The past two weeks have been topsy-turvy for me. With the accident and all, my mind has not been too focused. This week I felt that I was geared up for the week. But there is a lot going on. There is a lot that has to be done. Now with the fact that we need to find a new vehicle, my mind is constantly thinking about that and what we should do. I havent had too much time to think about it, so I have talked to a lot of people. It is something we just werent planning on.
We got good news from insurance, but the bad news is, the second we settle with them, then we lose coverage for our rental vehicle. Which means that we have to figure out how to live again with one vehicle, or what we should do, we are not sure.
With that on my mind, I have tried to stay diligent and get my work finished. I was able to "finish" one sermon already yesterday. Which I thought was good. Now I turn to look at what I am going to preach on, I feel really torn. I began an series last week on "Life's Toughest Questions" found at the Calvin Institute for Christian worship. This weeks Question, "Why isnt life more fair?" As I began reading the "sermon notes" and the passage, I really began to feel torn.
What do I feel torn about? Well, this is a great question, that many people ask in their lifetime. I think it is one worth covering. But I wish I had more time to cover this question. I feel now there is a time crunch to get the sermon finished before Saturday, because I have to lead a candle light vigil for the family I did the funeral for a few weeks back. I would love to spend a lot of time on this sermon, but I feel I dont have that much time.
I feel torn because I would love to spend more time reflecting on this question, but dont have that much time. And I feel guilty with thinking that I shouldnt spend too much time on it if not that many people are there. Does the evening sermon deserve as much time as the morning sermon? Or should one focus more time on the morning, just because more people will be there? So, yeah, I feel torn. Instead of spending the time on it, I decide to waste time by blogging about it, ha ha ha!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Needing a clear mind
Last week I did not have to preach on Sunday, as there is 5 Sundays in August. Generally it is a great week to catch up with office work as well as some of my visits. Well, as my earlier posts shows, my week was kind of thrown for a loop. I am very thankful that everything is okay with Brenda and the baby. But wow, what a crazy week it was.
We had planned to go to Great Falls Montana to do some shopping for baby stuff. Everything is so much cheaper in the States, as well as no sales tax in Montana, what a sweet deal that is! We went down as planned and stayed by some friends in Conrad Montana. It was a great weekend. Saturday morning I golfed while Brenda shopped, good trade I thought! Then we met up and shopped some more! We got a lot of baby things.
Sunday we went to my friends church, which was a good experience. After lunch we headed home, taking the "scenic" route. We drove over to Glacier National park and drove the "Going to the Sun" road. That is an amazing road. You drive along the edge, and I mean edge of the mountain. It is so narrow that you could give other drivers a "high-five" as you drive past each other. It was pretty awesome.
But now as we are home, we have to get back to reality. I have one coat of paint in the "nursery" already yesterday. I can finish that today hopefully. We also have to wait ot hear from the insurance about our car. I have a feeling it will be totaled, but then we have to start the whole car shopping experience all over again. Do we get a minivan or car? Do we get used or new? So many things to think about.
I need to get my mind back into the sermon writing mode for this week. After last week it is a challenge. But, this weekend refreshed me and challenged me. It is good to see colleagues and how they preach in their "style." It was good to get away after all of what happened last week. But now, there is so much to do and only so little time. The baby is due in 6-8 weeks, crazy crazy!
We had planned to go to Great Falls Montana to do some shopping for baby stuff. Everything is so much cheaper in the States, as well as no sales tax in Montana, what a sweet deal that is! We went down as planned and stayed by some friends in Conrad Montana. It was a great weekend. Saturday morning I golfed while Brenda shopped, good trade I thought! Then we met up and shopped some more! We got a lot of baby things.
Sunday we went to my friends church, which was a good experience. After lunch we headed home, taking the "scenic" route. We drove over to Glacier National park and drove the "Going to the Sun" road. That is an amazing road. You drive along the edge, and I mean edge of the mountain. It is so narrow that you could give other drivers a "high-five" as you drive past each other. It was pretty awesome.
But now as we are home, we have to get back to reality. I have one coat of paint in the "nursery" already yesterday. I can finish that today hopefully. We also have to wait ot hear from the insurance about our car. I have a feeling it will be totaled, but then we have to start the whole car shopping experience all over again. Do we get a minivan or car? Do we get used or new? So many things to think about.
I need to get my mind back into the sermon writing mode for this week. After last week it is a challenge. But, this weekend refreshed me and challenged me. It is good to see colleagues and how they preach in their "style." It was good to get away after all of what happened last week. But now, there is so much to do and only so little time. The baby is due in 6-8 weeks, crazy crazy!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Brenda's Accident
Yesterday morning was quite an eventful morning to say the least. Brenda had said goodbye and that she was going to go to work. I was going to sleep for another 20-30 minutes. About 10 minutes later the phone rang and she was all upset saying I needed to come get her, she had been in an accident.
