A New Direction

OK. the news is out and can be discussed now. After 30 years of Pastoral Ministry without a single break, Pastor Rodger is going to take one. I submitted my retirement effective Jan. 7, 2007. Since the day that Jen and I made that decision I have had a peace beyond comparison. It feels like the load of a universe has been removed from my shoulders. So what am I going to do now?

1. I am going to work to get our affairs in order so we can live on a substantial smaller income.
2. I am going to take a hike, from Georgia to Maine. 2174 Miles.
3. I am going to work on my health. Basically lose weight and decrease blood pressure.
4. I am going to finish one book that is about 75% finished. Work on another that is 25% started and begin one that is still just an idea and an outline.
5. Pray about what God has next for me.

Except for the hike, we have no immediate plans to move from Salt Lake City. Barring injury or illness, we will be on the trail from March to October. Wish us well.

Ski Day

Let'er start. Ski season. Snow = great but low. Rocks = Sharp. Skis = need repair. But the season is on.

Happy Holidays, Season’s Greetings, or Merry Christmas?

Why make such a fuss? When I am out fighting traffic and crowds shopping for cards, decorations, trees, and gifts, I think the term Happy Holidays is just fine. There is nothing intrinsically Christian about those things and I admit I am not really thinking of God’s supreme gift to the world as I am searching for the perfect gift. Until the current fuss about the war on Christmas I assumed that Happy Holidays was referring to Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Day.

When I am putting up a tree, hanging the lights outside, planning for parties and special events Season’s Greetings speaks my thoughts perfectly. It is the season for indoor trees, decorated yards and houses, parties, and special events. Greetings to you as we meet during these times.

As I put together a series of messages designed to direct our thoughts toward the meaning of Christmas then the former terms will just not do. It becomes, “Merry Christmas.”

Holidays are for gift giving and feasting. The Season is the calendar dates and walking in the winter wonderland. Christmas is the Lottie Moon Mission Offering, the worship services, the advent candles, the carols that celebrate the coming of the only begotten son of God to dwell among us, and the reading of the Gospel story from Matthew 1 and John 1 and Luke 2.

I do believe there is a real culture war instigated by those who would remove every vestige of Jesus Christ from our culture. Christmas has become one of the battlefields only because it is a time when even nominal Christians begin to think about “religious” things. But the real truth is that the materialism that is so rampant at Christmas is so far from the meaning of Christmas that Happy Holidays or Seasons Greetings works just fine for me.

“Here’s your credit card Mr. Russell” (as Grandma got ran over by a reindeer plays in the background) “Thank you so much for spending oodles of money in our store for toys, electronics, groceries, pastries, wrapping paper, etc. Have a Happy Holiday.”

“Hey neighbor, your house looks good.” (as up on the rooftop is on the radio) “ Where did you get those really unique decorations? Seasons Greetings.”

“Pastor Rodger, thank you for that service that reminded me of the blessings God has given because ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.’” (and as Silent Night plays softly in the candlelit auditorium) “Merry Christmas.”

A Going Problem

“Go to church, go to church, all the time, all the time, go to church.” This was my little brother’s observation as a preschooler when he was told, get in the car, we are going to church.

I was raised in a church going family. I raised a church going family. My brother, the same one as above, raised a church going family. Sometimes it seemed that, yes, we were always going to church.

Some people think that going to church is a problem. The church expects way too much of them to be going all the time. Our current culture has pretty much limited church going to a once a week journey, usually on Sunday morning. The number of attendees at mid week services or even Sunday evening services has plummeted.

Ask people to make another journey to the church building for worship, prayer, study, service, or any other reason and we are accused in a busy culture of creating a going problem. If you have the additional audacity to suggest that people “go on mission,” you really create a going problem.

With apologies to Avodart, whose commercials you see regularly these days, perhaps we don’t have a going problem, but a growing problem. I may be that our unwillingness to invest time, energy, and resources to the things of the Lord doesn’t reflect so much our unwillingness to go, as our unwillingness to grow.

Happy Thanksgiving

Jen and I wish all the readers a happy thanksgiving. Last weekend was a tough football weekend around here and all the teams I root for. First, on Friday night the Moriarty Pintos lost 41-14 to Roswell Goddard. That ended their perfect season and their hunt for a state championship. Then on Saturday the Aztec Tigers, the high school Jen and I both went to, lost in the same state championships. On Saturday late afternoon the Lobos lost to BYU in a romp. Then on Sunday the Broncos couldn't hold on to beat the Chargers. And to top it all off, after Monday night's game I lost in my fantasy league for the first time in 5 weeks. Can you say Loser?

