Misc

Tuesday morning check in

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

"Tuesday" check in
My Monday morning check in didn’t happen like usual.  My wife had yesterday off for Veteran’s Day (she’s a county employee) and since we don’t get days off together too often, I took a vacation day.  We slept in together which was very nice.  We then traveled down to Spirit Lake, IA (20 miles) and ate at one of our favorite places – Quiznos.  We then visited Wal-Mart and dropped a few dollars there (O.K…it was more than a few dollars).  After that we enjoyed a peaceful afternoon together.  Got to love sabbath time.

Found
I am a member of the Jackson Lion’s Club.  Last night, after we finished our meeting a fellow member approached me.  He said, "Pastor, I really enjoy your website".  At first I thought he was talking about our new church website and then I asked if he was talking about my blog.  He said "Yes".  I then asked how he found out about it (I am always curious about this).  He said that he googled "Jackson, MN" and found it.  Now my site is book marked on his computer. 

But this was a little strange for me.  You see…everyone who leaves comments here are people from out of town; people I do not see face to face (except for my mom and sister).  And besides my family and close friends I have never had anyone come up to me and say that they have my blog book marked on their computer.  That comment last night served as an affirmation of what I am doing.  Even though I am not writing this blog to receive praise…hearing a word of affirmation like that from people (face to face) is indeed a pick me up; something that came via the Holy Spirit; something that encouraged me greatly.  Thanks for comment last night…I appreciated it.

Text study
I have felt so lost the past few weeks.  I haven’t attended my weekly text study with my area colleagues for quite a while.  Today I am going and that means I need to finish up here shortly.  Having a text study group like this is indeed important.  These past few weeks have given me a glimpse of what life might be like if I was doing this alone, without colleague support.  Text studies are so important.  I thank God for this group of people.

And…in speaking of "text studies", I hope to have a regular "text study" post coming in the next day or so.  I haven’t done that for a little while either.  With that I will be pondering some themes and messages for the Thanksgiving Eve worship service next week.  Salem worships with the Methodists and the Presbyterians on Thanksgiving eve and this year is my year to preach.  Any good ideas for me?  And good sermon ideas you have heard on Thanksgiving?

Anyway…God bless you today and everyday.  May you always know the love of God surrounding you…always!  Take care.

-edh-

Monday randomness

/ The Pastor / 7 Comments

It is Monday morning and my routine is all thrown off.  As some of you may know, my office computer "died"  this past week.  I have a guy coming in this afternoon so I am hoping for a quick resurrection. Hopefully the hard drive is alright and it’s only the power supply that is shot.  In the mean time I am typing away on my lap top.

Sermon prep
This past Wednesday we had a great Bible study – studying the up coming Sunday texts.  I gained a lot of insight through this group and through all those who left comments on this blog.  I really, really appreciate the body of Christ as we gather together to discuss the Word of God.  I can’t imagine being involved in ministry as a "solo" pastor.  We definitely need each other.

Personal stewardship update
Last month set a goal for myself to run the Twin Cities marathon in Oct. 2008.  Right now that has been put on hold.  I have been having some problems with my shins and found out recently at a doctor’s visit that I have flat feet and that is probably is the source of my problems.  I have an appointment with a specialist to check my feet out.  So I have turned my attention to biking and weightlifting.  Maybe I will be the next Lance Armstrong – minus the drugs 😉

But on a positive note I have lost 16 pounds since mid-August.  I can’t tell you how excited I am.  I have gone down a pants size and have moved into large shirts from XL.  Today I even comfortably got into a medium shirt.  Whoo hoo!

God is awesome!!!
God has been incredibly faithful.  Even though my I am "suffering" through computer problems, God is still faithful.  Even though I "lost" my sermon last week, God’s Word was still proclaimed.  Even though "my" running goals have been (hopefully temporarily) derailed, I am still losing weight.  God is faithful.  God is awesome.  And through all these "hardships" I will praise God.

-edh-

Some stuff for you

/ The Pastor

Hi all!

I just got back from a fun time in the cities.  Sorry I have not been around lately.  But don’t worry, I have not gotten out of my routine (see my post titled "Routines"), I am still here.

A personal note for you: The best man in my wedding, Greg, is getting married in October.  So I went to see Greg on Sunday and stayed at his place.  We haven’t seen each other for a while so it was fun to hang out.  I was also hoping to meet his fiance, Jess, but she had to go out of town so it was guy’s night out!  Whoo Hoo!  (I did behave, though)  We ate supper at Boston’s and had some great pizza.  This was some of the best pizza I have ever had and that is saying a lot.  Get the Mama Meatsa pizza; the Italian sausage has a kick to it.

A program note for you:  On Sunday, August 20 at 7pm on the History Channel, there will be a program called "Decoding the Exodus".  This program explores and proves that the Exodus from Egypt, as described in the Bible, really happened.  They talk about the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea.  I saw a promo of this program on the Today Show this morning and it looks intriguing.  I know our Christian faith tells us that it happened, but to hear science actually confirm that belief is interesting.  Science often conflicts with the Bible and Christianity.

