If you’re one of the few people who have watched the hype about iPhones going on sale today and wondered what all the fuss was about, you’ll have no idea why I’ve been reading about them and figured it would be great to have one.
Of course I have neither the cash or the inclination to spend that much on a phone cum ipod cum computer cum back scratcher cum mobile coffee maker.
My friend John Laeger from Minnesota put the whole issue into perspective on his blog today –
I think anyone who spends $500.00 on a phone needs to have their head examined.
Now…if you have no consumer debt, you are tithing a full 10%, the church is financially solid, your wife has had her fill of weekends away with just the two of you, your kids are tired of going to Valleyfair or Mall of America, your teen doesn’t want that CD player for their car or DVD player for their room (I know, how foolish of me to think of spending $500 on a teen just so they can have some electronic gadget in their room which would take them away from family time)…AND you have asked two or three close friends (who aren’t afraid to be totally honest with you) if you should spend $500 on a phone and they say, “You bet. THAT is a great way to spend $500! Your life will be much better because of it!”
Then go ahead.
Is it my age, or have the past three months flown by? (Hint: Choosing the latter is the polite way to go).
Seems like it was only a few weeks ago that we had out last Celebration Sunday, but here we are all ready to go again with our quarterly celebration of baptism and communion.
I love baptisms. They are an open testimony to lives that have been changed by the grace of God, of people who have come to faith in Jesus and received the gift of eternal life. They are the ongoing evidence of the fact we’re not just talking about reaching the lost, but it is happening.
Every church in creation will tell you their goal is to see people come to Christ, but sadly very few position themselves for that to become a reality and in all too many churches they haven’t seen a real conversion in living memory.
Truth is, if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got. But if you create an environment where the unchurched are welcome and communicate the good news in a way they can understand, the gospel really does still work – very effectively.
So Sunday we’ll hear testimonies of changed lives – that’s something to celebrate!
Yes, I did do it!
After allowing myself an easy day yesterday, I hit the gym with a vengeance this morning and did my 6 miles run in less than 50 minutes for the first time – 49 minutes 28 seconds.
That cut more than two minutes off Wednesday’s time, so I think I’ll remain content with it for a while!!!
Just got home from the celebration for the life of Sister Elaine. Kudos to her family, they sure know how to throw a party. It beat the heck out of the usual morbid funeral home event.
Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of tears, but there was laughter too and to my mind the whole evening formed a fitting tribute to an outstanding woman.
Of course Sister Elaine wasn’t there – she’s in heaven having a blast and probably still recovering from being blown away by the reception she got from Jesus. There wasn’t even a coffin, as in dying she continued the pattern of giving that she exemplified in life, by donating every part of the body she no longer needed that could be of use to someone else.
There were a few words that have stuck in my mind from the tributes offered tonight -
NAIVE – That word was used in the most positive way possible, describing the fact that her faith was uncomplicated and she was undeterred by the apparent impossibility of any situation. She seldom saw danger either as she went into some high-risk situations. She dared, she ventured, she succeeded and her example reminds us that simple faith reaps dividends.
PIONEER – She certainly was that, taking on the plight of the poor and homeless on Long Island and giving it such a profile that even politicians courted her to see how they could help. Some of them were there tonight too – as was local TV.
PASSION – Her pastor, Dennis Evenson, spoke about the fact she was driven by a passion to take Jesus to those who really needed him. He talked about how the whole concept of ministering to the poor had been birthed in Sister Elaine’s heart when she was a member of his congregation and how it consumed her.
So that’s it – a naive pioneer with passion.
After spending some time listening to her, you either concluded she was nuts or you got pumped yourself. That was why I loved being with her, her faith was infectious – I want to be a naive pioneer with passion too!
The more observant of my readers may have worked out that this picture was taken in Sam’s Club, but what was I up to???
Studying my shopping list in disbelief?
Preaching a sermon to an audience of one?
Having a modest wardrobe malfunction (look at the back of the shirt!)?
Looking over my notes for Sunday?