But we will have something to be football thankful for this weekend. It all starts tomorrow with the Broncos.

On a note other than sports. The Lord has blessed us this year. Our little Andrew is healthy and growing. We are loving being grandma and granddad. It would be nice to be a little closer. Video conferencing is better than nothing, but it is better for businesses than grandparents.

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

Theology is a Bargain

OK, get ready for this one. It is a little contorted. I am warning you. In Salt Lake City there is a sports store that has a big ski sale every year. They call in sniagrab. For those who dare to ask where in the world they got the name, the answer is "it is bargains spelled backwards."

I was visiting with a friend yesterday and we were talking about the distorted view of theology many of todays churches and christians have. It was preacher talk. In our conversation I told him about the ski sale at Sports Authority and what Sniagrab stood for.

Later he said, maybe the problem is like Sniagrab, the church has theology spelled backwards thinking they are getting a bargin. So we got out a piece of paper and tried it out. Theology spelled backwards is ygoloeht. But if you sound it out and respell it you get, well almost you get, "ego less".

Maybe what we need is more Theology spelled backwards. OK, I warned you it was contorted. But that doesn't make it untrue.

I Hate What Our World Has Become

I hate what our world has become. Yesterday I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things on the shopping list Jen gave me. As I was wandering in the aisles hopelessly looking for dried cranberries there was a cart with two young children in it. Their mom was just a few steps away closely examining her proposed purchase. I wanted to stop and try to strike up a conversation with the two little ones. I love to talk to children and treat them like real people.

Then I remembered an incident at the church the night before when we were doing the harvest festival. 100’s of children were in our building, most with their parents. I was roaming the halls doing my Pastoral duty and had stopped to talk to one of our men who was helping direct traffic. He was sitting in a chair and had a large bag of candy. As each child or group of children came by he directed them down the proper hallway and offered them a piece of candy. Most children eagerly checked through his bag and took the piece they wanted. Some asked for two.

One little girl drew back in fear when she was spoken to. She just stopped, looked at John with a blank stare and didn’t move. I assume it was her mother who came along just then, looked over the situation, reached into John’s bag for a piece of candy, and said to John. “It’s ok, you’re a male.” She took the little girls hand and off they went down the hall.

I don’t know the family, I don’t know the story. There may be a history of abuse or it could just be our culture of fear. But remembering that incident I passed on by the two children in the grocery cart and continued the search for dried cranberries. I never found them by the way. But that is ok, she wanted fresh cranberries anyway. I finally figured that out.

The incident in the hall reminded me of another conversation earlier in the week. Jen and I were at lunch with a guest preacher for our State Convention . The conversation somehow came around to accountability. He told us of his accountability partner whom he has to answer the accountability questions for. In the conversation he made reference to being able to say he wasn’t alone with a woman. “If I am on an elevator by myself,” he said, “and a lone woman gets on, I get off.”

I guess I understand the implication. “If I stay away from being alone with women I won’t be tempted.” Or is the implication, “If the elevator door opens on the next floor and I am seen in this elevator alone with this woman it will be bad for my reputation.” Either way, what a mess our world has become.

Later that day I was at the airport awaiting another arrival. I was standing at the coffee bar line waiting to pay when a traveling woman stepped into line behind me. My first thought was, “Gee, should I get out of line so we won’t be seen in line together?” I laughed first at my self, then at the whole situation. I went into the waiting area and called Jen and told her, “If I am on an elevator and a woman gets on, I am not getting off. Is that ok?” Her response. “Huh?” “What are you talking about?”

Did I say, I hate what our world has become?

Broncos 13 Ravens 3

Andrew needs a refreshment break as we watch the Broncos defeat the Ravens. Hint. Andrew is the one with the Bronco Pajamas. Jen made me leave mine in Salt Lake City.

. . . And The Rockets Red Glare . . .

I had no idea what the rockets red glare was until I went to the visitor center at Ft. McHenry. Check the website for a description.

I love history and Ft. McHenry is about history. It played a part in the War of 1812, the Civil War, and WWI.

The star spangled banner was written durin. g the bombing by the British of Ft. McHenry during the battle of Baltimore. You have sung about the rockets red glare a million times. But do you know what the rockets were? I had no idea

They were long sticks with a canister of propellant attached. On the top was a bomb. They were not very effective in this battle although they had been in the past.

http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/5/hh5l.htm

Across The Nation

Left SLC, UT, Monday AM, 8:15 MST; Arrived Baltimore, MD, Friday PM, 4:00 EDT; after a drive across America. Spent one day in Nebraska at Harold Warps, Pioneer Village in Minden.

