Thanks Jen for inviting us to this year’s Summerfest at Hill Country Bible Church! It was so much fun, especially being with the boys. The band was so AWESOME!

Fantastic band at Summerfest!

The the boys loved seeing the fire truck and “life flight” helicopter. They also played some miniature golf and bounced in the bouncey things.

James loved this bouncey thing!

We are looking forward to Summerfest next year. The band was super-great and the food was good and cheap, feeding all of us for under $10. Thanks again Jen for asking us to come!!

Deb

“TOO HOT TO HOOT”  What an understatement! Yesterday, our little outdoor thermometer on the north (shady) side of the house registered a record high of 111.9!!!  OMG! I was speechless when Frank told me how hot it got. I have to water the potted plants every single morning now. And speaking of mornings, that is the best time for being outside. I love to sit on the back patio and enjoy the cool breeze and watch the birds and dogs.

Frank’s got me going to the gym again. I’m glad. It’s a new facility and very nice. Most of the equipment is new and the treadmills have televisions built in so I can watch “Food Network” while I burn fat!

Janice did something monumental today, SHE TOOK THE DAY OFF!  She’s worked at RABC for almost 8 years and I believe this is the first time she’s taken a day off to enjoy being with her family. Heidi came in from NC with grandson Ben and they are going to Cameron Park Zoo today! Way to go Janice!

Grandson James will be turning 4 on Sunday and he’s growing so fast that it won’t been too long and he’ll be 14!! (just kidding, Jen). I hope James and his brothers (and parents too) have a fun-filled time at Great Wolf Lodge.  I know David has been working hard at Cedar Park Middle School and we thought this mini-vacation would be a good thing for James and the whole family! Take lots of photos Jen!

Rhapsody in Juneau

Radiance of the Seas in Hoonah, AK, July 2008

I’m so excited for Michele & Jay and Grant, going to Seattle on Thursday to embark on their first Alaska Cruise onboard Rhapsody of the Seas! I know you will love it!!!  I pray your packing and travels are smooth. Frank and I loved Alaska and yes, WE HAVE CRUISE ENVY!!

That’s all the ramblings for today.  Debbie

What a wonderful OES Chapter meeting we had Thursday night!  We arrived about 45 minutes before the meeting was to start, and almost immediately, guests started arriving, including one of the Past Grand Matrons of Texas, Betty Friend.

Then one by one, three more Deputy Grand Matrons showed up (Judy Lunsford, Section 5; Gelene Johnson, Section 6; Helen Thornton, Section 8),plus the Worthy Matrons and Worthy Patrons and friends of our section!  The place was fairly well packed!  During “For the Good of the Order”, Ann Kelly got up and brought Debbie up to the podium. She proceeded to review Debbie’s year as Deputy Grand Matron, and her co-workers each had wonderful things to say about her.

Unfortunately, no one had told me – it was a complete secret – so I did not have the camera with me that night. We thought it would be a normal business meeting.  I did know this was her last chapter meeting as Deputy Grand Matron, so I presented her with a bouquet of 6 red roses.

Debbie was honored and speechless – well she thanked everyone for their help, saying she could not have done any of it without all the rest of them…. but it was a very lovely gesture by our Chapter, and all her friends in Eastern Star.

I think Isaac (deployed on his 3rd tour in Iraq) says it all:

Okay, I need to rant.

I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson.  As we all know, Jackson died the other day.  He was an entertainer who performed for decades.  He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many people.  I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn’t the point of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief.  When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to hold a “moment of silence” for his passing?

Am I missing something here?  ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he’s a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades?  What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom?  All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America.  Where is their moment of silence?  Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice?  Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying “good riddance,” and “thank God for IEDs?”  When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a “Pop Icon?”

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them.  But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice.  After all, we will never make millions of dollars.  We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too.  We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it.  Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military;

“So that others may live…”

Isaac

Thanks to our computer wizard son, Jerry, we have a new blog page! I have moved my blog from EasyJournal dotcom due to unresolved problems with their RSS feed. This is much more personalized and flexible….

Thanks, again, Jerry!

This morning’s Bible reading was the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5-7.

I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. The author builds his premise on a foundation of knowing the real God of the Universe, and just how BIG and POWERFUL and WONDERFUL He is. He puts our puny human existence in stark contrast to that huge image of God, then sets about the task of explaining what it is God wants of us.

