Starting November 1, 2010 the "Country Parson" will actually be a COUNTRY parson again... We are moving to the Bethel Baptist Church in rural Jerseyville, Illinois. In the brief time we have spent with the folks at Bethel we have simply felt drawn to them. I have most definitely layed out the fleece on this whole matter and God has consistently shown us his will and how clearly it has unfolded. We've been blessed by the Bethel family already and are very much looking forward to getting better acquainted with our new church family.
Of course, it is bittersweet as we leave some good friends in Wood River and the surrounding area. But, when God is clearly involved, the call is irresistable. Such is the case for us in this move to Bethel. The new chapter begins in our lives in just over one month and I for one can hardly wait!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Keys to Life, Love and Happiness!
After a layoff from directing or counseling at camp for nearly a decade, I decided it was time to say yes to the invitation to direct a camp. Something about finally having a child of camping age made that decision a bit easier. Joey went to camp where I went as a child and she seemed to have a really good time. I find myself thinking and sometimes saying things that I never thought I would say like "When I was a kid..." Well, when I was a kid, the cabins were grafiti-laden, non-air conditioned, hot, leaky, primitive places to sleep at night... times have certainly changed from those days!
The camp has improved a lot from those days with the addition of lots of modern amenities and attractions including the zip line Joey is riding on in this picture. I simply LOVE this picture, because the smile on her face is so huge. I cannot believe how much my baby girl has grown. As Will is just now starting to walk, I remember when Joey was that age and how amazed we were at her development even then. It seems each new stage brings more and more Joy in watching our children develop and grow. Of course there are challenges in parenting and in many ways, we would like to keep all three of the kids small forever so we could protect them from the inevitable hurts that they will face in life. But, it is also a great joy to see the joy and the zest that they posses as they live their lives. How much better would this world be if we could all retain just a bit of that child-like enthusiasm and unadultrated joy in our daily pursuits?
What a blessing our children are and how very much they enrich our lives. It seems I am more in love with the three of them with each passing day. God has blessed me richly with them and with a wife who brings nothing but blessing to my own life. While I may not have much in terms of money or power, I am an immeasurably wealthy man in terms of the love I am shown each day by the four most important people in the world to me! They teach me again and again what life is really about and how to be a happy man at the core. Even when the world around me brings challenges (several times a day it seems) my family reminds me again and again what is needed to possess a joy that carries me through the present struggles and to keep things in proper perspective. Thank you Jenny, Joey, Ian and Will! I love you all more than I can ever say!
The camp has improved a lot from those days with the addition of lots of modern amenities and attractions including the zip line Joey is riding on in this picture. I simply LOVE this picture, because the smile on her face is so huge. I cannot believe how much my baby girl has grown. As Will is just now starting to walk, I remember when Joey was that age and how amazed we were at her development even then. It seems each new stage brings more and more Joy in watching our children develop and grow. Of course there are challenges in parenting and in many ways, we would like to keep all three of the kids small forever so we could protect them from the inevitable hurts that they will face in life. But, it is also a great joy to see the joy and the zest that they posses as they live their lives. How much better would this world be if we could all retain just a bit of that child-like enthusiasm and unadultrated joy in our daily pursuits?
What a blessing our children are and how very much they enrich our lives. It seems I am more in love with the three of them with each passing day. God has blessed me richly with them and with a wife who brings nothing but blessing to my own life. While I may not have much in terms of money or power, I am an immeasurably wealthy man in terms of the love I am shown each day by the four most important people in the world to me! They teach me again and again what life is really about and how to be a happy man at the core. Even when the world around me brings challenges (several times a day it seems) my family reminds me again and again what is needed to possess a joy that carries me through the present struggles and to keep things in proper perspective. Thank you Jenny, Joey, Ian and Will! I love you all more than I can ever say!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Daddy Daughter Date
I had to run a few errands today including a stop at the mall. So, I took Joey with me as a chance to spend some one-on-one time with her. WOW! It was a blast. We didn't do anything terribly exciting (although the cookie factory was pretty pleasant for both of us). As we were walking back to the car through Macy's she was unable to hold my hand due to needing both hands to eat the candy I bought her at the Hallmark store. Anyway, I looked down at her and was just amazed at how much she's grown and what a totally cool kid she has become. At 4 1/2 years of age, she can be downright silly most of the time. But, she has these moments when I look at her and see the glimpses of the incredible young lady she will become. In many ways I dread her growing up and facing the inevitable pain that she will face in her life. But, at the same time, it is an amazing gift to see this young flower unfolding right before our eyes.
Of course, that was a brief glimpse of who Joey is and who she is becoming and it does give me great pleasure and hope to witness it. But then again, as I was reading her a bedtime story tonight and she was insistent that she was a jaguar and not a human and spent most of the story time licking her "Paws" and growling, I see that we are still a long way off from full maturity. Still a joy none-the-less and it is moments like all of these that make fatherhood such a gift!
