Nashville

Well, our post-Christmas Christmas in Nashville has been lots of fun. We seem to have brought some CA weather with us... 63 and sunny today.

Here's the family present:

I think a bunch of us are heading over to the Opryland Hotel this evening to check out all the lights and decorations... should be nice.

We'll drive back to Mom's place on Thursday and fly back to Oakland Saturday. Before that we plan to get Mom's new computer set up and her cable connection up and running.

Enjoy your time with family!!

Merry Christmas!!

I Love this picture of Kaleb when we did Christmas at Thanksgiving... Thanksmas. :)

I gotta admit that as Randy and I were running up the paved road toward Black Diamond Mines in the fog this morning, I wasn't thinking of Christmas. We met a couple walking down the road with their dog, and they wished us a Merry Christmas... I thought, "Oh, it is Christmas tomorrow, isn't it?!?" I think it seems less "Christmassy" this year because we didn't decorate. There's just something about hanging onto the roof while delicately balanced on a ladder and trying to string lights that puts one in the Christmas spirit.

Well... seeing moms and siblings and nephews and nieces over the next few days will change all that. Even though our kids enjoying time with their in-laws this year, we'll be with family with whom we've shared many, many Christmas experiences... and we're looking forward to it.

We also will likely get to see some old friends while we're in Cabot... at least those who are in town. That will be nice too.

Well, tonight we head to Oakland for a Park and Sleep deal at a hotel... not many more dollars than leaving our car at a regular lot, and they'll shuttle us to the airport early in the morning and watch our car while we're gone. It'll be nice to get away... I love traveling with Virginia. And, Leslie and her folks will keep our house in good shape while we're gone. It's also comforting that Art (Antioch PD) is a neighbor and friend.

May not get to blog for a few days, so MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all!!

Christmas, A Longer Perspective

I subscribe to GracEmail by Edward Fudge, and for today's blog I wanted to share his thoughts in today's GracEmail... probably because they really spoke to me.

(gracEmail) CHRISTMAS -- PROPHECY FULFILLED - Edward Fudge - Dec 22, 2005

This Christmas I am impressed anew that we are seeing biblical prophecy fulfilled before our eyes. Not the kind of prophetic fulfillment about which the sensationalists talk and write best-seller books for the gullible masses -- about Middle-eastern conflict and geopolitics and world banks and bar codes at the supermarkets. No, something far more solid and biblical than any of that! God's word to Isaiah 2,700 years ago has come to pass: "The root of Jesse will come, and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope."

All you have to do is turn on the radio, or go to a mall. You will discover that throughout the Gentile world, in word and in song, people of all nations are celebrating the birth of the Jewish Messiah, the Light to the Nations, the descendant of Abraham through whom the whole world is blessed! "I make you a covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations," God said to Isaiah concerning the Messiah (42:6-7). "Arise! Shine! For your light arrives! The splendor of the LORD shines on you!" (Isa. 60:1) "Nations come to your light, kings to your bright light. Look all around you!" (Isa. 60:3). And so they have come -- from the first Christmas, when Magi came from the East, until this very day!

This little e-mail message is traveling at lightning speed around the world -- across North, Central and South America, throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, to the British Isles and islands in the Atlantic and Pacific, to the Near East and Far East and the Pacific Rim, to countries predominantly Moslem and Hindu and Shinto and Buddhist and animistic and communist and theoretically Christian. To a world that once sat in great darkness, whose inhabitants worshipped sticks and stones, or the sun and moon, or forces of nature. A world which once did not know the Creator, did not enjoy covenant with him, did not hope in his promises. But today, in every one of these places, people are serving God's Messiah, the Christ-child, who became a man and died for our sins and rose again, who is coming again one day to establish peace forever!

Have a blessed Christmas, my friends! May his Presence gently hover above the presents, and "may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 15:13).

