Yes, that is Russell Crowe considering his call into the ministry.
So, what can table fulls of chili dogs, chips, drinks, tacos, vegetarian egg rolls (!) and watermelon do for your day? Well, for me, it can keep the last class of the day from seemingly draggin on.
It seems the president's offices have been out the last couple of days serving free food to students on campus. That's a nice gesture. I couldn't help but make a church connection as I had them pile on some extra cheese.
Some of them were wearing long sleeve shirts and slacks; so, maybe it was the heat. There was a DJ and she did her job. I could hear the music from each of the buildings I was in; so, maybe it was a little too loud for some of them. Maybe they hadn't had their share of Ruffles and watermelon slices yet. Whatever the reason--and I'm not discouraging them for the idea at all--it just seemed some of the personnel had other things on their minds or would have rather been some place else.
I've had my run in with those people in the churh that have had the same kinds of looks. It's hapened before I was a Christian, afterward and both before and after becoming a local pastor. I just wonder what it is that it seems so many of us would rather be doing. Perhaps we do have other things to do (other than save souls).
Barbara Ruth wrote an article a few months ago in our conference newspaper. It came at a perfect time for me. One of those letters I've wanted to write was to her thanking her for her comments. She wrote on the sin of cynicism. Her focus was on the clergy. But I think could very easily cross clergy/laity lines.
Here's her article:
Sin of cynicism may keep young adults
from participating in life of our churches
It gave me a little hope when I needed it that I won't end up like I see (percieve) some colleagues in ministry. Maybe I actually believe what I tell everyone--that its not just being a little younger that allows me to be so excited all the time, but the joy of the Lord stuff is real.
Anyways, I've taken up too much of your day. Go get a hot dog. Stay blessed...john
It seems the president's offices have been out the last couple of days serving free food to students on campus. That's a nice gesture. I couldn't help but make a church connection as I had them pile on some extra cheese.
Some of them were wearing long sleeve shirts and slacks; so, maybe it was the heat. There was a DJ and she did her job. I could hear the music from each of the buildings I was in; so, maybe it was a little too loud for some of them. Maybe they hadn't had their share of Ruffles and watermelon slices yet. Whatever the reason--and I'm not discouraging them for the idea at all--it just seemed some of the personnel had other things on their minds or would have rather been some place else.
I've had my run in with those people in the churh that have had the same kinds of looks. It's hapened before I was a Christian, afterward and both before and after becoming a local pastor. I just wonder what it is that it seems so many of us would rather be doing. Perhaps we do have other things to do (other than save souls).
Barbara Ruth wrote an article a few months ago in our conference newspaper. It came at a perfect time for me. One of those letters I've wanted to write was to her thanking her for her comments. She wrote on the sin of cynicism. Her focus was on the clergy. But I think could very easily cross clergy/laity lines.
Here's her article:
Sin of cynicism may keep young adults
from participating in life of our churches
It gave me a little hope when I needed it that I won't end up like I see (percieve) some colleagues in ministry. Maybe I actually believe what I tell everyone--that its not just being a little younger that allows me to be so excited all the time, but the joy of the Lord stuff is real.
Anyways, I've taken up too much of your day. Go get a hot dog. Stay blessed...john
I bought a print of this to put in our youth house. It laid against one of the bookcases in my office for about a week. There's was no way I could part with it after that. I'm not really sure what it is that I love about it. Maybe it let me laugh when I thought about stressing over something, or challenged me to think just a little more.
Whatever it was doesn't matter; it now hangs above the doorway in my office. I'll see about getting the youth group another one. Stay blessed...john
I'm catching up on some letter writing I've been meaning to do. One of those letters is to the pastor of the UMC we visited in Little Rock (hey, better way late than feeling guilty I never wrote it). Part of her sermon included the story below. I'm not sure if I had heard it prior to then or not, but for some reason it just shouted at me that Sunday. Maybe it'll yell at you too:
Stay blessed...john
Once upon a time, the great river had a huge flood. A large scorpion was trapped on the upper branches of a dead tree, and the waters were gradually rising over the tree and the scorpion seemed doomed. A monk was passing by the river; he witnessed the scene, and, grabbing on to a shrub at the edge of the path, reached over intending to pick up the scorpion and carry it to safety. The scorpion stung the monk. Still, the monk tried again and again—and each time he was stung. A little later, a passerby saw the monk, weak from venom, hand swollen, but nevertheless trying to rescue the insect. “Give it up old man”, the passerby shouted, “or you’ll both drown.” “Then so it will be”, the monk shouted back, “it is the scorpion’s nature to sting, but it is my nature to save.” Keep this in mind.