Why did we drive? Don’t feel sorry for us. We drove because we wanted to. And I am really glad we did. My only regret is that we didn’t have time to stop at more places than we did.

Pioneer Village is a day well spent if you are at all interested in how our ancestors lived in and settled this land. There are buildings Mr. Warp saved from the 19th century that show what life was like in the Prairie states at least 100-150 years ago. There is a family stockade with cabin, a school house, a general store, a train depot, a church, a pony express way station, and a replica sod house built to authenticate life in the past. Included is all the tools of the era, as well as the tools, equipment, and especially the transportation from the 1800’s through the 1900’s. As my friend Cliff would say, “very worthy.”

Several of the museums we drove right past without stopping between Nebraska and Baltimore were dedicated to Herbert Hoover, Rutherford B. Hayes, Ronald Regan, We went by the birthplace of John Wayne. There was the Bob Feller museum and the College Football Hall of Fame. We might have stopped at the last two except we went by them well after they were closed.

We are having a great time with our kids and our new grand son. Andrew Wyatt Russell

In His Grip.

This week I was introduced to a realatively new ministry called, “In His Grip.” (See link at the bottom of the page.) It is a golfing ministry designed to reach men for Christ. It is another tool in the toolbox that if used correctly could be effective in outreach.

In His Grip uses golf analogies to teach men about life and about the Lord. There are a lot of similarities between life and golf, as well there should be. For millions of men and women golf is a part of life.

I am certainly glad that life isn’t just like golf though. Golf is harder. You can know all the right things to do. You can plan on doing the right things. You can practice to execute the right things. And then you duff it. I have discovered that if I put that much effort into life, I usually manage to get it right in life. Not in golf.

Many times my best efforts, even after a seemingly sufficient number of practice swings ends up in the rough, or in the trap. I fall short or I over hit. Sometimes I seem to have it in the bag, in the fairway, onto the green, everything lines up and then. . . a three putt.

Maybe golf is more like life than I want to admit.

Habits Are Hard To Break

Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

I stopped by to see my parents this week. We were driving to Glorieta, New Mexico and stayed with Mom and Dad for the night. They still live in the house we lived in when I was learning to drive. The neighborhood has changed quite a bit though. When I was first driving, the street we lived on was filled on both sides by houses with young families with children. It was a rather narrow street and made a turn that decreased visibility. Even today you have to be really careful and alert when driving down Parkland drive.

There was another way to get to our house. Instead of turning on Parkland you continued straight on Heiland until you came to Iris. Then you turned on Iris to Parkland and came out right at our house. There weren’t as many houses on those two streets. Dad told us teenagers we were always to take that route to the house. He didn’t want to see us driving down Parkland.

Today houses line both routes. There is no appreciable difference between route one and route two. I am 57 years old. I can drive down any road I want to. But I still feel just a little guilty, a little rebellious, if I turn on Parkland and take the forbidden route to the house.

Out where the highways come together there is a stop light. You come down the road from town, reach the highway intersection and there is a traffic signal. When I was growing up and learning to drive, there was only a stop sign. You came to the highway, looked both ways, and if it was clear, you entered the highway.

The traffic signal has been there for at least 30 years. Just the other day I came down the road to the highway, stopped, looked both ways and ran a red light. It was totally unintentional. It was reverting to the days of my youth, reacting to what I had been taught 43 years ago.

We are creatures of habit. We should make an extra effort to see that our habits are good ones.

Houston, we have a name.

My understanding is that one of those Texas cities was in the running for a while. Not Houston, Austin. The name that wins the honor of adorning my grandson is Andrew. (Still awaiting a middle name.) For the birth and death certificate they still need a name for Baby B as well.

Andrew. I like that. It is the name of a president and the general at the battle of New Orleans. Andy is the name of my High School Basketball coach and biology teacher as well as the name of my predecessor at Holladay Baptist Church. It is the name of one of the deacons here until he moved to Alaska. It was the name of one of my sons best friends in school, and the same friend became Drew and team mate on his High School football team. I can think of a few Drews but I don't know that is a regular nick name for Andrew. Is it?

I like all the Andys I have ever known. I am sure I will really like this one to. Vote on what you think his call to dinner name should be. Andrew, Andy,Drew,Ace, or some other nick name. Of course, the decision will be further complicated when he has a middle name, and the final decision will be made by his mom and dad.

I will gladly follow their direction.

What Do You Call A Grand Parent?

