Enjoying a Moment of Christmas

Driving to the church before the sun comes up is always exciting. Julotta at 8 am is close enough to sunrise that the day starts with a special blessing. Great toe see everyone there this morning.

Also, there are very few vehicles on the road at that time.... more room for me!

A moment of Christmas is enjoyed with he anticipation of the New Year... Memories and hopes all in the same breath and filling the same moment.

January always seems empty and cold partly because of the tempo of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I guess a bit because of the weather but... it has been cold so far and is to be -20 by the beginning of next week again! Spring must be going to arrive about 24 February this year!!

So what are the changes or focus of the new year? There are always so many possibilities and so little time and really, desire for more energy to accomplish what we hope for too. 2014 can be great and can be filled with growth. And all the while, I sit in my house trying to remember the last time I wasn't running to the next place I needed to be. I can hear the two dogs snoring in the next room so I know it's a calm afternoon. The cats are sleeping somewhere too so there are no races happening either. I'll take this time to not think of the needs of tomorrow or the next day. I know this will impact a couple days down the road but maybe... that will help me separate the wheat from the chaff... the needs from the wants and the requirements from the options.

Not much to say other than Merry Christmas and I hope this day means to you what it was intended to mean. It's not just another day or another holiday....it's the birthday of Jesus, the Son of God whether you like it or believe it.

Enjoy and peace from 2013!

Christmas Time is Here!

With Thanksgiving officially out of the way and Black Friday showing up... we can now focus on Christmas and all that stuff!

Now to get this season started, I am reminded of the personal side of Christmas.... no, more personal than that! Not simply is this a time of family and loved ones, and personal responsibility for whatever we want to focus upon, but it is a time of personal knowledge and understanding of the event we anticipate and engage with during this time. What this time of year, and Christmas specifically brings to us is a sense of "I know something about that!. In about a month we are going to be celebrating the birth of the Savior, Jesus! And, most of us know what it's like to see a baby or have a baby in our families or have possibly even been a baby at one time though from my experience, some people have never been children! While is a store or in a church or pretty much any public place we can find these little ones in strollers or in the arms of a parent or sibling! We see the aisles of baby food and diapers in the stores and during this time especially, we enter into the mega stores and see the seemingly endless acres of toy for all the good girls and boys! In other words, babies are not a great mystery to most of us. They are cute little boys and girls who sometimes smell wonderful and sometimes not so much! I remember my little ones learning to walk and run and to ride bikes! Now they're in high school, college and the Marines and having grandchildren for me!

During this time of year I believe we relate best to Jesus because we are looking, thinking of something we all seem to know very well for ourselves. Much of his life we do not know too much about and during his ministry we can understand but as he gets closer and closer to the cross, and ultimately dies on the cross and rises again, we lose that personal (I can relate) feeling and it seems to become more of a mystery and sometimes more difficult to understand or possibly even accept, unfortunately.

And there lies the innocent and perfect joy we can have during this season.... a baby is born and we know what that's like!

So, we begin the Christmas season with a personal connection with Jesus. So we feel the joy and love and excitement! What a great start to the Christmas season! Christmas music will officially be "acceptable" starting in the morning... well, at least for some of us who have had to hold off on playing it for the last couple months. Candy canes are in the stores and all the commercials on TV will somehow be telling us that this year... we can be special and loved by buying the perfect gift for the ones we love.

And hopefully we will see the irony and have a laugh because we celebrate this time because the perfect gift was given to this world and to all humanity in the manger in Bethlehem because of the love God has for us!

Maybe I can be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas!

Legacy House!

This last year has gone by in a hurry! Blomkest Baptist Church is growing and excited about the our new ministry...... The Legacy House! A ministry of service and compassion, The Legacy House has clothing and housewares available for those families in need. Supported by the generous and tax-deductible donations from families throughout central Minnesota, our mission is to continue the tradition of caring for the community.

"For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore, I command you, "You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy, to the poor in your country."   Deuteronomy 15:11

I really like that verse from Deuteronomy! It continues to serve as a reminder of the world we live in to this day and undoubtedly into the future. But more than the place of those in need.... I believe it speaks more to those who are not! Those are the people called upon to be of service and to reach out to our brothers, our neighbors, our community to provide what we can to ease their struggles. 

