The End

As the music began to fade, Dan and his wife rode into the sunset...

Keep Walking

Matthew 1
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was
pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to
be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a
righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind
to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered this...

Can you even imagine? You've been with this person for a long time. You think you know them pretty well. You have big plans of getting married, having children and spending your life hand in hand, and then she says, "We need to talk...I'm pregnant. It's the Lord's baby." Verse 20 says, "But after he considered this." Are those some loaded words or what? Have you ever traveled the road of consideration? You can bet that Joseph considered Mary's honesty, the other men in Mary's life, the current status of their relationship, their last argument, what the guys are going to say, what his parents will think, how it will affect his business, would God do something like this, what did the prophets say, what will our rabbi say? At some point in his considering he decided to believe and walk it out one step at a time. An enormous calling with all kinds of questions, conflict and tension, but it was God's call on their lives and they chose to obey. Their obedience in the storm of so many unanswered questions led to the salvation of the world. I'm thankful for their courage to walk the road that God put before them even if it contained the stares of shame and judgment and the wrath of an insecure King determined to kill their baby. How many times could they have said or at least thought, "God...what are doing?" They kept walking and believing and that's we have to do.

From one season to the next

Sunday I announced to the congregation that this week would be the last worship service for the church. It was tough. Many were surprised, some disappointed and others were devastated. I desperately hated having to tell those who had only been with us a short time and felt that they had found a church home, that it was over. It's hard for them to understand where this decision came from. I have a peace about it. This decision was a long time coming. Our consultant said it should have been made 3 1/2 years ago. Now the waiting begins...

Time

Time is a beautiful gift. It doesn't heal everything, but it sure does a nice job on a lot of wounds that we suffer in life. The other night I was talking to my wife about how stressful our lives were at the moment and she said, "At least your twitch hasn't come back." I didn't know what she was talking about, and then she reminded of the problem I had last year when my face would just start twitching for no apparent reason. It was really wild when it would happen while I was preaching. People wouldn't hear a word I would say because they were too busy being entertained by my face. I'd be preaching fire and brimstone (not really) and they'd be laughing. I had forgotten how scary and frustrating that was. What a gift! There is a lot that's happened to me in the past year that I'm anxious for time to heal. I don't mind the scars that symbolize the experience and God's faithfulness, but I can do without the pusy(sp) soars that I have right now.

God is so good! Yesterday was a truckload of horse manure day, but this morning I went to the chiropractor and the receptionist asked me if I wanted a massage. "How much?" Iasked. "Your insurance will cover it," she said. Not only did I get a massage but I also got to encourage the therapist who was a young believer whose husband has an inoperable brain tumor. I prayed with her before I left and I got the strong impression that God is more than in control. He has a marvelous way of killing two birds with one stone. Boy...that sounds funny and so unspiritual. Let's try this....God saw two people in need who both had something to offer that the other needed. You know he has to be up there rubbing his hands together saying, "Watch this Michael! Batta Bing, Batta Boom! Am I good or what?"

Good Story!

A cabbie picks up a Nun. She gets into the cab, and the cab driver won't stop staring at her. She asks him why is he staring. He replies, "I have a question to ask you, but I don't want to offend you." She answers, "My son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old as I am and have been a Nun as long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive." "Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a Nun kiss me." She responds, "Well, let's see what we can do about that: #1, you have to be single and #2, you must be Catholic." The cab driver is very excited and says, "Yes, I am single and I'm Catholic!" "OK" the Nun says. "Pull into the next alley." The Nun fulfills his fantasy with a kiss that would make a hooker blush. But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying. "My dear child, said the nun, why are you crying?" "Forgive me but I've sinned. I lied. I must confess, I'm married and I'm Jewish." The nun says, "That's OK, my name is Kevin and I'm going to a Halloween party."

Just a List

1. "Hi! Welcome to Walmart. Do you need a cart?"
2. "Will you hold him still so I can put this band on?"
3. "Would you like to super-size it?"
4. "Do you need a receipt for your donation?"
5. "If you look to your right you'll see Paul Brown Stadium."
6. "Watch your head. The door into the monkey cage is pretty low."
7. "Paper or Plastic?"
8. "Please sign here."
9. "Smoking or non?"
10. "9 or 18? Walking or riding?"

Is "crap" a bad word?

I must confess... I used the word "crap" in my sermon yesterday.
It was necessary I promise. I needed to be emphatic about the foolishness
of trying to earn your way into heaven. The sermon was pretty good.
My wife even said so, so you know it must have been good.

Going with the "crap" theme, we saw the movie Envy this weekend.
Don't waste your money, but there is a really good quote in it. I let
you decide...

Where does all the _ _ _ t go? That's Profound!

Go Bush!

Here's a rant in response to www.dilbonedaily.blogspot.com.

I'm pleased with the outcome of the election. It was an answer to prayer. I believe George Bush's motive for the war in Iraq was to protect our country and bring freedom to an oppressed nation. Do we, as a powerful, wealthy and blessed nation turn a blind eye to the tyrants of the world so we don't come across as imperialistic tyrants ourselves? Do we only intervene when a country's predicament reaches holocaust proportions? I am proud to be an American when I see Afghan women running in the Olympics for the first time ever. I am proud to be American when I hear the reports from our troops of how thankful the Iraqi people are because of what we're doing. I'm proud to be apart of a country that takes seriously it's call to be the good Samaritan. We don't pass by on the other side. We send troops, we lose lives, we make mistakes, we rebuild. We give a voice to those that have no voice. Ask the Christians in Africa who were tortured and had family members killed by Muslims during Clinton's term how things have changed now that Bush is in Office. They pray and fast for our President while we Bitch and Moan with our hindsight-based, armchair politicing! Why don't we all grow our hair long, smoke some dope and talk about peace. My peace came at the expense of Christ's life. Sometimes, being a peacemaker means going to war to bring peace to a people whose ruler has declared war on them. (There's my rant...Have a great weekend!)