A weird fact for you:  Did you know that flamingos get their pink color from eating a lot of shrimp and through consuming a large amount of carotene (a chemical that makes carrots orange)?  The pinker a flamingo is the more healthy it is and the more attractive it is to a potential mate (so if you are single, eat a lot of carrots).  I write this because my friend Kara told me this and I would not believe her (Kara you were right and I was wrong not to believe you).  So I went to www.wikipedia.org and leaned some things.  This is a great web site to learn more interesting and useless facts about the world we live in.

A God note for you:  You are loved beyond imagination.  Need proof?  You don’t need to go to the History Channel; just look at the cross.  Jesus died and then rose from the grave all FOR YOU.  That is the best "note" I can give you (or rather God can give you).

Have a great day living in the love of God our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen! -EDH-

Life without Jesus

/ The Pastor

Hey there!  Check this out:

Pencil I don’t know if you can read these pencils but they say: Life without Jesus is like this pencil, no point to it.

BRILLIANT!  Someone gave me a couple of these when I was in Nashville for the youth gathering.

You can find these pencils at http://christiandollarstore.stores.yahoo.net/nopointoitdo.html or you can go to yahoo and do a search for this saying.

Buy some and hand them out.  Maybe leave one on a co-workers desk .  Either way, they are a good attention getter.

God bless! -EDH-

Re-vamping, but just a little

/ The Pastor

Those of you who have visited this site before will notice that the "Question of the Week" link is missing.  I have taken this off because of the lack of interest in it.  I will bring it back if there is a call for it, but for now I want to focus on writing.  I will continue to provide what I hope are thought provoking devotionals (I have no idea if they provoke thought in you, but they sure do in me).

I am also continually changing the look of this site.  This is an effort to keep things interesting for you as a reader (and for me).  This blog is almost like watching a child grow.  It started out pretty small (and it still is) but it has evolved so much in the last 1 1/2 months.  If you have ideas for what you would like to see or thoughts on topics/scripture you would like me to write about, leave me a comment or go to my "About" page and email me.

Blessings to you as you go through your day.  Remember that you are a child of God; created by His own hand.  You are special and loved beyond anything we can comprehend.  See you later!  -EDH-

Celebration of New Life

/ The Pastor

<Don’t forget to check out the devotion right below this post.> 

This week’s question deals with how we picture our funerals.  It is never too early to start thinking about this because like I said in my devotion for today "tomorrow is promised to no one."  Think about your funeral and make sure others know your feelings.  Your funeral…(I need to stop here and rephrase this.  "Funeral" is not the correct title.  I have talked about this before, but this service should be called "A Celebration of New Life".  Because that is what it is, a celebration of the new life we have through Jesus Christ)…should be one that proclaims what Jesus has done for you and for all of us through the cross.  A Celebration of New Life service is not about you then, but about Jesus.  So think about that service.  What music would you have?  What scripture?  What would be the sermon title/topic/theme?  How would your Celebration of New Life service look?   I am looking forward to your comments and at the end of the week, I will summarize those comments in one post for you all to read.  Start your planning.

Here’s my Celebration of New Life service:

(1) As people are arriving I want a praise and worship band playing songs like "Shout to the Lord", "Come, Now is the Time to Worship", "We Bow Down", and a whole list of others.  This would probably shock some people.  (2) One of the scripture verses would be from 1 Corinthians 15 where is says "Where O death is your victory?  Where O death is your sting?…But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ".  What a way to mock the power of Satan and death.  (3) The sermon would talk about this victory.  (4) There would be no eulogy but rather one or two people giving a short faith story about how Jesus has showed them this victory in their lives. (5) There would be more music, praying and worshipping.  All in all, this would be a service about Jesus and Jesus alone.  I want people to miss me, but not at the expense of Christ.

Tell me and others about your Celebration of New Life service; paint us a picture…

My answer to the “Question of the Week”

/ The Pastor

According to my mom I need to answer my own question of the week.  So here it is:

I am looking forward to finally getting out on the golf course.  For those who know me well, you will be shocked to read that I have not been golfing yet this year.  I am also looking forward to reading more books.  During the school year I am so busy with preparing classes and Bible studies that I do not read as much as I would like.  Other things I am looking forward to are:  Spending time with our friends in Spirit Lake; hanging out around our fire pit roasting marshmellows and making s’mores; taking my senior high kids to Nashville for the Youth Encounter National Youth Event; and attending the LifeLight Christian music festival.

It is going to be a fun filled summer.  Oh, before I forget (and I am sure I will blog about this sometime this summer) I finally planted our garden, so I am looking forward to seeing what happens with that.  Did I tell you I planted some MAMMOTH sunflowers (Oh, I think I did).  Anyway, according to the seed package the sunflowers are suppose to get close to 12 feet high.  Is that even possible?  I hope so, because that will be cool.

There you go mom; I answered the question.  I will try to do a better job in the coming weeks.  If anyone has a "Question of the Week" you would like me to ask, just let me know.  I have a few up my sleeve, but I am always looking for suggestions.  Well, I am done wasting time trying to make myself tired enough to go to bed.  I hope you enjoyed reading my off the wall post.  I sure enjoyed typing it thinking that people might actually read this.  Have a good night all!