She didnt see a van stopping to make a left turn down our highway. We waited until the fire department came and they said we should go in immediately since she is 31-32 weeks pregnant. We went to the Emergency and they sent us right away to Labor and delivery and did a stress test I think they called it on her and the baby. Everything seemed fine, so they called her doctor. He wanted to keep her there for a few hours to observe her and do another test. So we went back down to emergency, they checked out her knee which she had banged up and there was no crack or anything, so that was good. We went back upstairs and they did another stress test and they said that was good as well. So we were allowed to go home.
This morning we went back to the Doctor and he said it seems like everything is fine. We are very greatful that she is okay and the baby is okay and the other driver is okay.
One of the joys of living in a small community, is the fact that the people on scene soon after were all people we know from church or from the area and they all stopped to help out. By the time I got there, there were like 4-5 people from church and area helping her out. We were really greatful for this as well. Except the other side, everyone knows! So, I am thinking of putting an announcement in the bulletin to let everyone know she is okay since we dont have to be in our church this Sunday. Anyway, she is good, tired and sore, but good for the most part. We praise God that he was watching over her.
P.S - The car on the other hand, we are waiting to hear from insurance, but I have a feeling it will be totaled. We shall see. But these things are very minor considering she is okay!
She didnt see a van stopping to make a left turn down our highway. We waited until the fire department came and they said we should go in immediately since she is 31-32 weeks pregnant. We went to the Emergency and they sent us right away to Labor and delivery and did a stress test I think they called it on her and the baby. Everything seemed fine, so they called her doctor. He wanted to keep her there for a few hours to observe her and do another test. So we went back down to emergency, they checked out her knee which she had banged up and there was no crack or anything, so that was good. We went back upstairs and they did another stress test and they said that was good as well. So we were allowed to go home.
This morning we went back to the Doctor and he said it seems like everything is fine. We are very greatful that she is okay and the baby is okay and the other driver is okay.
One of the joys of living in a small community, is the fact that the people on scene soon after were all people we know from church or from the area and they all stopped to help out. By the time I got there, there were like 4-5 people from church and area helping her out. We were really greatful for this as well. Except the other side, everyone knows! So, I am thinking of putting an announcement in the bulletin to let everyone know she is okay since we dont have to be in our church this Sunday. Anyway, she is good, tired and sore, but good for the most part. We praise God that he was watching over her.
P.S - The car on the other hand, we are waiting to hear from insurance, but I have a feeling it will be totaled. We shall see. But these things are very minor considering she is okay!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Lost in Thought
Every day I take my dog out for a walk. Generally it is a mile. A half mile to the neighbors, and then back. (For my Canadian friends, I talk miles b/c in the country that is how the roads and markings are laid out. Ha ha) A lot of times I find that I while I am on the walk it is just nice to be outside and looking around at the scenery. Other times I use this time to think more about the sermon I am working on.
Yesterday I was out with the dog and we were getting close to home. I was at a point in the day where I was about to sit down and write my sermon. Now some people do this differently. Some people write a little each day and then pull it together on one day. I have found that for myself, It takes me some time to get to the point of writing the sermon, but when I finally get to that point, it doesn't take me that long to actually type it up on my computer. Anyway, yesterday I was close to writing it when I took the dog out. See, she will sleep after our walk, so I could get some good work in. As we were getting close to home I was in a sort of daze. I was so focused on thinking about the sermon, the walking down the road was just instinct. I really don't remember certain parts of the walk. Just walking and looking at the road ahead. The only reason I came to this realization was my dog decided to bark at something. Which is unusual for her to do on our walks. When she did this, it sort of snapped me out of my daze to realize we were almost home.
I just find this interesting. I find it interesting because I never really viewed myself as a person who would get so deep in thought that you forget your surroundings. Granted it was a beautiful day so I wasn't thinking about nasty weather or anything. I love the fact that I can go on one of these walks and think about my sermon. I can get lost in thinking about God's word and how to apply it to the congregation. It was an interesting experience.
Yesterday I was out with the dog and we were getting close to home. I was at a point in the day where I was about to sit down and write my sermon. Now some people do this differently. Some people write a little each day and then pull it together on one day. I have found that for myself, It takes me some time to get to the point of writing the sermon, but when I finally get to that point, it doesn't take me that long to actually type it up on my computer. Anyway, yesterday I was close to writing it when I took the dog out. See, she will sleep after our walk, so I could get some good work in. As we were getting close to home I was in a sort of daze. I was so focused on thinking about the sermon, the walking down the road was just instinct. I really don't remember certain parts of the walk. Just walking and looking at the road ahead. The only reason I came to this realization was my dog decided to bark at something. Which is unusual for her to do on our walks. When she did this, it sort of snapped me out of my daze to realize we were almost home.