To learn more about The Legacy House, visit the BBC website: 
                                      BBC-Legacy.org  
 

And again.... Time is driving on! Tomorrow will be the 1st of October and 8 weeks to Thanksgiving week .... and 12 weeks to Christmas week! Plans are being made and excitement is growing!

I was in a conference a few years ago where one of the speakers was trying his hardest to have people enjoy life to a greater degree by living a life unplanned. I can understand his intent, to enjoy life a little more by getting out of a schedule that controls your life but...

Plans must be made.... that's how life is lived! I can't wait until the morning to decide what will fill my day! Simply by planting a field of corn a person has already committed to the harvest in the fall.... something that must be planned and prepared for ahead of time. Simply said.... life is a plan.... it's not random and it's not an "anything goes" situation! And sometimes the best we can do is to plan for time away from the demands of life to live without outside controls pressing in on us.

From my perspective as a pastor and chaplain, planning is essential but I become anxious for the time following the execution of the plan.... the quiet. And what makes the quiet so enjoyable seems to be the hard work that comes from a plan well executed!

It all seems to fit together like it has purpose! Jeremiah 1:5 says, "I knew you before you were formed...." This was said to Jeremiah by God, who set him apart to be a prophet.


A plan by God with a purpose.

Perspective? Or what?

I was out of the church for quite some time. I enjoy the chaplaincy except for that one dirt-bag.

I'm in the church again, for just over a year and it's been great! Those in the church in Blomkest have been great! Those not in the church in Blomkest have become my issue.

One wants to do "the work of the Lord" but simply want Blomkest to look like Pleasant Valley... (A Monkey's reference)

One would like to help with the music... if the price is right!

One will do anything for the church.... if it's an emergency and the church can't get it done.

Great to have these people around.... would be better if they could bless us with their appearance rather than their pity!

I've been feeling a little strange in recent months. I really enjoy the Blomkest Baptist Church and those in it! Such a great heritage and fellowship! The surrounding area seems to really enjoy special occasions and unique services. We, unfortunately have a special service Saturday but it will bring in family and friends and a connection will be made. The fact is though, this connection is made in the name of rightness and faith.... Not in the name of pity and need.

So.............here's the deal...What came first.... the chicken or the egg? My guess is the chicken.... but this is the point..... IT DOESN'T MATTER! We now have chicken for the grill and eggs for breakfast! Life is good because God has provided!!!

"Has provided" is a simplified term for God's providence... (taking care of His people). And God will continue to do so!

Well Pastor Mark....?....maybe God is providing those in the community to help the church in times of need!? You know.... that is possible, right????

Indeed, I would say that is possible. If caught off guard and without the necessary supplies or resources.... But not when there have been months of no change and these helpers show up during crisis and never show their face during the year... Almost like the irritation of C/E Christians only a bit worse... I don't expect more from the C/E Christian.... at least they show up for Christmas and Easter... 

It's one of two things going on here.... either we are being pitied because we are small and seem to not have the resources........or there are those who believe their "doing the work of the Lord" will be such a blessing that we will continue to allow them to simply help when needed but when real WORSHIP happens.... it will obviously be somewhere other than the BBC!

"We don't need no education..." Are the words of Pink Floyd....

"Pastor....! You're on a rant! Settle down and focus on the Lord!

No....not a rant but feeling abused and condescended toward right now. We are not good enough to share Sunday worship with but it seems we are to be eternally grateful for any appearance or friendship from those who could not care less if we are in town or not!

The important thing is what they do for us and not what the church can do for them....

ANNOUNCEMENT:..... We do not need your help if you are not part of the congregation! Support for your local church is essential but if we are not your local church.... don't pity us and if you want to help............Show up for worship and make us your place of worship!?

 I know many pastors and they fall into a stereotypical character of soft and pliable and easy to walk over....  I am not that pastor..... That's why people in the BBC call me Mark...............

How Far is the Reach of God?

These days remind me of a comment in an article I read. "Are you a motivational speaker or are you changing lives?" The stats might tell otherwise but I'm thinking the two are too close to be able to separate.

I find it very interesting what just a few grains of salt can do to the taste of an apple...... unfortunately I found out.

