The roof trusses and decking went on our new building this week. The steel frame for the walking track is being erected right now. The electricians and HVAC folks are busy creating a tangled mess of conduit and duct. The brick is being laid from daylight to dark. (Which by the way gets longer beginning Sunday.)
To borrow from a song, it's beginning to look a lot like a building. OK, quit laughing.
As I walked through it this afternoon taking pictures and making people nervous because the site was recently visited by OSHA, I could begin to see ministry happening. Prior to today it has all been images in my head, now it is beginning to be images on a floor, in a room, around a table. I can see lives being changed. I can see hurting people be helped with meals, a warm room, a place to connect their brokenness. I can see fun and frolic. I can see the church gathered enjoying real koinonia. When we broke ground, the vision started becoming reality. And now its beginning to have a heartbeat.
It's cool. It's faith. It's blessing.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Bachelor
I have to admit, I watched the last hour of The Bachelor last night and then the after the rose hour. Actually I watched while carrying on three conversations on Facebook and one with Lori.
If you watched, you know that Jason picked Melissa, then decided they weren't right for each other, and now has asked Molly to reconsider their relationship. Are you surprised? Even mad?
A thought. I am amazed at how the women cannot understand the decisions Jason makes and they cry and cry and cuss and cuss. Melissa just couldn't understand how Jason decided the "feeling" wasn't there and that he may be in love with Molly after all. Don't forget this is a game. It is a game played to narrow a large group of potential spouses, in this case ladies, down to one in a very short period of time. And these two are supposedly to marry and spend the rest of their lives together. It is a game and everyone knows the rules from day one. Someone wins. Someone loses. A game.
And its reality TV. The problem is that reality TV is the farthest thing from reality there is. This is make believe. And in make believe, you play games.
Did God design marriage to be a game? I don't think so. I believe God designed the marriage covenant to be the result of a relationship built on love, not a game played which manufactures love. You cannot manufacture a relationship that is to last a lifetime. It has to be nurtured and built. Definitely not a game where you literally pick and choose over several one night, or one weekend, stands. Relationships are ruined by playing silly games. Godly relationships which result in a covenant of marriage are developed as two people learn each other and grow together in love.
I'm not surprised at all that the Bachelor is in a mess. It was designed to fail.
If you watched, you know that Jason picked Melissa, then decided they weren't right for each other, and now has asked Molly to reconsider their relationship. Are you surprised? Even mad?
A thought. I am amazed at how the women cannot understand the decisions Jason makes and they cry and cry and cuss and cuss. Melissa just couldn't understand how Jason decided the "feeling" wasn't there and that he may be in love with Molly after all. Don't forget this is a game. It is a game played to narrow a large group of potential spouses, in this case ladies, down to one in a very short period of time. And these two are supposedly to marry and spend the rest of their lives together. It is a game and everyone knows the rules from day one. Someone wins. Someone loses. A game.
And its reality TV. The problem is that reality TV is the farthest thing from reality there is. This is make believe. And in make believe, you play games.
Did God design marriage to be a game? I don't think so. I believe God designed the marriage covenant to be the result of a relationship built on love, not a game played which manufactures love. You cannot manufacture a relationship that is to last a lifetime. It has to be nurtured and built. Definitely not a game where you literally pick and choose over several one night, or one weekend, stands. Relationships are ruined by playing silly games. Godly relationships which result in a covenant of marriage are developed as two people learn each other and grow together in love.
I'm not surprised at all that the Bachelor is in a mess. It was designed to fail.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday Snow
Sunday, March 1, 2009, pm
Snow on Saturday night or Sunday morning is both a blessing and a curse. It is blessing for its simplicity, its beauty. And the kids love it. And adults. It is a curse because it creates havoc with worship services. Do we, don't we? Safe, unsafe? Phone ringing. Text messages firing off. My cell phone was just blowing up. We decided to have both services as usual, just asking people to be careful as they drive. We made all the necessary adjustments.
I told the small, intimate gathering at both services that we are promised that where two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be there also. What a wonderful promise. Its matters not if there are five, fifty, or five hundred, HE will be there. And if He is there, He has a gift for each one. Worship is an encounter with God that transforms our heart and life and will happen no matter the number.
My first reflections on my newly created blog.
Snow on Saturday night or Sunday morning is both a blessing and a curse. It is blessing for its simplicity, its beauty. And the kids love it. And adults. It is a curse because it creates havoc with worship services. Do we, don't we? Safe, unsafe? Phone ringing. Text messages firing off. My cell phone was just blowing up. We decided to have both services as usual, just asking people to be careful as they drive. We made all the necessary adjustments.
I told the small, intimate gathering at both services that we are promised that where two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be there also. What a wonderful promise. Its matters not if there are five, fifty, or five hundred, HE will be there. And if He is there, He has a gift for each one. Worship is an encounter with God that transforms our heart and life and will happen no matter the number.
My first reflections on my newly created blog.
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