Stay blessed...john
A Woman was out golfing one day when she hit the ball into the woods. She went into the woods to look for it and found a frog in a trap. The frog said to her, “If you release me from this trap, I will grant you three wishes.”
The woman freed the frog, and the frog said, “Thank you, but I failed to mention that there was a condition to your wishes. Whatever you wish for, your husband will get times ten!”
The woman said, “That’s okay.” For her first wish, she wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the world. The frog warned her, “You do realize that this wish will also make your husband the most handsome man in the world, an Adonis to whom women will flock.” The woman replied, “That’s okay, because I will be the most beautiful Woman and he will have eyes only for me.”
So, KAZAM-she’s the most beautiful Woman in the world!
For her second wish, she wanted to be the richest woman in the world. The frog said, “That will make your husband the richest man in the world. And he will be ten times richer than you.” The woman said, “That’s okay, because what’s mine is his and what’s his is mine.”
So, KAZAM-she’s the richest woman in the world!
The frog then inquired about her third wish, and she answered, “I’d like a mild heart attack.”
Moral of the story: Women are clever. Don’t mess with them.
Attention female readers : This is the end of the joke for you. Stop here and continue feeling good.
Male readers, continue reading….
…
…
…
…
…
…
The man had a heart attack ten times milder than his wife
Moral of the story: Women think they’re so smart. Let them continue to think that way and just enjoy the show.
PS: If you are a woman and are still reading this; it only goes to show that women never listen!
(found somewhere?)
The woman freed the frog, and the frog said, “Thank you, but I failed to mention that there was a condition to your wishes. Whatever you wish for, your husband will get times ten!”
The woman said, “That’s okay.” For her first wish, she wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the world. The frog warned her, “You do realize that this wish will also make your husband the most handsome man in the world, an Adonis to whom women will flock.” The woman replied, “That’s okay, because I will be the most beautiful Woman and he will have eyes only for me.”
So, KAZAM-she’s the most beautiful Woman in the world!
For her second wish, she wanted to be the richest woman in the world. The frog said, “That will make your husband the richest man in the world. And he will be ten times richer than you.” The woman said, “That’s okay, because what’s mine is his and what’s his is mine.”
So, KAZAM-she’s the richest woman in the world!
The frog then inquired about her third wish, and she answered, “I’d like a mild heart attack.”
Moral of the story: Women are clever. Don’t mess with them.
Attention female readers : This is the end of the joke for you. Stop here and continue feeling good.
Male readers, continue reading….
…
…
…
…
…
…
The man had a heart attack ten times milder than his wife
Moral of the story: Women think they’re so smart. Let them continue to think that way and just enjoy the show.
PS: If you are a woman and are still reading this; it only goes to show that women never listen!
(found somewhere?)
When despair tries to take me under... I choose life.
When I wonder what God could possibly be thinking... I choose trust.
When I desperately want relief from unrelenting reality... I choose perseverance. When I feel oppressed by my disappointment and sorrow... I choose gratitude.
When I want to keep my feelings to myself... I choose vulnerability.
When nothing goes according to my plan... I choose relinquishment.
When I want to point the finger... I choose forgiveness.
When I want to give up... I choose purposeful action.
(+Mike King)
This is one of my favorite hymns. I think everyone should be able to find a "version" they will enjoy. All of Creation serves as His signature--He is our King! Yet He calls us friend.
May your day be blessed.
Acapella...
Piano and Vocals
Salvador singing
On the guitar
in Chinese Mandarin 如鹿渴慕
on the saxophone
May your day be blessed.
Acapella...
Piano and Vocals
Salvador singing
On the guitar
in Chinese Mandarin 如鹿渴慕
on the saxophone
This morning I took my final, and the Summer Session is now over. We'll begin again in the next couple of weeks. So, for the next couple of days I'll be catching up on some of my reading and putting more focus on some church projects scattered across my office wall.
Next month we'll be participating in the KAIROS Torres #18 walk in Hondo. This will be the third walk Gloria and I have been a part of. What a blessing! If you've never had an opportunity to go, you might want to give it some serious thought. I understand about schedule and all that--trust me I do. But the time put in is nothing compared to the joy of ministry that happens during a weekend.
At our first team meeting we are always asked why we are a part of the KAIROS ministry. For me, I give the same answer. As a pastor/teacher/someone who loves ministry I love to see God work; God does some working on a KAIROS walk. No, I don't consider myself a "KAIROS junkie," as some will profess to being; that sounds a little too ....? I don't know, I'm just not there.
Anyways, I'm presenting to you all an opportunity to be a part of this walk with one of several ways. Of course, they won't all be applicable to everyone since many of you are no where near Hondo. Perhaps this will just be for you a step in considering further involvement in your area; I'm totally O.K. with that!