Saw Peter Popoff on the TV at the Ft McCoy gym this morning. He's like that grain of salt on my apple.

"You are God's child" seems to be a phrase people like to hear.
 


Again it's been a while since I've blogged here but it has been busy. Many things have happened between January and now, well maybe just that things have piled up and I've had to take a break from here to connect with the rest of life.

I'm looking forward to this summer with the church youth  group mostly because they always seem to have fun. I haven't had fun for quite some time but I'm trying.

One thing I do enjoy though is USAR Annual Training! I return from here though and have a hard time explaining what happened. It's either going real fast or unbelievably slow. The combination must act like a mind numbing potion that washes everything out.

We are C2 (command and control) for PRET Camp which is a two week physical fitness camp assisting soldiers in passing their Army Physical Fitness Test. It's a difficult two weeks. The meals are calorie conscious and the exercise is 3 times a day. The attitudes have been positive from the participants and that has really helped the camp run well. I walk the PT (physical training) field watching and encouraging as I am able. I walk the running course often with different troops. My specific "job" though is Chaplain and therefore I hold Chapel Service and Bible Studies throughout the two weeks. I enjoy the group I serve with, especially because of their support of my religious support to the troops. So.... the combination of those I work with and this being AT and......the constant reminder that I really truly am not your grandpa's preacher.....I am holding a 3 part series in my services..... "Why God Loves Rock and Roll!"

Not a typical theme for most but I've had a better turnout for this than most of my other services. It comes my thoughts about how far God's love and grace can ultimately reach. Obviously, it can reach through eternity to our hearts wherever we may be.

The God of my life, as I told those in attendance, is not afraid of Led Zeppelin or Metallica or any other band. I believe it's consistent with His character to use some good old Rock and Roll to reveal Himself. Tomorrow night we will look at a good Southern Rock band, The Atlanta Rhythm Section.

So, these tunes are rough.... and at times crude. Similarly our hearts are rough and at times crude. Too rough for God to care? Too crude for Jesus to go to the cross for us? And hopefully we open our eyes to the very fact that our rough and crude and sinful hearts is exactly why Jesus took the cross for us!

A young soldier renewed my hope for humanity in some ways. I asked, "Why do we like this music? - Why do we like some more than others?" And he said it's because it connects with how we feel! Now, I've sat in on so many counseling sessions they can't be counted. Have you ever heard the phrase.... "How does that make you feel?" and the answer generally starts.... "I don't know". And so we work at finding the emotions that describe how we feel. The doctors and counselors and teachers will have those cool charts with little faces that frown or smile and we are to point out the one that resembles our feelings! Just seems for me to be much easier to have a chart of music from which to choose! On the long list of music I think I would scan it quickly and point to "One" or  "Hate Me" or even "Train, Train".

The music we listen to seems to identify, even to small detail the raw emotion of love, hate, jealousy, anger hope and all the other God given emotions we hold. From that point, the point of identifying our emotional position, we look to God's word to find the answer. The music does not teach us our ethics or morals or values. They simply put words to how we feel. Turning then to the Word of God we can more easily identify the promises and hope and care and concern our God has for us.
Compare "Broken" with how we feel when separated from the ones we love. Contrast "Broken" with God's ever present love and grace. I have called these concepts "Anti-thematic". Human (horizontal) description of our ills compared to God's compassion for humanity (vertical).

God loves rock and roll because it can extend His reach into the hearts of those who may never listen to His words of hope.  

I Get More Beautiful Each Year!!

      As the days and years go by, depending on the day I have one of two questions for myself. Where has the time gone? and How can I continue to get more beautiful each year!? Like I said, these are questions I ask myself.....no one else seems to ask them to me!

     There are two things in the above picture that took me a little while to find and I had to wear my glasses for one of them! There's a hand pump well and a neon sign that reads "Jesus Saves". The sign may still be there for all I know!

     Our sign and light have changed in a few ways but not in placement! And as I look out my office window I can see that the trees in the front yard have grown too but I can still recognize them! After all, it's only been about 60 years since this picture was taken! Things have changed.

     I'm looking at the calendar and am becoming anxious for the weeks to come along! January is almost over and we are having a Valentine's Service at the BBC on 10 February! With Ash Wednesday coming during that week, it sheds more light on the theme of our special Sunday service!