Of course, that was a brief glimpse of who Joey is and who she is becoming and it does give me great pleasure and hope to witness it. But then again, as I was reading her a bedtime story tonight and she was insistent that she was a jaguar and not a human and spent most of the story time licking her "Paws" and growling, I see that we are still a long way off from full maturity. Still a joy none-the-less and it is moments like all of these that make fatherhood such a gift!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Another Goodbye
My father was buried this past week... In 43 years of life, I cannot remember a time that he ever told me that he loved me, or that he was proud of me. But, I heard other people tell me what a great person he was at the funeral. I hope and pray that my children do not have to hear from other people at my death how "good" I am.
I will not allow my children to go to bed at night without telling them that I love them, nor will I miss an opportunity to remind them how wonderful they are and how proud I am of them. My sadness is not so much for my own loss (you cannot lose what you never really had). My sadness is that my father never chose to have a relationship with me other than sharing a roof and a dinner table when I was growing up. My mother told me several years before she died that my father never loved anyone but himself. I actually doubt if he even loved himself. I cannot think of another reason why someone would be so totally focused on the accumulation of “things” and have so little regard for the people in his life.
We learn from our parents to be sure... either what TO DO or what NOT to do. I am thankful that I also had role models who taught me to love the Lord above all else and to share that love with others. The absence of a Godly father in my life has more than been compensated and I do my best to live up to a far higher standard for my own life. I fall short of that goal daily if not several times each day, but it does not excuse me from keeping up the attempts to do it right!
I will not allow my children to go to bed at night without telling them that I love them, nor will I miss an opportunity to remind them how wonderful they are and how proud I am of them. My sadness is not so much for my own loss (you cannot lose what you never really had). My sadness is that my father never chose to have a relationship with me other than sharing a roof and a dinner table when I was growing up. My mother told me several years before she died that my father never loved anyone but himself. I actually doubt if he even loved himself. I cannot think of another reason why someone would be so totally focused on the accumulation of “things” and have so little regard for the people in his life.
We learn from our parents to be sure... either what TO DO or what NOT to do. I am thankful that I also had role models who taught me to love the Lord above all else and to share that love with others. The absence of a Godly father in my life has more than been compensated and I do my best to live up to a far higher standard for my own life. I fall short of that goal daily if not several times each day, but it does not excuse me from keeping up the attempts to do it right!
Monday, September 28, 2009
just for fun...
I am constantly laughing at things the kids say and keep telling myself how I should write things down as they say them to document it. Yesterday we had a really nice family day after church. We went to the "Apple Festival" at Eckerts in Grafton and enjoyed the cooler temperatures and the sunshine. On the way home, we didn't want to end the relaxing day, so we stopped past a park in Godfrey to let the kids play for a while. We didn't tell the kids were we were going (in case the park was too crowded or closeed). Anyway, we went past the Godfrey McDonalds and Joey said, "Hey, that McDonalds has a playground, are you guys hungry"... It is sometimes hard to keep the lauighter in when she does that sort of thing (which by the way is several times a day). One of the hardest things I face as a father is disciplining my children. Joey has a GREAT sense of humor and Ian is fast developing one as well. They seem to know pretty well how to manipulate me by employing humor at just the right moment. I think it is something about having me wrapped pretty securely around their little fingers. Yeah, they do get frustrating at times with testing the limits, but for the most part, we realize how very blessed we are with our children.
Another playground episode that made me pretty proud was Joey making friends with another little girl named "Layla". After a few minutes of friendship with Layla, a little boy named David took one of Layla's shoes and took off running. Joey knew this wasn't right and chased David down and got the shoe away from him and took it back to Layla. I watched this from a distance initially thinking that Joey was in on the shoe stealing, but was very proud when she took it back to Layla. She does know injustice when she sees it and seems to choose the right path from time to time. We must be doing something right... YEAH!
Another playground episode that made me pretty proud was Joey making friends with another little girl named "Layla". After a few minutes of friendship with Layla, a little boy named David took one of Layla's shoes and took off running. Joey knew this wasn't right and chased David down and got the shoe away from him and took it back to Layla. I watched this from a distance initially thinking that Joey was in on the shoe stealing, but was very proud when she took it back to Layla. She does know injustice when she sees it and seems to choose the right path from time to time. We must be doing something right... YEAH!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Where is God?
Just last night, I found a YouTube video by Kevin Gerald that sparked me thinking and I am not finished thinking about it yet. But, Kevin said something in that video that resonated with me a bit. One of the most common questions I get as a pastor from people who are hurting or facing grief, brokenness, illness, divorce, etc. is "Where is God?"... Kevin said something that at first made me cringe and later got me thinking further that there is some truth in it. Kevin said... "The truth is God is not everywhere". I don't think he was talking about God being less than omnipresent, but rather that God is not in our stupid actions, or in our lack of faith, or in our doubt, or in our confusion, or in anything that is out of sync with his best for us. Rather, God is ever-present in the wise choices we make and in the loving things we do and in the peaceful and justice filled approaches we take towards people, even towards those we disagree with. God is always there, but not everything that happens in our lives is caused by God. In fact, for me, it really is as simple as the fact that we live in a world that is in general woefully out of sync with God's best intentions for creation. (Something about the fall in the garden of Eden...) and until Christ returns and sets things right, people will deal with pain and brokenness and loneliness and disease and distress and all manner of things. God may not be in the poor choices that we humans make, but he is certainly never far enough away from those moments that we can't fall into his arms and be lifted up by them! I'm still working on t his, but that is where it is for now... More later.
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