Sixteen years ago today, a rayon shirt, mustard color Patrick Ewing tennis shoe, high sock wearing teenager with an attitude problem asked a lovely, beautiful, most precious preacher's daughter to go out with him. Yep, exactly how all love stories begin. It was this one time at band camp...no really it was.

Hey, most people just go to Disneyland after the big game. Well, I went and got a wife out of it. That's where it all started. Oh, the romance. I can vividly recall the ol' time track cars following their paths--one that goes on and on. How fitting.

Happy Girlfriend/Boyfriend Anniversary to my wife, my love Gloria.

Stay blessed...john

There were several more signs that came with these. I left most out of this post as they are pretty common now. The following signs I had not seen before. Enjoy.

First, you have to recall that the United Methodist Men and United Methodist Women of Oak Haven each host an annual event. The men’s group smokes hams for Thanksgiving and Christmas and organizes the Ham and Bean Dinner. The ladies invite women from the community to a Tea each year.

So, in my welcome to the church this past Sunday, I welcomed everyone “to Oak Haven where the men smoke hams and the women drink tea.” I wanted so bad, and was one breath shy of saying, “And today those smokers and drinkers have gathered to remember this is the day the stone the builders rejected became the cornerstone.”

I wasn’t quite sure our guests would have caught on or appreciated that. I would have! This is the third consecutive week we have had guests join our worship service. It’s been exciting, I know, for all of us. I’ll let you know about some of that later. Stay blessed…john

While professing no amount of expertise on the matter, I have compiled a short list of the greatest lessons I have learned in blogging. These points are not totally specific to blogging; I utilize similar ideas in sermon writing. You prolific writers will laugh at my simplicity, but maybe it’ll help someone. So, amongst the slew of wonderful blogging tips, remember this (Use, File, Schedule, Stick):

•Use. Use a word processor. I don’t usually blog online. When I do I feel like I have to get the blog finished. If the topic is anything worth writing about when I write it on my own time I can read, reread, delete and all that other kind of proof reading stuff that I just can’t seem to do on blogger (even though blogger does have a function that will let you save your posts before you publish them). I even use the laptop to generate hand written letters!

•File. File your ideas. I have a file (WORD document) that has a bunch of idea jotted down. They aren’t in any order or eloquently written. These are just ideas that might be good to write about. Every once in a while I open the file and write something brief (or not) on a couple of the points, or give attention to one that is almost complete. The work gets done little by little. Don’t always try to write something on the spot. You may even want to share your list; your readers may let you know what they would be interested in reading.

•Schedule. Having a schedule that you work on posts is good, but I’m talking about something more specific. I owe Blogger my blog devotion for their post to date function. Now, I can write a post and schedule it’s publishing date for whenever I want. So, when I know I’ll be away from the computer, you don’t have to know it. It also helps keep the blog updated.

•Stick. Stick to a topic It can be easy to get to typing. Before you know it you’re on your 600th word. It’s been noted that good blogs keep it short. So, read your posts. When you notice your going off topic, chop it up and create other posts that stem from your ranting. That keeps your current and future posts on topic.

Now, get blogging! Stay blessed…john

Say this ten times fast.



Buzzword for sure! In this economy.....just know who and what you believe.
+neatorama

Baseball has its homerun and stolen bases club. Well, pastors have their sermon and blog posts club. I’m not sure what my sermon numbers are, but I recently passed my 350th blog post! That certainly isn’t anywhere close to others in the blogging world. And this blog hasn’t contributed as much content to the faith as some others. I have enjoyed this project and will be glad when I will have more time to contribute more to it.

The whole connectional church we profess as Methodists is important to me. That’s why it’s not uncommon for me to bring up people, events or memories from previous churches we have served (see the top menu). When I do I’m not being nostalgic, but hoping to bridge our churches—even if in a small way. Specifically, this blog was created to provide an opportunity for the Bandera church to connect (blog that TIES) beyond Sunday morning; there are probably another 100 lost posts that were a part of BUMC’s website. Of course, not all of you reading now are from that church. So, it has evolved beyond the dust and ranches of the Cowboy Capital.

Thanks for reading. My next post will share things I have learned in my blogging experience. Keep reading; you never know when you might be spoken of! Invite others to do the same. By the way, I’m considering a new format for the blog. Any considerations for me?

Stay blessed…john

I enjoyed the video. Speaks for itself.


+misscellenia

My biggest questions for Holy Week:

• What will the weather be like for the Easter egg hunt?
• Do we have footwashing, communion or both?
• Will the people actually leave in silence on Friday?
• Who will ask first, “Why is it called ‘Good’?”
• Are bulletins really necessary for Thursday or Friday?
• What will the weather be like for the sunrise service?
• What should I do in the hours between sunrise service and regular service?
• Why didn’t I prepare the Easter sermon in advance?

I received these images in an email recently. The comments were all part of the forwarded message. So, I'm not sure if the details are worth anything. Still cool to look at.

Ceiling to a smoking lounge:




bathroom floor:






port-a-potty with one way glass

Come on, you know you want to try it.


Make yours here.

Wow! Wouldn't this be a powerful message to hear on Easter morning? Maybe I'll save it for those who attend sunrise service; those are the spiritually mature ones who can handle it!

+crazychristianclips