take a lot of time to deal with.
• Be just as discerning, even critical, as you would be toward any politician or administration. That's an important part of being an American, holding our government accountable.
  

If you voted for McCain/Palin:

• It's okay to be disappointed, but don't be bitter.
• In the interest of good citizenship, do what you can to support the new administration and our country, with your prayers as well as your criticisms.

All of us:

• Pray for our new president, congress, the Senate, and all of those who serve at all levels of government. That's what God tells us to do, in 1 Timothy 2:1-4.
• Pray for our country. We're becoming more and more divided, and that's very bad. We must work and pray together to keep our nation great, strong and free.
• Pray for peace, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for all people and all nations.

One more thing: Happy Thanksgiving! Travel safely, enjoy your family, and if you go out to shop on "Black Friday", wear a crash helmet!

Our Favorite Hymns

The theologian Paul Tillich once said, "I am at my best when I sing my faith." I've also heard it said that "he who sings prays twice". In my life, I've heard great preaching, and I've sat under great Bible teachers, but what has stuck with me are the hymns I have sung.

I would like to share with you the hymns that I cherish, and a little about why they're important to me.

• "To God Be the Glory": We sang this at my mother's funeral.
• "It Is Well with My Soul": My dad sang this to himself as he and my uncle were leaving the surgical waiting room after just having learned that my mom had died during surgery.
• "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name": Gives me chills every time I sing it. "Bring forth the royal diadem / And crown Him Lord of all...."
• "In the Garden": When I play music with patients at the hospital, I play "In the Garden", and everybody signs along!
• "This Is My Father's World": Reminds me whose world this is, and that I need to quite worrying so much! Fun to play on the banjo too!
• "Blessed Assurance": I have wonderful memories of Sunday night "singspiration" meetings (remember those, anyone?), with the song leader having us hold the notes extra long when we sang "This is my story...." I also have a memory of one of our foster children, Christopher, whenever we sang "Blessed Assurance" in church, rocking back and forth, doing air guitar and singing, "Dis-a my tory, Dis-a my tory...."
• "Jesus Loves Me": Probably the most powerful theological statement anyone can make: "Jesus loves me, this I know, / For the Bible tells me so." What a shame that it's considered only a children's song.

What are your favorite or most cherished hymns, and why are they important to you? (Just click the "comments" link below this post and write your comments.)

All good things....

Ah...yes...as they say, "All goods things must come to an end." My vacation officially ends today. This was my last day off from the hospital. I have a meeting tomorrow morning at the Methodist church to plan community services, and I'll be back in the pulpit ("I'm back in the saddle again, / Out where a friend is a friend...." Sorry--I couldn't resist.) Sunday morning. I've missed you, Alpha Baptist!

Vacation was good: Sleeping in every morning (okay, it was sleeping until 7:00am, I'm used to getting up 5:30am every morning, so that's sleeping in to me) going to the Bettendorf Family Museum and Discovery Depot with Joey, having lunches with Kim and Joey, noodling on my guitar, seeing old friends in Ohio central Illinois, and in general just not working for ten days. A good vacation! It's good to take a break now and then and be reminded that God runs the world, not me!

Headin' Back Home

Good morning!
I'm blogging from my friends' house, out in the country in northwest Ohio. I had fun at the wedding, but I missed my family a lot. My friends were very gracious and hospitable, and I had a good time catching up.

The trip here was uneventful, thank you Lord, and it went by a lot faster than I thought it would, again, thank you Lord! It was about 8 hours, but it didn't really feel like it. I had a lot of music on CD's and the radio, and interesting scenery. Like a friend told me, US 24 across Illinois is BORING! Flat, with almost nothing but corn and bean fields. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Indiana had some pretty scenery, especially with the leaves almost at their fall peak.

I'm heading home to Illinois in a few minutes, stopping on the way to visit a friend. What would we do without friends? Old friends, new friends, funny friends, neighbor friends, work friends.... Thank God for all of 'em!

Alpha Baptist: I miss you! I'll see you again next Sunday!

Readers: Give me your comments, let me know you're out there!