Community — My adoption story

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

As I reflect on my adoption journey I find myself feeling very thankful for the community of people around us.

Monday night we had an adoption fundraiser at the Pizza Ranch here in Jackson.  The event was called “Tip Night”.  How it works is that my wife and I received a percentage of the proceeds from dine in meals, deliveries and carry out orders starting at 4 pm…and the community turned out.  My wife and I (along with a crew of wonderful friends), cleared off and cleaned tables, visited with people and provided adoption information.  Our case worker was also in attendance helping us.  A huge thank you to everyone who attended and helped us.  Also…a huge thank you to the Pizza Ranch for doing this for us 🙂

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Pizza Ranch manager, Jeff, handing me a check from the sales proceeds.

We received just over $900 from proceeds and “tips” that people gave.  That doesn’t included the money people gave us in the weeks proceeding this event.  In a word…my wife and I were –> Overwhelmed.

Praise be to God!

Ever since we started this adoption process we have received so many well wishes, prayers, financial support and other displays of love.  We have said over and over how blessed we feel to live in such a caring community with such wonderful friends.  The saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child“.  Well…we are blessed to be living in this “village”.

And now…we anxiously await the birth of our daughter.

That’s right…a girl…due March 1.  The call could come at any time.  But we also know a lot can happen.  Nothing is final right now.  The one thing we do know is that God is faithful and that God is in control.  If this adoption falls through we will be sad, disappointed, etc…but…we know God will continue to guide us in this process.  In the mean time we pray for this birth mother and her baby.  We pray for her family.  But most of all we pray that God’s will be done and that we may have the eyes of faith to see that because in the end, glorying God is what matters.

Loving God, you have blessed my wife and I with a wonderful family; caring and supportive friends, and a caring and supportive “village”.  Thank you for showing love through all these avenues.  In Jesus name, Amen!

The pastor -|—

“Something” for Lent

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday; the beginning of Lent.

As I reflect on the coming season I have been thinking about a Lenten discipline to engage in.  Not that you have to do something or give up something, but “something” has been tugging at my heart.  It’s been tugging for a couple weeks now.   I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but I think I finally know what that “something” is.

Starting tomorrow I am going to do something that I haven’t done before…

Pray.

Well…actually I do pray daily but what I am going to do for Lent is engage in the discipline of writing out my prayers in a prayer journal.

That is new for me.

I write prayers for worship and for this blog but I have never done so in such a personal and intimate way.  Never in a way to track and see what God is doing in my life.  I have never gone back to prayers I have written to see what God did with it.  I am not going to write those prayers here, but I may share experiences of this discipline here.

But I am curious, though…

Has anyone out there done this or does this on a regular basis?
Do you even engage in a spiritual discipline?
Do you give anything up?

Whatever you do, may you have a blessed Lenten season as we make our way to the cross and the empty tomb.

Praise be to God!

The pastor -|—

Because you say so

/ The Pastor

Do we really need another reason?

Awesome and holy God, to look around is to see your awesome power and your holiness.  But too often we are blinded by our own short-sightedness.  We are distracted by our limited abilities and flawed wisdom.  If only we were to stop and listen and look would we see your faithfulness and strength and power.  You are holy.  You and you alone see the whole and complete picture.  May we respond to your voice; may we walk by faith and not by sight; may we marvel at the glory of your name.  Because you say so God, may we follow.  Because you say so may we listen.  Because you say so may we trust. Now may the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our Rock and Redeemer, Amen.

May God bless your day 🙂

The pastor -|—

Goose bumps — My adoption story

/ The Pastor

When instances of God’s faithfulness humbles you to the point of tears welling up in your eyes you just have to share the story…and that’s what I am doing here.

A couple weeks ago friends suggested a fundraiser idea to us: Tip Night at the Pizza Ranch.  What happens is that the indivdual(s)/organization schedules a night with the Pizza Ranch (usually a Monday or Wednesday) and they receive 15% of the sales from 4 to 8pm plus any tips.  The people bus tables, clean up and talk to the customers.  Basically anything that doesn’t involve working in the kitchen or running the till.  So Connie and I scheduled a Tip Night for Monday, Feb 18.

Now the advertising begins.

I created a Facebook event and invited people; a friend offered to create a poster for us and I emailed the local churches about a bulletin announcement.  Yesterday (Thursday) I decided to email the editor of our local newspaper (Jackson County Pilot).  I told him about the fundraiser and wondered if they would be interested in helping us promote it and/or do a story about adoption.  I mentioned that I have encountered a number of people touched by adoption since we announced to the community we were adopting; stories we probably would not have heard otherwise.

Today I got an email back from the editor and I was…
Blown away
Humbled
Embraced with God’s love

The editor told me that my email was uncanny as they were discussing on Thursday about doing a story about adoption.

[Cue the goose bumps]

I told my wife this and tears started to well up in her eyes.  She said, “Guess who was involved with that?”