     I was thinking the other day about when my kids were young, very young! I had a great thought for waking them up in the morning for school. I recorded a few up beat songs loaded them into a CD player. I set the system to turn on at 6:30am. The first song that played was Chris Rice singing "What if Cartoons Got Saved!" My kids still remember that song because of the morning alarm!

     That seems like just a couple weeks ago too! And time just keeps going. I've tried to hold it still for a few years but to no avail! The little ones are now big and the very little ones are no longer little at all. And my mind is changing to my Dad's and the way I thought in the past is a memory. I recognize that even dad's continue to grow up from be very young dad's to dad's who aren't really that young any more. The one thing that's supposed to save us is the basic dad thing...love for his kids! What I've found is that it becomes more and more difficult to convince the kids that dads love is still as strong and present as it was when we were all so much younger....and stronger! Without the daily contact, daily touches and smiles....we come to an uneasy place. "I know he loves me but...."! And at that point we place any number of feeling and subjective and many times erroneous thoughts and words that simply aren't true but we have difficulty defending against them.

     What does this Dad remember? Number 1 and 3 getting their hearts broken from other kids in school. Number 2 falling hard off her bike and my carrying her about a block home to care for her bloody knee. Number 4 being hungry and my not having anything to give her. Number 5 getting hit on his bike by a car and breaking his leg. Number 6 with challenges I cannot fix and often time cannot even understand.

     So the question of where is God when it hurts changes and applies itself to me...where is Dad when it hurts? I seem to get a similar answer though.....

     I'm right here, with you always. I never want you to get hurt but because you do, doesn't mean I don't care or I don't love you. It sometimes means that life is hard and because you are an independent little kid of mine, you can and will choose to go places away from me where I can't run interference from all the dangers in the world. You wouldn't want that anyway.
     As you grow, life will change and you may change, but my love never will and I will always want to be with you.

     From the 1950's, the BBC has changed quit a bit. And from 1876 it has changed a great deal! One thing that has not and will not change is the presence of God in our congregation and work! Just like a good Dad, he always will be with us!

    And yes, I am beautiful!

Taking Time to Appreciate the New Years Wrinkles

It's funny the difference a day can make. Yesterday we were looking back on the previous year, the highs and lows and the events that made up 2012. I was an eventful year! Great and terrible things happened. Things we hope to remember for all times and other things that we hope the New Year washes from our memories. Beyond so many other things though, we look to the New Year to refresh our hearts and bring the renewed hope which seems to accompanies a new calendar!

Looking forward is so different than looking back! When we look back we see all the challenges and problems. Hind sight is considered 20/20 though I would hesitate on that idea. It's not always as clear as we would want nor is it always as easy to understand as some would want us to think. One thing is for sure...the year has passed and the events of our lives have happened (whatever they may have been) and the year and it's events are behind us now (for the most part). Now with a bit of excitement and possibly concern, we look toward the new year and all the possibilities that lay before us!

So the challenge again at the start of this new year is to anticipate the challenges and take advantage of the possibilities which inevitably will show themselves. But without some type of planning we may wind up seeing the possibilities but to late to take advantage of them. So the key is looking forward with vision and wisdom.

Our lives go in many directions and at a speed where we simply hold on and wait for it to slow down. This year will be lived through vision of where we need to be by 2014. And we need to aim high when we consider our vision for the new year. It puts perspective on events that happen and keep up focused of the placed we want to be.

I think English Bulldogs are about the cutest little puppies a person will ever see! What helps a great deal though is to know what this little puppy will be like when it grows up! Buying a Bulldog puppy means you will get a grown up Bulldog in a couple years, not a Rottweiler! And that's perhaps the refining point of developing clear and functional vision....to understand the possibilities of what can happen and not the unattainable fantasy of a make believe dream. We should develop a vision to declare what we are when we are the best we can be! It becomes disheartening to work at developing a vision that reveals what I can be if I were Michael Jordan or Peyton Manning, or Billy Graham for that matter because I am not and never will be them. 

I can only become the best me I can be. The church can only become the best Blomkest Baptist Church it can be! With clear and Godly vision, the best we can be will be far more impressive than we think! These are days we will remember!