Sorry, it’s none of the above!
This morning I was invited to address Medford Chamber of Commerce on the subject of Helping Those In Need in Medford. The meeting was being hosted by Sam’s Club, who also provided an excellent breakfast – it started at 8.00.
I have been part of the Chamber for several years now and have got to know a lot of local business people, so this morning provided an excellent opportunity to share about needs that exist in the town and to encourage these good folks to continue to have an open ear to hear where they can reach out to those less fortunate than themselves.
I shared quite a few stories from our own Grace Care outreaches and spotted a few tears around the place as I talked about the way God has enabled us to get alongside people that are hurting.
I like Medford – and the Chamber of Commerce has some great folks in it.
There’s less than three months to go before this year’s Cow Harbor Race and I’m starting to give some serious thought to how I can shave some minutes off my time for last year’s 10K run.
I started this morning by simply pushing myself a bit harder. Running 6 miles in the gym (that’s marginally less than 6.2 miles, which is what 10K represents in English), I managed to shave a good three minutes off my personal best there, coming in at 51 minutes and change.
I’ll go a bit lighter tomorrow and then try to get into the 50 minutes realm on Friday.
I think sometimes we’re just too nice to ourselves. It’s amazing what we can accomplish if we just try that little bit harder!
Elaine Bohrer went home to be with Jesus just after 3.00am today, slightly more than a week after she collapsed into a coma in the E.R. at Good Samaritan Hospital with bleeding in the brain.
Sister Elaine, as she is universally known, was a remarkable woman. Founding the Lighthouse Mission in Patchogue by handing out a few sandwiches to the poor, she developed it into a thriving ministry that reaches out to thousands of people all over the Island every week.
I loved her enthusiasm, her faith and her passion for those that are hurting. I loved that she took on projects that were way too big for her and actually accomplished them, with God’s help. She was a refreshing change from so many Christian leaders who seem to live their lives trying desperately to maintain the status quo. For Sister Elaine there were always new projects, fresh adventures, opportunities to see God do the miraculous.
She was a great encouragement and example.
Today heaven is richer and so are those of us who had the privilege of knowing Sister Elaine.
Barely slept this past two nights as the dog has been very unsettled. I’m barely functioning at the moment, so here’s another email about yesterday -
So you have to tell the worship band that we ALL are diggin the tunes these days….oh and you’re not so bad yourself.
I’m tired, so instead of giving you my accumulated wisdom about today, here are two emails I have got following this morning.
I attended your church for the 1st time today. It was awesome.
And there is this one too -
About today, WOW!!!!!! Thanks for the inspiration.
That gives you a little insight!
Paul McCartney’s latest solo album Memory Almost Full is probably pretty unmemorable in musical terms (I say probably because let’s face it, I’m not a musician by any stretch of the imagination).
It sounds like something he and a couple of friends put together one night in his basement in Liverpool when they had nothing better to do and the Guinness had run out. But then I guess forty plus years after he and John Lennon hit the top of the charts with She Loves You, the maestro could be singing nursery rhymes off-key and he’d still sell a million.
Having said all that, I reckon there’s a gem among all the mediocrity on this album. It’s called The End Of The End. I don’t know if Sir Paul has been contemplating his own mortality or what, but if attending my funeral is in your plans for the (distant) future, please be sure someone at some point plays this song.
Here’s what it says -
At the end of the end
It’s the start of a journey
To a much better place
And this wasn’t bad
So a much better place
Would have to be special
No need to be sad
On the day that I die
I’d like jokes to be told
And stories of old to be rolled out like carpets
That children have played on
And laid on while listening to stories of old
At the end of the end
It’s the start of a journey
To a much better place
And a much better place
Would have to be special
No reason to cry
On the day that I die
I’d like bells to be rung
And songs that were sung to be hung out like blankets
That lovers have played on
And laid on while listening to songs that were sung
At the end of the end
It’s the start of a journey
To a much better place
And a much better place
Would have to be special
No reason to cry
No need to be sad
At the end of the end
