Sneak peek.....

I think it's cold enough, with a windchill veering off to minus 41C tonight, to think about things to come.

Lets think melting snow, and ice turning to mush on the lakes and beautiful blossoms adorning apple trees and green grass and green leaves.

Well, that was enough of that.

Keep warm my friends. Shall I be so bold as to say, it'll be cold enough to freeze the you-know-whatsits off brass monkeys.....so the saying goes. I've never really seen it happen so, you know, it might all be a myth.

Anyway, keep all your digits warm....or other exposed parts.

Leadership...

That word sometimes terrifies me.

It conjurs up things like organizational skills, using that skill for others - not lording over others, using good judgement and common sense, to be a servant to all, having an idea as to where you are taking others, being wise and humble, allowing others to have their "say", being an example, keeping an eye on things and thinking ahead. A couple of these things I'm not bad at, but all the other qualities, I am sorely lacking and I become fearful.

The Annual Meeting of our church is this Saturday. I've been nominated to become a member of Council, the team that takes on a leadership role and moves the church hopefully, forward. It's a difficult time in the life of our church in that we are presently without a pastor. The year ahead will be challenging and it will be exciting too, as we transition perhaps into a new phase at Gateway.

I feel totally inadequate. I know I don't have all the qualities that are needed to take up this role and so I shake with thoughts of all my insecurities. There are words from Scripture that we need to take seriously not only as members of a church leadership team, but members of Gateway, the Body of Christ. They come from Ephesians 4:1-6 where the Apostle Paul is telling those in Ephesus how they are to live their lives in the Name of Christ. This is what he says in a letter to them while he himself is imprisoned:

- from The Message:

"In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.
You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness."

This is the call to us, as the Body of Christ, the Church. To work together as one. To be one - in unity and love.

Oh God....help me, and all of us, in our attempt at being You in this world....as one body. And lead me God, and in your leading, teach me how to lead. I need to learn. Amen.

A little mid-winter respite.

(click on pics)

It's been good. Those plus temperatures have put people in a better frame of mind, I think.

A week from this Sunday we'll be into February.

See. I do wish winter away, as I've posted before.

I post these pictures today just so we can appreciate January's beauty....well, as good as I can present it.

But the pictures above, taken on very cold January days will be refreshing to see come mid-July.

As an aside, just so you know, I'm at home and have been coughing and hacking and spewing up all manner of grizzly fare.

We have a Branch Meeting tomorrow at work. Don't know if I should be on display like that (like I was yesterday). The 75 or so folks that have come to hear what will be presented, most likely won't appreciate me emptying my lungs above the din.

The antibiotics should kick in soon, I'm hoping. Until then, enjoy winter and thank God with me that we live in a land where we have heat and food and no bombs falling.

ta ta.........

Congratulations Mr. President.!!!

January 20, 2009.

A memorable day as Barack H. Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Memorable because he is the very first African-American to hold this position.

It's been a long haul since Martin Luther King, Jr.

I salute President Obama......not because he is worthy of any great praise, not because he is now, as some would say, a savior of the world, not because he seems like a very fine fellow.....no.

I salute him because anyone who is willing to hold this office, shows that he is willing to take on the burdens of his country, he is willing to see major changes and he is willing to be an example as to what needs to be done to recover their floundering country. I trust his willingness will be proven in his deeds.

May God protect, defend and preserve him by the power of the Holy Spirit and may that Spirit go deep and dwell within this man as he holds office. May God keep him humble and righteous, putting the needs of others before himself. May the lure and temptation of power and wealth be kept from him and instead, may he find his strength and sense of power only in You.

Amen.

Luke and Mr. Obama...

This big boy had his tonsils/adenoids out on the Inaugural Eve of the first black President of the United States of America, January 19, 2009.

Perhaps Luke's mommy and daddy will tell him the story when he gets older of all the celebrations happening in North America as the U.S. prepares to swear in their new President, Barack Obama.

Both Mr. Obama and John F. Kennedy will share their ceremonial inaugural day - January 20 - Kennedy in 1961 - the year Mr. Obama was born.

So, little Luke will be able to say, when they play re-runs of the Presidential swearing in ceremony 50 years from now, "that January 20, 2009 was the day I was recovering from my tonsil surgery."

Quite momentous.

It is for me too actually....this is also the day my mom died....January 19, 1989....

May God watch over and take hold of the United States of America....and may He especially heal little Luke's throat and ears very quickly.

And now for some cough medicine....'nite.....

Re-new....

After a few of us were complaining about our ailments this morning at church a friend stated: "Well, I intend to outlive my body!" chuckle....chuckle....chuckle And I think she meant it!

When we realize that these bodies we have been given will be with us to the end of this life and when it becomes evident that no, we won't be getting a new body to work with any time soon, it makes us think about what we would/could do to RE-NEW these old worn out ones.

Renew....making something new AGAIN. Take off the old varnish, the old paint, the old wall paper, sand down to the real wood underneath, which was there at the beginning....and simply starting over....making it new....AGAIN.

We can't do that with our bodies. Oh, we can take off 50 pounds, tone up those flabby arms and bellies, exercise our hearts by walking, running, swimming etc., get face lifts, liposuction and diet pills. We can even get new hearts, lungs, legs and nose jobs. We're still left with our old bodies. Maybe in a bit better shape, but we can never be like we were in our youth. We're stuck with what we've been given. ughhhhh

Our spirits are different from our bodies. It's something that can be made new again. Work needs to be done though, you know, the sanding down of our anger and hostility, the scraping away our pride and self-righteousness, the peeling off our jealousy and arrogance, those things that need cleaning and refining and polishing. When we find that the only thing that can make our spirits new again is God, that's when we can begin the renewing. Only then.

I'm desiring to be re-new-ed. I want God to come into me and make my spirit new again. I need him to enter in those places that need sweeping and chiseling and some extra mopping.

Spirit clean-up is hard work. I find it's tiring work. It's tiring because some days I don't see any sign of improvement. Things I've been working on for months, dare I say years, are still visible and I look as dull and ugly as I did the day I started my "home improvement". I need to continue to remember Who it is that is doing the renewing. Our desire for change, His desire and mine, need to mesh to get the job done.

Psalm 51:10 says: "God, create a pure heart in me. Give me a new spirit that is faithful to you."

Ya. That about sums it up. I'm going now to get the paint remover....

Dry and prickly spirits...

This is what my throat feels like.....a wooly cactus. Dry. Prickly. And downright wooly.

Another cough is upon me. Not as bad as some I've had. But still, it sets you back a peg.

Thinking again on Mr. Wooly up there, I think that is kind of like our spirits when we are far away from God. We go for months without water....Living Water. We become parched, dried up and not very productive. Without the Spirit's living water we aren't much use. Sometimes we don't even recognize our need for water. We just go about living and wondering why we feel so..........lacking....or.......unfulfilled.

Christ is the Living Water. He comes to us when our spirits faint and pours it on us like the first rain of spring. What does it take to recognize our need for the Living Water.

Not sure.

Some things happen to us that are difficult and when we are faced to turn and look at ourselves in the mirror we see brokenness, sadness and pain when instead, it could be joy and peace and contentment.

We pride ourselves on being independent from anyone or anything. It's our pride that can take our joy away and in that pride we remain independent........ when what we really need is to be dependent on God, which of course, is when we experience his joy and peace and contentment. It's quite a delimna.

I'm off to bed but before I go, I'm taking some Benelyn to soothe this dry and prickly throat.

May Jesus be the Benelyn in your life this night.... the soother and comforter of dry spirits.