Copyright 2005 by Edward Fudge. Permission hereby granted to reprint this gracEmail in its entirety without change, with credit given and not for financial profit. Visit our multimedia website at www.EdwardFudge.com

Merry Chr... er... Happy Hol... er... Seasons Greetings

This is a great time of the year... in many ways... family, giving, all that music, remembering the birth of Jesus and how He impacts all of us, time off work... oh, did I mention family.

From the time I was a teen in the 60's I remember people bemoaning the increasing commercialization of Christmas... that Jesus was being crowded out by our secular society. I could see that was true, but, interestingly enough, back then in Churches of Christ, we pretty much ignored the Christmas from a religious standpoint for two reasons: 1) nobody knew when Jesus was born, so how could we just pick a day God hadn't authorized, and 2) since God didn't command such a celebration, we dare not get involved. We didn't want to risk the fires of hell by singing "Joy to the World" in December. Instead, back then we majored in the family aspect, sent cards with Santa and Rudolph but no Jesus or angels, hit all the sales, and threw Holiday Parties for the youth group, but nothing that smacked of "Christmas"... except, of course, for we closet rebels.

I thought it was ridiculous back then, so I am thrilled that our fellowship has matured to the point that we can talk about and thank God for his miraculous entrance into our world... even if we still don't know for sure when Jesus was born.

Which brings me (in a rambling sort of way) to the current controversy about "Merry Christmas" vs "Happy Holidays" for Christians. Sigh.... get over yourselves, people. If you want to get technical about it, those of us with non-Catholic roots maybe shouldn't say Merry holiday" used to be "holy day." And we probably don't even want to get into the fact that Christmas on December 25 was a convenient Christian replacement for a pagan holiday after the Roman Empire legalized Christianity and it became the dominant religion, do we?!?

Seems to me that how you treat people, how thankful you are, and what's in your heart is probably WAY MORE IMPORTANT than what words you use to characterize this time of the year. Somehow, I have a much easier time seeing a 21st century Jesus giving to the poor, enjoying family, and being with his friends than getting involved in this useless debate.

Soooo... as the day approaches... Happy Holidays... Season's Greetings... Merry Christmas!!

Automatic

The button, he reminded me, is automatic... you need only to fully depress it once, and the window goes all the way down. It's important to remember that to save wear and tear on the internal electronics of the window.

The friendly guy from the glass company showed up about 30 minutes later than he had estimated, but he knew what he was doing. He took the door apart and installed the new window glass... and it all worked when he was done. I was really thankful, even if it did cost me a few bucks. I need to drive the car tomorrow, and it's supposed to be raining.

Sooo... today I worked from home, catching up on email and getting a good start on a draft of a program for the Pepperdine Lectures in May. Jerry Rushford asked us to form an East Bay Praise Team from the Tri-Valley and Eastside congregations to lead worship in Stauffer Chapel the Friday morning of Lectures



and in Elkins Auditorium Friday afternoon.










The group has been together once for a picture and to sing together informally. It will be fun... and I now have a beginning from which to prepare.

Making Time for a Baby

As Jarrod closed our service this morning he reminded us how much a new baby changes the life of a family... how we all make time in our lives for that new baby. Then he simply asked us to think about the extent to which we have made time for Jesus in our lives. It's a question worth wrestling with... just how is my life different because of a relationship with Jesus.

Our worship time today was a reminder of just how important a question it is. We sang songs about Jesus; the praise team sang Mary, Did You Know and Welcome to Our World; Jenny and Reuben and Tom were great as Mary and Joseph and Simeon. And our kids and youth group and Harbour Lights Preschool kids all sang. The "cute factor" of the preschool kids was more than bright enough to obscure a few minor production flaws. The most important thing is that each of us was reminded again that God loves so much that He became one of us... WOW!

Shattered

Randy and I met out at the Stewartsville trailhead to run back into the Black Diamond Regional Preserve. It was a chilly and foggy 41 degrees with a slight breeze, and we ran for about 80 minutes. I didn't feel particularly strong this morning, so we ran pretty slow and stayed off the tougher hills. When we got back to the cars, I was a bit stiff and looking forward to a hot shower back at the house. As I walked between my car and Randy's, I noticed broken glass on the ground that I didn't remember seeing when we pulled up. As my eyes slowly turned toward the driver's door, I realized that my window was no longer in one piece, but shattered into a million pieces... some on the ground and most all over the inside of the car.