Next month we'll be participating in the KAIROS Torres #18 walk in Hondo. This will be the third walk Gloria and I have been a part of. What a blessing! If you've never had an opportunity to go, you might want to give it some serious thought. I understand about schedule and all that--trust me I do. But the time put in is nothing compared to the joy of ministry that happens during a weekend.
At our first team meeting we are always asked why we are a part of the KAIROS ministry. For me, I give the same answer. As a pastor/teacher/someone who loves ministry I love to see God work; God does some working on a KAIROS walk. No, I don't consider myself a "KAIROS junkie," as some will profess to being; that sounds a little too ....? I don't know, I'm just not there.
Anyways, I'm presenting to you all an opportunity to be a part of this walk with one of several ways. Of course, they won't all be applicable to everyone since many of you are no where near Hondo. Perhaps this will just be for you a step in considering further involvement in your area; I'm totally O.K. with that!
- During a weekend we will make use of 3,000 dozen cookies (do the math, that's a lot of cookies); those can be made by anyone.
- Prayer is very important to all the team members; there are people praying throughout the entire weekend. Anyone can sign up to fill in a slot of the weekend.
- You may want to write a letter of encouragement to inmates.
- Place mats are used for meals and inmates really appreciate the special messages on those--especially those from little children.
- We all are responsible for raising enough funds to cover ourselves and one inmate; of course, that is another you can help.
- Closing ceremonies are a way to see some of the work of a weekend. People are invited to attend this ceremony (the inmates don't know about it....shhhhh!)
We actually have a chicken and a rooster that call our church home. Last year I first noticed them when I saw a line of chicks crossing the street to get to church. This year, during VBS, we had to convince the kids it wasn't a good idea to mess with the hen while she was laying her eggs--even though she was in the play house.
Here's some crazy fish you probably haven't seen (I know I haven't) (+neatorama)
Read some the "volunteering habits and trends in America’s largest cities."(+Think Christian)
What about The Greatest Partnership that never happened. (+Jazz Theologian)
Zen & The Art of Child Discipline
Stay blessed...john
So, if a group of people help distribute over 29,000 pounds of food and no one brings a camera to capture all the work, did it really happen? Of course it did. Wow! Yesterday we partnered with the San Antonio Food Bank and passed out boxes of food to families. The food bank had called us to help since Helping Hand was in the middle of constructing their new medical building.
It kind of just came together and happened. One of our members graciously agreed to help lead this project (boy, was she in her element!); I wasn't supposed to be around all day--class is everyday for me right now. We weren't quite sure what to expect. Needless to say, when an 18-wheeler pulled up and started unloading (20) pallets of food we were amazed.
The funny thing is most of the people (volunteers) there were kind of concerned we weren't going to be able to get rid of all the food. We turned in (2) boxes of tomatoes! There was a line of cars around the block. So much for some people's theory of "We don't need to do that; other places already take care of them." Don't worry, I'm going to leave that one alone right now.
I wouldn't be truthful if I didn't tell you I was a bit disappointed. Of course, I know people work, I know this was put together pretty quickly, I know there's a bunch of other stuff going on that I don't know about. However, I think I expected a few more people from our church there to help. Don't get me wrong; those of us there worked hard, laughed and I think got the point of what we were doing. If I have to do it again with just that group there then praise God for those people!
Anyways, one of my sisters is in town visiting for a couple of days. We're going to enjoy her here and have a great weekend. I hope you do the same. Stay blessed...john
It kind of just came together and happened. One of our members graciously agreed to help lead this project (boy, was she in her element!); I wasn't supposed to be around all day--class is everyday for me right now. We weren't quite sure what to expect. Needless to say, when an 18-wheeler pulled up and started unloading (20) pallets of food we were amazed.
The funny thing is most of the people (volunteers) there were kind of concerned we weren't going to be able to get rid of all the food. We turned in (2) boxes of tomatoes! There was a line of cars around the block. So much for some people's theory of "We don't need to do that; other places already take care of them." Don't worry, I'm going to leave that one alone right now.
I wouldn't be truthful if I didn't tell you I was a bit disappointed. Of course, I know people work, I know this was put together pretty quickly, I know there's a bunch of other stuff going on that I don't know about. However, I think I expected a few more people from our church there to help. Don't get me wrong; those of us there worked hard, laughed and I think got the point of what we were doing. If I have to do it again with just that group there then praise God for those people!
Anyways, one of my sisters is in town visiting for a couple of days. We're going to enjoy her here and have a great weekend. I hope you do the same. Stay blessed...john