Granddad, Grand father, Grandpa, Gramps, Grand Pappy, PawPaw, Popsie. Those are all names given to the male grand parent. Who gives out the names? Who decides what you get called by your grandchildren?

We are still awaiting a name for our new grandson, but say, what about our new name? Grandma, Grandmother, Gramma, Grand Mammy, Mopsie, what do we call her? I mean, my name for her hasn’t changed in the 40 years since our first date, but what will the name be for the grand son?

My kids mostly called me dad when they were little. Today they call me all kinds of things, they just don’t call me enough. So Grand dad works for me. That was what I called my grandfather Russell, as I remember, though he died when I was 13. My other male grandparent was Bompie. By the time I was old enough to remember my older cousin had already named him and when he died at age 99 he was still Bompie. I think the only two people I regularly heard call him by any other name were my mom whom I heard call him daddy, and my grandma (and that is what we called her) who sometimes called him Alfred. (Probably the name she knew him by when they had their first date, some 80 or so years earlier.)

My kids call my dad Granddad. I think my brothers kids do too. But Jen’s dad is Poppa. Both Grandmas are Grandma. When they need t differentiate between them their given names are added. Grandma Betty and Grandma Mary. A friend of mine says his grandkids call him Utah Grandpa.

Actually I don’t care what he calls me. I still have a couple of years before he calls me anything. I am just thankful that he is here and healthy, and I pray he grows up to call me something.

If you want to view other pictures, use this link. http://web.mac.com/therussellist

Brazilian Report

Our Mission to Brazil is going very well. We have had our hearts blessed, our heart strings pulled, our eyes filled with everything from the beauty of creation to the poverty of sin.

Good things in Brazil:
Beautiful Country
Beautiful Beach
Wonderful, friendly people
A language more understandable for me than Arabic, Japanese, or Korean. (Other places I have been to on mission.)
Plenty to eat
Nice place to stay
Great group to work with
The work that our missionaries are doing in Brazil with the poor, the lost, the drug addicted, the orphans, the virtual orphans. (Kids with parents who would otherwise be on their own while the parents take care of their own needs.)
Churches with a heart for the needs of their own country. All the places we have worked in are missions and mission churches of Brazilian churches.

So So things in Brazil
The food. It is not bad, but it is very bland.
Travel. It seems to be a long ways to everywhere we go.
The communication. Of the places above I mentioned, the Brazilians understand less English than in any of the other countries. The people in our group who don’t at least know significant Spanish have trouble ordering at McDonalds.

Not so good things in Brazil
The poverty
The lack of basic amenities in many neighborhoods. (Running water, electricity, sewers)
Trash everywhere.

Trusting God’s Heart

We attended a church staff/spouse retreat last week in the mountains east of Salt Lake City.  It was a relaxing time.  I even convinced Jen to join me for a round of golf.    She shot a 49 on 9 holes.  Of course we played 18 and she only counted the nine she did acceptably well on.  Those were the only holes she put on the scorecard.  The rest of the holes she just recorded a smiley face.  (  

The main speaker at the conference was a Pastor from Georgia, Frank Cox.  His topic, “Trusting God’s Heart.”  The sub topic, “When you cannot trace God’s hand, trust His heart.”  That comes from a quote by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“God is too good to be unkind,
He is too wise to be mistaken.
When you cannot trace His hand,
You can always trust His heart.

That is a terrific statement of faith and hope.    If you are interested in his story, he has written a book.  It is called, Trusting God’s Heart, Finding Peace in Times of Sorrow.    I recommend it.

Independence Day Greetings

A long weekend every once in a while is really nice.  Today, Monday July 3, 2006, I didn’t go in to the office so I could spend the day with Jen doing some of the chores around the house that pile up.  Actually I tried to finish the deck I have been building, but alas, there is still more to do.  

When Jen works Holidays, and she seems to work most of them, it isn’t much fun celebrating by myself.  Instead, I plan to use tomorrow to get several days study and planning done.  Everyone else will be busy so I should have the day to myself.  Unless I go play golf, or work on the deck some more, or go see some fireworks, or take a hike in the mountains, or . . .  well you get the idea.  There are always a million things to do.  

Tonight some friends invited us over for an American Revolutionary Period Dinner.  All of the foods were from recipes from the Revolutionary period.  At my plate I used a fork and knife from that period.  The fork was like a serving fork, two tines, very sharp.  It was like the fork you use to hold the turkey still while you carve it, only it was personal size, not serving size.  It had an antler handle, a real antique.  The knife was like a regular butter knife except the blade was about 3 times as wide and very thin.  I enjoyed the experience.  