In short, he takes the teachings of Jesus quite literally when He says to love your enemies, care for the poor, take up your cross daily…

So, I started reading Jesus’ teachings with this new perspective, not wanting the watered-down version that has been spoon fed from American churches my entire life. I figured the best place to start would be at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Sermon on the Mount.

I was absorbing these teachings in a deeper way until I got to Chapter 6, verses 14 & 15. Jesus had just taught them how to pray, and had recited the so-called “Lord’s Prayer”. Then He says: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Ouch. It’s not just some nice words expressing a philosophic sentiment – He MEANS IT! To forgive those who wrong you is counter to everything that is human. It takes a divine nature to be able to forgive. Indeed, it takes God within you to be able to forgive.

Bill Gothard said that unwillingness to forgive will plant a seed of bitterness in you that eventually destroys your unforgiving heart. In other words, one of the chief reasons to forgive someone is to protect the health of your own heart – not just for the other person.

Howard Hendricks taught that forgiveness is not based on the worth of the recipient, but on the character of the giver. God’s forgiveness of our sins is not based on our own merit, as if we deserved to be forgiven. The opposite is true… if we merited forgiveness, there would be nothing to forgive! No, God’s forgiveness of our sins is based on His love for us, His mercy and compassion. That is what Jesus is telling us to do. Forgive them specifically because they don’t deserve it. “THAT’S CRAZY” you say? That is exactly right (from a human perspective), and the whole message behind the “Crazy Love” book.

Pauls writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 1: “18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”

So, do I think forgiveness is foolishness (which puts me in direct opposition to God) or do I submit to God’s authority, swallow my pride and hurt feelings, and in faith – forgive those who wrong me? I believe this is one of the toughest steps in our growth toward “Christ-like-ness” as Christians.

May God strenghten us to be able to forgive others, and in so doing, cure us of any bitterness and resentment in our lives.

Haole Boy

Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

and Psalm 139: 15 & 16 says: ” My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Wow. Makes me wonder what good works were prepared for me to do. That makes me wonder what good works have I missed already. These verses make me more sensitive to what God has ordained for my life, and how badly I have ignored his leading. So I wonder what good works I am supposed to do today, tomorrow, this year!?!

Reminds me of Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Let us be sensitive to the Holy Spirit within us, prompting us to do the good works prepared in advance for us to do.

Haole Boy

Sprinkled throughout some of my earlier posts, you may detect a common thread: the dysfunctional Body of Christ (aka the Church).  I have had a long-running angst over how poorly the church (I am speaking of the totality of Christians alive today) functions. Here we are some 2000 years after Jesus, and what a mess we have made of things!

We have multiple protestant denominations, each with their own spin or emphasis. Even within a denomination, there are multiple factions that can’t agree on one thing or another.  Within many communities, there exists an association of pastors called the “ministerial alliance”, or some similar term.  The idea is for the churches to get together and figure out how to better serve their community.  It’s a great idea, focusing each congregation on certain ministries and cooperating on community-wide projects.  Problem is, several churches refuse to participate because the other churches are “wrong” in this doctrine or that.  AARRGGHHH!!!!

It’s no wonder Christians repel more folks than they draw in.

I have long said that there should be a short list of crucial elements to a true Christian faith. Each element is absolutely necessary to establishing a Christian faith. Those topics that are debatable are not crucial elements. The ones I’m talking about would destroy the core of the Christian gospel if not true.

Our early church fathers (I mean really early – as in 1st and 2nd century) established these elements to teach new Christians, and to correct false teachings. The Apostles Creed established the short list of crucial elements to the Christian faith. Each phrase is specifically written to counter a false teaching that undermined the truth of the gospel message. BTW, it is named not because the Apostles wrote it, but to summarize the key teaching points of the Apostles.

I wish all churches who can agree to the Apostles Creed would unite and organize into a true Body of Christ. Then learn to “agree to disagree” on the lesser points. Here are the essential elements all true Christians should agree on:

“I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended in hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

A couple of notes concerning the somewhat archaic language: “hell” refers to the New Testament Greek word “Gehenna”, not “Sheol”.   “Quick” means living, not fast.  And “catholic” simply means “all-inclusive”, and should not be confused with “Roman Catholic”.