GOD

…and Praise be to God!

Through out this process I have felt God’s gentle touch on my shoulder as we deal with preparations and decisions.  God continues to assure us that we are on the right path.  But more importantly, God continues to show us His faithfulness that leads us to glorify God.  Because you know, in the end, that is what matters; glorifying God.

My prayer now is that any story that is published, whether in the Pilot or not; or through our testimony, that people see God’s glory and run to God in worship.  I continue to pray for the child God has chosen for us.  I continue to pray for that birth mother and family.  And I pray that God may strengthen, encourage and guide us as we raise this child.  In all we do, may God be praised and glorified.

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Thank you, God, for your gentle touch this morning and for your continued messages of love through supernatural acts in our lives.  This was no coincidence but your hand was and is involved.  Thank you for the wonderful reminder. May you always be praised. Amen!

The pastor -|—

Ministering to children

/ The Pastor

Gracious God, I have just been struck with the awareness of the awesome responsibility that is looming; children coming to this church building to see you.  Twenty one 3 – 5th graders coming soon;  8 confirmation students later this afternoon and 40 some Wednesday Night Live students tonight.  God…bless everyone of those students that they may see you.  Bless the teachers that will be teaching those students.

Gracious God, I am thankful that you have placed me here in this place.  I am thankful that you have found me worthy to minister to these children.  I am thankful that you walk along side of me during these times.  May you be glorified in my words and actions.  Grant me patience and wisdom as I interact with these great kids.

So…here we go.  Let’s have some fun.

Amen!

The pastor -|—

You got to want it

/ The Pastor

I am working on a confirmation lesson plan about confession and as part of that lesson we are going to be reading Psalm 19.

[Pause here and go read that 15 verse Psalm.  Cue Jeopardy theme…]

Did you read it?  Seriously…did you read Psalm 19 and meditate on it?  I could make life easier for you and just include the text in this post, but part of me is feeling feisty today so no easy way out for you.  I want you to actually open your Bible to read the scripture text.  Online or on your smartphone is fine, just read the text.

O.K…I’m ready to move on…

I read Psalm 19 yesterday and started jotting down some teaching points for the class.  I wrote a couple questions that I want to ask.  I mulled over how the discussion might go.  I started anticipating some questions my students might ask.  But I got stuck on what the psalmist was doing.  Not stuck on how I want to teach this Psalm and the topic of confession, but I got stuck because of what it was saying to ME.

[Scripture has a funny way of doing that sometimes.]

In verses 1 – 6 I hear the psalmist saying how awesome God is.  When you look around you can’t help but see the majesty of God.  You can’t help but see the awesome power of God; written in the sky and in all of creation.  God is so worthy of our worship and praise.  And this I know, but when someone makes you stop and pay attention; it hits you…again.

In verses 7 – 11 I hear the psalmist singing the praises of God for how awesome His Law is.  God’s Law is right and just and perfect and trustworthy and radiant and pure and righteous and sure and…(I’m sure we could go on and on).  God’s Law is precious and worthy to be followed and obeyed.  And this I know, but once again it is being held up before my eyes as I see it anew.

Last but not least, the psalmist confesses his sins in verses 12-13.  And in verse 14 I am captured by these words: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” A statement pointing to the psalmist’s humility before God.

Wow…is this where I am at when I come before God confessing my sins?

If God is not awesome and worthy in your sight what motivation is there to confess anything.  Confession can’t be a checklist item.  It can’t be something done out of coercion.  Confession of sins needs to be a humbling and heartfelt act of worship before a holy and gracious God.  If it is anything less than that we are just fooling ourselves (and definitely not fooling God). Basically…you got to want it.

The power of God’s awesome forgiveness can only be known through a heartfelt sense of our unworthiness and  sinfulness.  Look around.  God is everywhere.  God’s glory is being proclaimed through creation.  Meditate on that. Meditate on the fact that you do not deserve forgiveness, but because of Jesus forgiveness is offered.

Wow…that is amazing! That is Good News!

So…have you read Psalm 19 yet?  Do it.  Confess for your sins.  And know God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ our risen Lord and Savior.

The pastor -|—

Legendary potluck

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I consider the potlucks at the churches I serve (Salem and Belmont) to be legendary, but Sunday’s meal was one for the record books…and for a reason you might not expect.

This past Sunday, freezing rain slowed SW MN down to a crawl. Actually…it was way too slippery to even crawl.  Sidewalks, roadways, gravel, everything was covered in a very slippery coating of ice and I have a bruise on my leg and an achy arm to show for it.  My 8 mile drive from Belmont (my country congregation) to Salem was driven at 25 mph, which at times felt very fast for the conditions.  Call me a dare devil if you want, but I had another worship service to lead that morning.