Happy 4th of July.  (BIG BOOM)

The Heat is On

Just in case you ever wondered, Fresno, California is one hot casa.  Whew.  I am here for a Peacemaker conference.  I would like for our church to become a church with a culture of peace.  It is difficult to serve the lord, teach discipleship, reach people for the Lord, and at the same time continually deal with Christian people who can not or will not get along.  

I pray with Jesus, that we might be one, as he and the Father are one.  Would that be fantastic or what.

When I was in Israel, you often heard the phrase “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”  Looking into the meaning of the name, Jerusalem, it probably means “foundation of peace.”  The city called the foundation of peace is one of the most unpeaceful cities in the world.  

Having to pray for peace among Christians because we can’t get along is along the same line.  Anyway, that is why I am in Fresno.  
  

In Times Like These

New experience at our age don’t come along very often.  Yesterday we had one.  Our friends Robert and Donna Marshall invited us to a rappelling adventure.  So we went to the mountain and experienced rappelling.  I had done it once before at a men’s retreat.  That was off a tower.  This was different.  And it was Jen’s first time.  

After instructions, it is time to fly.  Those first steps over the edge of  the cliff are the adrenalin moments.  Then it is pure delight as you descend, totally in control of your speed.  See the joy on Jen’s face as she experiences the freedom of controlled falling.  

Rappelling is an experience of faith.  At first you have faith in Robert.  He knows what he is doing. Doesn’t he?  Then you have to believe the equipment will hold you up and hold you back from descending too fast.  Then you have to believe the safety person at the bottom can catch you if you make an error.  

Perhaps the strangest faith factor is trusting that the unknown person who put the anchor in the rock, who knows when, it was already there when we started, did the job right.  Everything depends on the anchor holding, and gripping the solid rock.  

Not unlike our faith in Christ.  “Be very sure, your anchor holds, and grips the solid rock.”  (From the hymn, “In Times Like These.”  

A Walk In Postmodernism's Woods

A Walk in the Woods is a book by Bill Bryson. Several years ago he decided he wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail (AT) is a hiking trail that stretches over 2100 miles from Georgia to Maine, or from Maine to Georgia depending on which way you walk. They started their hike in Georgia, and after 6 weeks on the trail they were in a Park Service Visitors center when they saw a map of the whole trail. They realized that day that they were not going to be able to ever hike the whole trail. So they gave up their goal, split up, and decided to meet in August in Maine to finish the trail.

After a few days in Maine they decided that they had hiked enough. So they quit completely. But as they talked one of them tried to convince the other that they had walked the AT. After all, they had hiked on both ends, and some places in the middle. They had suffered and worked hard, so even though technically they had not hiked the whole trail, they decided that they had.

This is just another example of our culture. Here we believe that if we feel like we hiked the trail, then we are hikers.

I wonder how that transforms into our spiritual lives. Just because we feel like we are spiritual, without practicing the spiritual disciplines we are not. And it doesn’t matter how we feel.

Paul said he goes into strict training to be spiritual.

1 Corinthians 9:25-27 (NIV)
25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.
27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

When you go into strict training, you practice spiritual disciplines. In Timothy he invites us to train to be godly.

1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV)
7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.


Don’t think you are a spiritual person because you want to be, or because you feel like you are. Train yourself to be Godly.

Cell Phone Mania

How fun.  A spiffy black SUV pulls over in the slow lane right in front of me, then slows down.  I pull around to pass and I realize what has happened.  The SUV driver has received a phone call on her cell and is having trouble driving and talking at the same time.  The slow lane is a good place for her.  I exit the freeway and pull up to the red light.  In a moment there she is, and now I see the real difficulty.  She is one of those who can’t speak without her hands.  So in one hand she is holding the cell phone to her ear.  With the other she is gesturing as she talks, pausing occasionally to re grab the steering wheel.  What a hoot.  I hope she arrives at her destination safely without hurting anyone else.

Vacations Tire Me Out

Vacations tire me out.  It isn’t the vacation itself that does it, it is getting ready for it and then catching up after I return.  I haven’t posted for one month since returning from Baltimore.  I have been terribly busy with the stack of stuff piled on my desk from being off for two weeks.  Hey I am not complaining you understand.  I really enjoyed the time in the desert and the time with the kids.

Another thing that has really suffered this spring is my golf game.  I decided to get an official handicap and play in a men’s league.  Since I signed up for the handicap I haven’t had one decent score.  Not one.  My new handicap should come in next Thursday, and I will be lucky if it is under 20.  The last time I had a handicap it was 11.  

Hmmmmm, maybe I am working too hard and playing too little.  