Amazingly enough, they didn't take registration or any other documents... they left my keys (I had my car key with me) that had been under the seat... all they took was a bag from the trunk with a small tool kid, a first aid kit and an old flashlight. The didn't even get the nice big mag light under the front sheet. Soooooo.... it definitely could have been worse.

I called the police to report it and get a number to give insurance and cleaned up the car. I'll call my State Farm agent Monday... although I have a feeling the repair will be slightly less than the deductible... we'll see.

I guess the Camry is probably happy... she gets the Honda's spot in the garage... at least until she's repaired.

Divine Voices and Friends

Tonight Virginia and I had our 2nd Christmas cultural outing tonight. We attended the Deer Valley High School Winter Choral Music Program... mostly to hear Josh Spainhower sing as a member of DV's acappella group, Divine Voices. Well, Josh and his group were really fabulous, but we were pleasantly surprised by the other groups as well. The numbers of talented students in the program's several choirs, their energy and enthusiasm, and their obvious love and respect for their Director, Mrs. Henderson, all speak of a vocal music program that is well-conceived, well-run, and most likely well-supported by the administration.

Our kids enjoyed a marvelous vocal music program at Dulles High School when we lived in the Houston area, but since coming to the Bay Area, we had heard that the schools here were so underfunded in the arts that most of the programs had fallen on hard times. If underfunding is the case, Mrs Henderson and DVHS are doing a great job with what they have, and the 200+ kids in the DV vocal music program are indeed blessed by a wonderful leader.

The Story

This Sunday we've invited the Harbour Lights Christian Preschool kids and parents to join us for a special look at the Christmas Story. Our preschool age kids will join the HL kids in a couple of songs; and our elementary kids and youth group will also sing in addition to a couple of "specials" by the praise team. We'll use "story telling" and a monologue or two as well as a few costumes. It will be a fun way to highlight that age-old story of the birth of Jesus.

Tonight was our final rehearsal... first one with lights; it was a little rough in spots, but the tech guys will finalize their details early Sunday, and we'll be good to go. I love this time of year and creative ways of retelling The Story. I'll leave you with a couple of images we'll be using.



This one's from Heartlight.













I found this cool angel pic online.

Memorial

Today Eastside hosted the memorial service for Mike Truitt, a former member and and longtime police officer here in Antioch. After 26+ years on the force, Mike retired last spring. In June he was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer. He died December 8.

Today Mike's family and the Antioch PD did a wonderful job of highlighting the caring and loving man he was to those in his life. It was obvious that he loved his job as an officer and was good with people he met in the community. Even some members of his family who do not get along with each other set aside their differences today in order to honor Mike and his life.

In Romans 8 Paul writes "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Today Mike's brothers talked about how, in the last few months as the cancer ravaged his body, Mike turned his heart and mind back toward God. Certainly cancer is a horrible reality in this life, but it seems that God is able to take advantage of even this disease to draw someone back to Him.

Thank you, Father, for loving each one of us through all the trials of this fallen world... for your mercy and your grace.

And the Show Goes On

When our kids were in Jr High... and particularly in High School, we loved going to their various productions... band... theater... choir concerts... half-time shows... dinner theater... and so on. It was a wonderful time for us, and we especially enjoyed the times when we got to share the performances with family or friends from church or the neighborhood. Perhaps the culmination was Jeremy's senior year when they did Tommy for their musical, and Jennifer flew in from college in Virginia to attend a performance. The show was so good... perhaps the best high school production I've ever seen... that the other high schools in the area brought their theater and music kids... even the Houston High School of Performing and Visual Arts. If you want to see it sometime, we have this home movie....... OK, OK...