I just find this interesting. I find it interesting because I never really viewed myself as a person who would get so deep in thought that you forget your surroundings. Granted it was a beautiful day so I wasn't thinking about nasty weather or anything. I love the fact that I can go on one of these walks and think about my sermon. I can get lost in thinking about God's word and how to apply it to the congregation. It was an interesting experience.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Things they didnt teach in Seminary
In the past week, I have discovered that there are a couple of things that they really don't teach in Seminary. And I mean, these aren't the things that you would expect like: How do you do a wedding? How do you do a funeral? Things like that. Those are the obvious ones. Not to mention some other difficult ones that arise in different situations.
I have had two very interesting things happen in the last week that I never thought I would have been doing. The first one occurred last week. It was a wet week as it was raining a bit here. My dog needed to be let out, so I took her up the stairs to where we normally let her out. As I get to the kitchen I look out the sliding door and I see a cow in the backyard. They never told me in Seminary that if you are a pastor of a country church, you might need to know how to get cows out of your yard!
The second thing just happened last night. At about 10 PM the phone rang. When the phone rings late at night, or early in the morning my first thought is, what happened? As my wife picked up the phone I heard someone who was rather frantic on the other end of the line. But, my wife's reaction wasn't that excited so, I figured it couldn't be that bad. Basically, someone had a bat in their house and needed my help to catch it and throw it out of the house. Again, another thing they did not teach me in Seminary.
I have learned a lot of things since moving to the country. Growing up in the suburbs of Los Angeles you think you see a lot. But man, my upbringing did not prepare me for some of these things!
I have had two very interesting things happen in the last week that I never thought I would have been doing. The first one occurred last week. It was a wet week as it was raining a bit here. My dog needed to be let out, so I took her up the stairs to where we normally let her out. As I get to the kitchen I look out the sliding door and I see a cow in the backyard. They never told me in Seminary that if you are a pastor of a country church, you might need to know how to get cows out of your yard!
The second thing just happened last night. At about 10 PM the phone rang. When the phone rings late at night, or early in the morning my first thought is, what happened? As my wife picked up the phone I heard someone who was rather frantic on the other end of the line. But, my wife's reaction wasn't that excited so, I figured it couldn't be that bad. Basically, someone had a bat in their house and needed my help to catch it and throw it out of the house. Again, another thing they did not teach me in Seminary.
I have learned a lot of things since moving to the country. Growing up in the suburbs of Los Angeles you think you see a lot. But man, my upbringing did not prepare me for some of these things!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Frustration
For those who read my blog, (I dont know how many actually do, but I know there are some faithful ones) you would know that I try not to complain on here much. I have learned from other peoples mistakes in this area. I learned that some people think that this is a forum just to complain about anything and everything, and think there will be no repercussions from it. This is not a private thing, but a very public forum. So as much as sometimes I want to complain, or whine about something, I feel this is not the correct avenue to do so.
With that being said, I don't want this to sound like a complaining session, but a some things frustrations I have felt and I want to try to learn from them. The only reason I am writing about this is because someone was very public in their complaints last night in our evening service.
I don't know if I have mentioned it before or not, but our evening service attendance is not the greatest on good weeks. I try to keep a very positive attitude about this even when others are negative about this. I try to remind myself of what an elder has said, "Those who are there want to be there. You aren't preaching for those who aren't there. You are preaching to those who want to be there." I try to keep this positive mindset as I prepare each week.
The last two weeks have been especially bad for attendance as far as numbers go. At least in my opinion. The reason I talk about it now, is because of what someone said very publicly last night. As I usually do, I was taking prayer requests and someone said, "What do we do to get more people to night church?" in a very stern tone of voice. First of all, how do I respond to this? ha ha ha. Secondly, this is a good question.
At what point should we evaluate/re-evaluate the second service? There are times, and last week I felt was one of them, where I feel really guilty about not making visits, but I needed to get my two sermons done for the week. There are other times, when it comes really easy and I get more visits in. I am saying this, and I feel I am in a great church that really is not a high demanding church on its minister.
I guess what I really am interested in is knowing why people don't come to the second service. Even when I did things differently and lead a bible study/discussion rather than a sermon, it really didnt impact numbers much at all. I am curious to know why people dont come. Is it because we are too busy? If that is the case, what are we too busy with? What causes us to be too busy? Is it the time of the service? Talking with an elder once before he said we have tried all of that before and nothing has ever changed. A question I have in my mind is, how does this affect us spiritually? Are people coming to the second service out of a sense of "I have to be there" because this is what we have always done? Or is it they want to be there to hear God's word again?
Is there a way to really get at the heart of some of these questions? Is there a way that we can find out what is keeping people away? Or is it something that people just dont want to talk about. Do people not want to say why they dont come to church because they feel guilty for not going? If we changed the service to gear it towards their "desires" will that really get them to come regularly?