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend.  Stay safe.

Alternative History

Yesterday I went to the first Smithsonian Museum I have ever been to. The Museum of American History. I have to tell you what a refreshing experience it was.

After finally being run out of the Museum at closing time and finding Jennifer waiting on the front steps outside, we sat down on the steps to rest and reconoiter.

I asked Jen, "You know what I find most interesting about all the displays?"

"What?" She said.

"I have looked at three days worth of American History now, all over Washington, DC and I have yet to see one single reference to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, or The Book of Mormon. We really do get a distorted view of American History when all we get is filtered through the eyes of Utahans."

P.S. I haven't found anyone who didn't know New Mexico is a state of the United States.

In Memory

I didn't know Virgil very well. We went to school together from Jr. High on. I was never in his home, nor he in mine. We played on the Jr High and High School football teams together. I was present at the state wrestling tournament in Johnson Gym in Albuquerque when Virgil won the state championship in his weight class.

Today I saw his name on the Vietnam War Memorial. Panel 34W line 61. KIA in Vietnam in 1969. I was a little choked up as I thought of a classmate who has missed these last 37 years. My thoughts go out to his family for their loss as well.

Then as we walked on a litte further there was an athletic letter lying among the tributes. It was a big blue K. And at that point I realized the loss of 58,000 guys who have missed the last 37 years. George W., we need to win this thing in Iraq so in 40 years the people looking at the Iraq War Memorial won't be struck by the number of their buds that lost their lives in an unsuccessful war.

Today's blog, In Memory, Virgil Jessie Roberts.

Dog Gone Vacation

This camping trip to the desert could be called the Dog Gone trip. We had some dog on problems. She got a bath before we left but we forgot to put her collar back on. So she had no tags, including identification. No problem right. Wrong. Cause we lost her.

That’s right, Ms, Uma Ruth, Ruth because where you go I will go, decided to go hiking by herself. Actually, while we were stopped at a remote wash, getting ready to go hiking we decided to try our hand at a little tin can plinking. (Jen said to tell you she hit the can) I guess the noise was too much even if it was only a 22. When we were through shooting and ready to hike, No Uma. After about an hour of searching, our friend Neal found her and we were able to take our hike.

The next day in a decision very unusual for us we decided to go hiking inside a National Park. Most of our hiking is in the wilderness areas. We knew that she had to be on a leash in the park. We left our Tahoe at trails end and got a shuttle to the trail head. There we started up the trial only to discover that even on a leash dogs are not allowed on the trail. So what could we do? The first guy we met on the trail thought we should just go back to the trail head but he was too obnoxious to offer a ride to the Tahoe.

So Ms. Uma Ruth got her second day in a row of breaking the law. We got her off the trail as soon as possible thanks again to Neal and his wife Cindy.

Anybody interested in a little white dog that got her start as a Texas tramp and has turned into a lawbreaker? I think it is appropriate that the hike she took with us illegally was to Cassidy Arch, named after the notorious outlaw, Butch Cassidy.

He is not here! He is risen!

He is not here! He has risen. Indeed the tomb is empty and the Lord is alive! It was the day of transformation for the followers of Jesus. It was the day they changed from a fearful band of disappointed men and women into the army of God that marched across the world with the Good News. He loves us enough to die for us. He is powerful enough to defeat death. He offers new life to you, too.

How can you be sure? Well look in the tomb. It is empty. He is not here! He has risen.

I know that an empty tomb today is not proof of something that did or did not happen 2000 years ago.I know that we cannot be positive we know which is the correct tomb. But the afternoon I looked into the garden tomb, my heart leapt for joy as I shouted, much as Peter and John must have shouted. “It is empty! He is not here!

You can visit the tomb of almost every other religious leader, founder, prophet, etc., but when you get to the tomb of Jesus, IT IS EMPTY! Praise God.

Happy Resurrection Morning.

Prepackaged Communion

I don’t know if this is the epitome of modernism or the proof that postmodernism is in full swing. Today I received in the mail perhaps the most ridiculous item ever. I mean, I can handle almost anything in the way of convenience. Years ago I had a church treasurer refuse to buy me a baptismal robe and waders until I convinced him that it would make it convenient for us to do baptisms in the middle of a worship service. He reluctantly agreed.

But this is over the top. Tell me, is it modernism run amuck or postmodernism getting a firmer foothold. The item: It is a prepackaged communion set. It comes in just the right size to fit in our service trays. There is a little cellophane tab that you pull up and the wafer is exposed. Then you pull the foil top and the grape juice is ready to drink.