Wouldn’t the world be much better off if all the Christians united in ministry and service? The Creed would be a great rallying point for such a movement.

Haole Boy

…chose only to see the world through the eyes of people?  What would he see? Perhaps with all the vile, perverse, and degenerate people there are – perhaps that would be too depressing to Him. No wonder He wanted to wipe mankind off the face of the earth in the flood, and torch Sodom and Gomorrah.

No, rather, what if God chose only to see the world through the eyes of those who claim to believe in Him?  Would it really be all that different from the first point of view? Would He see acts of kindness, forbearance, and mercy?  Sure He would. But those might be few and far between, hard to cull from the more prevalent self-centered views we would tend to give Him.

If I were to explore the analogy of the church being the body of Christ, what types of folks would be the eyes, or ears, or feet of Christ?  I suppose those with great “vision” would likely be the eyes of the Lord. I did a search for the “eyes of the Lord” in the online NIV Bible.  The phrase occurs 88 times in the Bible, and in almost every instance, the context is about God seeing evil and righteousness. The Bible makes it clear that God is not looking at how successful we are in the business world, or how much money we make, or how good we look. No, the Bible overwhelmingly teaches that God is looking at our ACTIONS and ATTITUDES, and whether those are GOOD or EVIL.

I don’t know about everyone else, but when I look out into the world around me, I tend to see THINGS. Yes, I see good and evil, but I prefer to turn away from looking at evil – avoiding it and those who do it. Yet neither do I go out of my way to see those in need, nor go out of my way to help the few that I see in need. Going through this mental exercise, I can see how God would not be overly pleased with me.  In fact, it points out the vast distance I must go in my attitudes to be righteous in His sight – and it also points out how great are His mercy and forgiveness.

I asked my Sunday School class – “When this world is finished and destroyed, and God brings about the ‘new heavens and the new earth’, what two things will survive from this world to the next?  In other words, what two things on this earth are eternal?”   The answer, of course, is: The Word of God, and human souls.  This fact alone should give us an unalterable focus to our lives. We should be investing our time, energies, and resources in that which is eternal.

When God looks through your eyes, does he see your righteous acts of kindness, forgiveness, and mercy, or does he see something else?  When His own eyes are upon you, will He see good or evil?  I fear the answers to those questions in my life.  And I pray that I will be able to better heed this lesson.

Something to think about…

Haole Boy.

And I thought it was just me.

Turns out that many, if not most Americans have had similar feelings, some stronger than others – that the churches in America repel people away from the very message they are trying to convey.

Why is it that – – –

– statistics show that kids who are entertained in church during their formative years leave the church when they get out on their own?
– if the message is supposedly the “Good News”, then why do most Christians look as though they are perpetually mad?
– most Christians are so judgemental, when Jesus’ message was one of forgiveness and compassion?
– the “body of Christ” seems so dysfunctional?

Jesus did not use orchestras or praise and worship teams. He did not preach a feel-good message. Seems to me we are more about “show” and less about “go”. Florence Nightengale once replied to a reporter’s question, “You ask me why I do not write something….I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words, they ought all to be distilled into actions and into actions which bring results.”  This is the problem with the church in America. We spend too much time on words, and not enough time on works.  There needs to be a balance, one that equally demonstrates Jesus in words and deeds.

Instead, we SAY we have the Good News, but don’t act like it.  We preach love, forgiveness, and compassion, but condemn any group that thinks or acts differently than we do.  EVEN within our own Christian community, every denomination thinks they have all the right answers and interpretations. We bad-mouth any denomination that thinks differently. Even within a single denomination, it is easier for one group to split off from their congregation to start a new church rather than to resolve the differences within the congregation.

It seems to me that the one person who most closely reflected Jesus’ teachings on this earth was Gandhi, a Hindu! Not that he got everything right, but his life was all about compassion and lifting the lowly up, giving them hope and improving their self-worth. He publicly and deliberately modeled his life after Jesus’ life. He rejected Jesus as messiah partly because of the way Christians treated him.

Though the church repels many of us – I am coming to realize that somehow, I must transcend the failings of the church, and focus on God as my ultimate authority. I must learn to separate God from the church that is supposed to represent Him.  I’m not there yet, but I am laboring down that path. I must tend to the words of that old hymn, “Keep your eyes upon Jesus”.

Frank