As I said, I dont like complaining, and I hope this doesnt sound too much like complaining. It was just made more fresh since last night, and these are things that I wonder about. If anyone has any thoughts on this issue, I would love to hear them. Thanks
With that being said, I don't want this to sound like a complaining session, but a some things frustrations I have felt and I want to try to learn from them. The only reason I am writing about this is because someone was very public in their complaints last night in our evening service.
I don't know if I have mentioned it before or not, but our evening service attendance is not the greatest on good weeks. I try to keep a very positive attitude about this even when others are negative about this. I try to remind myself of what an elder has said, "Those who are there want to be there. You aren't preaching for those who aren't there. You are preaching to those who want to be there." I try to keep this positive mindset as I prepare each week.
The last two weeks have been especially bad for attendance as far as numbers go. At least in my opinion. The reason I talk about it now, is because of what someone said very publicly last night. As I usually do, I was taking prayer requests and someone said, "What do we do to get more people to night church?" in a very stern tone of voice. First of all, how do I respond to this? ha ha ha. Secondly, this is a good question.
At what point should we evaluate/re-evaluate the second service? There are times, and last week I felt was one of them, where I feel really guilty about not making visits, but I needed to get my two sermons done for the week. There are other times, when it comes really easy and I get more visits in. I am saying this, and I feel I am in a great church that really is not a high demanding church on its minister.
I guess what I really am interested in is knowing why people don't come to the second service. Even when I did things differently and lead a bible study/discussion rather than a sermon, it really didnt impact numbers much at all. I am curious to know why people dont come. Is it because we are too busy? If that is the case, what are we too busy with? What causes us to be too busy? Is it the time of the service? Talking with an elder once before he said we have tried all of that before and nothing has ever changed. A question I have in my mind is, how does this affect us spiritually? Are people coming to the second service out of a sense of "I have to be there" because this is what we have always done? Or is it they want to be there to hear God's word again?
Is there a way to really get at the heart of some of these questions? Is there a way that we can find out what is keeping people away? Or is it something that people just dont want to talk about. Do people not want to say why they dont come to church because they feel guilty for not going? If we changed the service to gear it towards their "desires" will that really get them to come regularly?
As I said, I dont like complaining, and I hope this doesnt sound too much like complaining. It was just made more fresh since last night, and these are things that I wonder about. If anyone has any thoughts on this issue, I would love to hear them. Thanks
Thursday, August 6, 2009
August Long Weekend
This past weekend was the Civic Holiday in Canada. Basically an excuse to have a day off of work, as far as I can understand it! We were invited by some people from church to join them in camping in Kananaskis Provincial Park. I had been through Kananaskis a few weeks before on our way home from Banff, as well as in 1996 with the Cadets camping there. It is truly a beautiful place to be!
On Saturday a group of us went on a long hike. It was 4.5 km's long, which, doesnt sound that bad. Until most of it is up the mountain. As I have been thinking about the hike it made me think of a saying we had to say during basketball in High School. It is a saying I guess made famous by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Coach John Wooden probably made use of it as well. But our coach made us say it time and time again: "Life is a journey, not a destination." On our hike, we had a destination in mind. We wanted to get to the lakes. But we first had to climb this mountain and go over the peak to get to the lakes. Along the way it was a challenge. One of the guys along the way was a great encourager. Affectionately known as T-Roy he encouraged us along the way. (He is by the way an amazing speed walker! Cant wait for the video to hit facebook...)
Thinking about encouragement along the way, it made me think of our life's journey. Often times along the way we need people to encourage us in our walk. In my own life there have been a lot of people that I can think of that have encouraged me. I think we dont realize how important it is to encourage one another, especially if you are going through a challenging time. Think about this and try to encourage each other on our journey of life together.
On Saturday a group of us went on a long hike. It was 4.5 km's long, which, doesnt sound that bad. Until most of it is up the mountain. As I have been thinking about the hike it made me think of a saying we had to say during basketball in High School. It is a saying I guess made famous by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Coach John Wooden probably made use of it as well. But our coach made us say it time and time again: "Life is a journey, not a destination." On our hike, we had a destination in mind. We wanted to get to the lakes. But we first had to climb this mountain and go over the peak to get to the lakes. Along the way it was a challenge. One of the guys along the way was a great encourager. Affectionately known as T-Roy he encouraged us along the way. (He is by the way an amazing speed walker! Cant wait for the video to hit facebook...)
Thinking about encouragement along the way, it made me think of our life's journey. Often times along the way we need people to encourage us in our walk. In my own life there have been a lot of people that I can think of that have encouraged me. I think we dont realize how important it is to encourage one another, especially if you are going through a challenging time. Think about this and try to encourage each other on our journey of life together.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)