The advertising says they will last without refrigeration for 12 months. They will be less expensive because there is less waste. No preparation time or clean up time is involved for the deacons/ communion committee. They are packaged and sealed for purity. I mean, haven’t we already sanitized our faith enough? And of course it would save time because the servers would only have to make one pass, you get the bread and cup at one time.

I can think of a couple of other ways we could use them. We wouldn’t need as many Deacons present for a service as they wouldn’t have to be hand passed, they could literally be passed out. If someone dropped one they wouldn’t spill. They are sealed.

If the service ran long, those who don’t have more than an hour to spare for worship could leave early and just pick up a pack on the way out and observe at the first stop light. The scripture is printed right on top of the cellophane so you could read it out loud to yourself as you opened the tab.

We might need to change some of the words. “This is my body, pre packaged for you.” Doesn’t that sound more sanitized than broken?

I am sure my postmodern friends and children will accuse us moderns of this abomination. I don’t know though. There has to be a reason it didn’t find its way to market until 2006.

Please pray with me that the Communion Packaging Company of Sanford, Florida will be short lived.

Think About This Too

In a book published so long ago the copywright date is in Roman Numerals, I think it says 1961, Vance Havner, long time evangelist made this statement.

"In this nuclear age we must remember that survival is not the chief end of man. A little boy was asked what he hoped to be twenty-five years from now. He replied, "Alive!" But it is better to die for a conviction than to live by compromise. 'Tis man's perdition to be safe when for the truth he ought to die,' said Patrick Henry. He did not say, 'Give me liberty, death, or peaceful coexistence with George III.' Teddy Roosevelt said that among the things which would destroy America were 'Peace at any price' and 'Safety first instead of duty first.'

from Pepper and Salt, page 31

Wanted: Dead or Alive

Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. (2 Corinthians 5:9 (NASB95))

Paul has just used “at home or absent” to refer to being alive or dead. (look at 5:6 & 5:8) In this sentence then he is saying that our ambition ought to be to please God whether we are dead or alive. Wow! I think it pretty much goes without saying, we will please God when we are with him in heaven. The question then is, “Do I please God more in life than I will in death?”

What do I need to do today to please God?

Send Me The Trophy

Send me the trophy.  In my bracket challenge group, I am the champion.  After years of fumbling near the bottom of the pack, I have won my first bracket challenge, and the final games haven’t even been played.  All my challengers are out.  None of their teams made the final four.  And who pulled me through?  UCLA.  Go Bruins.  

Jen thinks it is silly to get hyped about winning something in which I don’t win anything at all.  But I do win bragging rights for a whole year, and that is something after being trashed talked to year after year.  After all, I am the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tourney, McConkey Boys Challenge, CHAMPION.  “Cut down the nets!”

Poor Old Lobos the Worst is Yet to Come, Hey!

The worst thing any team can have happen to them is for me to choose them to win. Mercy! I lost half my final four on Sunday afternoon. Admittedly I didn’t choose number one seeds, but I chose teams that should have at least made it into the sweet sixteen and on into the elite 8. Instead, I only have two left for the final four.

Tonight when I got home from work I turned on the women’s tourney. New Mexico was six points ahead of Baylor. I watched for only a few minutes and the Lobos were down 11 points. A 17 point turnaround. I got disgusted, and Bill O’Reilly came on, so I switched. Only to discover that in the last minute and a half the lobos got it back to four points.

I decided the best thing I could do for them was to not watch the second half, but ESPN made that decision for me. They went back to another game. Unfortunately that didn’t work and the Lady Lobos went down by 20.

Not a good year for Lobo fans. No bowl game for the football team. No post season for the basketball team, not even a NIT bid. And the ladies didn’t make it to the sweet 16 again. We can only wait til next year.

On Fire for Jesus?

I was reading about a church in a mess in a local paper.  (A church is in a mess when they are writing about the troubles in a local paper.)  One person they quoted though, really inspired me to think.  He said, “The church will be ok.  We have a lot of people who are on fire for Jesus.”

Am I on fire for Jesus?  Is anybody in our church on fire for Jesus?  Do I really know anybody who is on fire for Jesus?  What does it mean to be on fire for Jesus?  I want to be on fire for Jesus!  Does anyone think I am on fire for Jesus?  (I am not asking you to respond to this blog.  I may be afraid of the answer.)

How do we become on fire for Jesus?  I want to be on fire for Jesus.  

I read somewhere the following.  “Some people hate sin, but they don’t love Jesus. Some people love Jesus but they don’t hate sin. The secret is to Love Jesus and hate sin.”