As I inched down the slippery road, in town, going to Salem, I darn near slid right by the parking lot at a whopping 5 mph.  After managing to will my 4×4 Jeep to turn left, I slowly got to my garage.  I then gingerly crept over to the church with my arms full and hoping I didn’t fall again.  Upon entering the secure footing of the inside of the church building, I hurried to get ready.  You see…it was also annual meeting Sunday and I began to wonder if we were even going to have it.  I found my council president and walked to the sanctuary with him to access the situation.  Very quickly we decided to postpone the meeting for 2 weeks.  But what about the food those few people brought for the potluck?

We decided that since we were here and that there was food, why not eat it (following worship of course).  The hot portion of the potluck consisted of a crock pot of BBQ wienies and some corn hotdish thingy.  There were also a few relishes, some homemade bread, a couple salads and a bunch of desserts.  Not the healthiest meal in the world but very yummy.

The “legendary” status of this meal came in the fact that we all gathered together, at three tables, and ate.  Not one person minded the skimpiness of the selection.  There was laughter, conversations, fellowship and safety from the treacherous conditions.  And it was very clear to see that great potlucks are not measured by the quantity of food available for plate heaping but rather the quality of the time that is spent together with the Body of Christ.

Don’t get me wrong…I love those potlucks that force me to strategize my eating (so much food; so little plate and stomach room), but Sunday’s potluck will be one I will not soon forget.  Quantity or not, we had a great time.

Praise be to God!

The pastor -|—

Afternoon thankfulness

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Loving God, I give you thanks for the “time out” I just had; for that quiet time with coffee and your Word.  Life as a pastor can be very busy at times but you are faithful to provide moments for me to get away. May I not take those for granted.

Loving God, I also ask that we may never be “too busy” to hear from you. May we, as your children, always seek you.  May we, as your beloved, desire your Word.  May we, as your redeemed, run to you. May we have the presence of mind to recognize that our need for you is greater than any over-sized calendar and to-do list. 

Gracious God, thank you for this day and we ask that you may bless our evening; bless our rest; bless our dreaming, that we may awake in the morning to tackle a new day.  But, of course, all this according to your gracious will. 

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Use us

/ The Pastor

A morning prayer as you prepare for your day.  May you know the blessings of God and wonders of his awesome love.  Let us pray…

Loving and gracious Father…you have given us a mighty task; to use our spiritual gifts for the common good.  But too often we are swayed by the world to promote ourselves therefore misusing those gifts.  Please grant us the faith to see what you have done for us so that we may do everything in our power to use what you have given us for the common good.  May we not be so selfish, conceited, arrogant or puffed up that we miss golden opportunities to advance the Gospel.  And…as we use our gifts, may you be glorified in all that we do and say.

Awesome God ~ I lift up to you this morning all who preach your Word.  May they be faithful to the Word and proclaim your promises through Jesus Christ with boldness and confidence. May those servants not conform to the world but be instruments that transform the world by the renewing of hearts and minds.

Faithful God ~ I also lift up to you all those who will hear your Word this morning.  Create faith where it is lacking; strengthen faith where it is weak; renew faith where it has grown stale.  May the power of your Word do its thing as it leads us out to advance the Gospel.

Oh God, you are an awesome God.  You saved us.  You remade us.  You gave us hope through Jesus Christ.  May you be glorified for you are worthy.  All praise, worship and honor be to you, Oh God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

The pastor -|—

Resources – My adoption story

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Just in case I haven’t communicated this yet:
The adoption process can be overwhelming.

Surprise, surprise, I know.  But it is only overwhelming if you attempt to do this alone.

As our adoption process moves along I am finding myself exploring a number of resources: websites and blogs.  I am also talking with others who have adopted.  Those conversations have proved to be extremely valuable and I will continue to seek people out.  Just yesterday I was speaking with a good friend/colleague/mentor about our adoption process.  He had gone through the adoption process a while back.  I was sharing some feelings I was (and was not) experiencing and listened to this wise man share what he went through.  I found a sense of peace come over me as I realized that I wasn’t abnormal; that my feelings were not necessarily wrong.  It was like God had ordained this conversation for that particular moment.  After I hung up the phone I prayed and thanked God for His faithfulness.

Wow…God is amazing.

The websites and blogs I have come across have also proved to be valuable.  I recently came across a blog from a family in our area who is adopting ~ for the third time.  I am thinking I will be in touch with them eventually.  Recently, my wife and I were given a website that contained a number of adoption fundraising ideas.  Some of them were so simple and brilliant.  Ideas, support, prayers, etc are out there…you just need to look and access them.

So as I come across some of these sites I am going to be adding them to my new blog roll on the right hand side of the screen called “Adoption”.  My hope is that people who stumble across my blog will find comfort, as I have, in knowing that they are not alone.  And…if you are reading this and are in the adoption process, please feel free to share your resources here.

God is so amazing.  I praise Him for those “little” moments when He reminds me of His presence.  I am thankful for the people He has brought in our lives.  And I hope that some day soon I can be a resource to someone going through this process; that God can use me to give someone what He has given me.

Praise be to God!

The pastor -|—