The first person is a legalist.  The second is a libertine.  The third is where we need to be.  I want to love Jesus, be on fire for him, not just hate sin.  

If Sports Championships were determined like Oscars

The Academy Awards are a joke. What would happen if we chose the football championship the same way. There wouldn’t need to be a super bowl. Instead we could have an awards banquet, ala Oscar night and choose the champion by a vote of the league presidents and a few other undisclosed voters. Whichever team evoked the most emotion, tried to break down previous taboos, or had the saddest story would be this years champion.

If you add the box office receipts of all the nominated best pictures it doesn’t equal the take of the number 4 best attended movie. Whoever thinks that Hollywood is about entertainment is mistaken. It is about messages. And that is ok, I guess, but lets at least be honest about it. Which ever of the 5 nominated pictures win, it isn’t the best picture of 2005. Not by a long shot.

I think I will skip the show and listen to Wolfman Jack on my XM radio.

A Starbuck Moment

I stopped by Starbucks this morning on the way to the office.  I usually get my morning Starbuck coffee fix at Albertson’s.  This morning I had no need to go to the store, so I just stopped at the stand alone Starbucks.  After all, I told myself I have two Starbucks gift cards that I have been given lately.  (I also have a couple of Einstein’s gift cards as well.)

As I started to pay for my brew with the card I just kind of wondered aloud, “I wonder why people give me gift cards instead of inviting me to coffee?”  The cashier heard my rambling and said, “Maybe you are just a difficult person.”  

Hmmmm.  Maybe I am.

Greatest Snow on Earth

     I set my alarm for 5:30 Thursday morning.  When I went to bed it was snowing and Jen had to work Thursday.  That means I have to get enough snow off of the driveway by 6:20 that she can get her car up to the road.  Sure enough, Thursday morning showed about 8 inches of snow.  I went out and fired up the snowblower.  It was awesome!  The snow was the type that gives Utah the title, “greatest snow on earth.”  It was dry, light and fluffy, so light the blower shot it all the way into the street from the bottom of the driveway.
     When Jen came out to go to work I told her it would be a great day to call in sick with the Alta Flu.  Of course she didn’t and we missed a great chance for powder skiing.  We tried to make up for it today.  The skiing was great, but the powder was mostly skied down.  

Walk The Line

I went to see Johnny Cash Friday night.  I figured I would have a front row seat to see ole Johnny sing.  The theater was so crowded, I had an almost front row seat.  But it was primarily to see ole Johnny drink beer and pop pills.  

Joaquin Phoenix  and Reese Witherspoon did an incredible job singing.  The story of one man’s battle and eventual victory over drugs was inspiring.  It would have been even more so if they had been a little more clear about how that victory was achieved.  The only reference to a spiritual victory was one short scene showing June leading Johnny to Church.

One day in 1956, quite by accident rather than design, Johnny Cash and three other young stars, Elvis
Presley, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis were recorded at Sun Records in Memphis while they were just messing around and singing mostly old gospel songs.  The album is called “The Millionaire Quartet.”  I haven’t got it yet, but it might be a good listen.

Times of Refreshing are Coming

Driving home from work this evening, just before dark, I found myself sinking into the mulligrubs because of the winter inversion. In the winter time in Salt Lake City, the city smog gets trapped in the valley and at times it can get very bad. We aren’t to that point yet, but this is the way it starts.

Only one thing reverses this blight on our otherwise beautiful city. A storm! We need a winter storm to move through. First it gets worse. It gets colder, it snows, driving becomes difficult. We have to shovel snow. But when the snow storm has exited the valley, the crud is gone with it.

What a relief. Take a nice deep breath of fresh air. Look at the beautiful blue sky. More relief that the plop plop fizz fizz of an Alka Seltzer. Anyway, I was thinking along these lines tonight on my ride home relishing the thought that on Friday a snowstorm is predicted, so on Saturday there will be a refreshing day of glorious winter sunshine in our valley.

That reminded me of Peter’s sermon in Acts where he promises times of refreshing that come from the presence of the Lord. But just like the storm that brings the refreshing to the Salt Lake Valley, there is a storm that brings the refreshing from God. It is called repent and turn, so our sins can be wiped away.

Sin cause a spiritual inversion to take place in our lives. We get the mulligrubs in our life. We feel the depression that comes from a lack of good spiritual air to breath. And it is trapped by sinful inversion. How to get rid of it? Confess the sin. 1 John 1:9. Turn from the sin. And let the refreshing after storm of God’s spirit bring an atmosphere of refreshing.

Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; (NASB95)
----Peter the Apostle