Well, back to my original train of thought. Tonight we attended a Christmas show at Tabernacle Christian School where some of our kids from church attend. It was a 7th and 8th grade production, and one of our kids from church, Sam Spainhower, had the lead role. It was really fun to be able to share in the performance and the family's joy and the fun of the evening. We enjoyed it so much, that we're heading to another show Thursday night at Deer Valley High School.

Tomorrow night is our final rehearsal for our Christmas program Sunday. We need to fine tune (no pun intended) some of the songs, but I think it's coming together well, and I'm confident that God will be glorified and all of us will be encouraged as we look once again at the story of Jesus.

Perspective

This week we experienced a loss at church. Somehow... nobody's sure just how it happened... we totally lost all the powerpoint song files we had been upgrading and adding graphics to over the last year or more. We also lost all our worship ppt files for this year. Did we have current versions backed up somewhere... no... and shame on me for that. Will we survive... of course... and as we rebuild the files, we'll back things up more faithfully this time... just in case.

Now to the perspective part. The other day I got an email off the Christian Education Association list serve from a Children's Minister whose dad is an elder at the Thomas Street Church of Christ in Altus, Oklahoma. As she wrote, the building was fully involved in fire, and the firefighters had to mostly just watch because the hydrants were frozen. The main building burned totally to the ground, but the family center survived with only some smoke damage. Bible class teachers lost up to 40 years of material... the ministry and support staff lost everything. Thankfully nobody was hurt. I guess losing some ppt files is... well... small stuff... I had a friend who always said, "Don't sweat the small stuff." I think he's right.

One more thing... tonight on Nightline, they'll be talking to mothers who lost their sons in Iraq.

For Granted

Yesterday I hopped in the car and drove to Dublin to spend some time with a few other ministers from the greater Bay area. I really felt blessed by my time with them. Not sure how this particualr group ot together originally... some drive pretty far and there are others in the area who don't participate, but it seems that God has created a meaningful community from some pretty diverse individuals.

Because of travel and other commitments, Tuesday was the first gathering I have attended this fall. As is often the case, I didn't realize how much I had missed being with those guys until I was with them again. Our number was relatively small Tuesday, and we didn't have any sort of formal presentation, so we were able to give more time to simply sharing some things that are happening with us personally and professionally. As we talked and shared, I had the sense that "just the right group" had gathered this day, and I was thankful I was with them.

Celebrating Betty's Life

Sunday was a really good day all around. Worship with our church family is always enriching, but yesterday was extra special... could really feel the Spirit's presence. Jarrod talked about the 2nd coming.

At 3:00 in the afternoon about 130 of us gathered to celebrate the life of a wonderful Christian lady i've mentioned before... Betty Welch. Her family joined with church family and friends throughout the years to just thank God for her and her influence... and... in Betty's own words... to "have fun." I won't write more, but the image below captures a little of her personality. God bless!

Mission Christmas Dinner

More than a few years ago a man named Jim Clites started a ministry serving the homeless and the poor of Antioch and east Contra Costa County. He came to call them simply his friends, and to them he became simply Pastor Jim. One of the events he dreamed of and eventually planned was a Christmas party for folks who never had one. The first one was put on for a handful of his friends with the help of a few volunteers, but that was only the beginning. Over the years the event has grown to the point that it is now held at the Fair Grounds the first Saturday in December, and 200 or more volunteers from a dozen or more churches throw a huge dinner and party for approaching 1000 friends.

Last year we at Eastside were marginally involved for the first time by providing some Bibles and some cash for food. This year we rolled up our sleeves and jumped right in. In addition to Bibles and cash, our members contributed a bunch of toys to be given to the kids, cooked turkeys, and served as the cleanup crew after the event wound down this afternoon. Some of our folks even spent the day and helped out in a variety of ways.

It was a great day with lots of food and music and presents for kids and adults... and even a raffle for some big gifts. I'll never forget the faces of the kids whose tickets won the bikes!

Dee, the energy-filled lady who is the main organizer and communicator for Mission Christmas throughout the year, sent a thank you email to all the volunteers this afternoon. Here's a quote:

I heard that one gal who won the basket of towels and bathroom things was so thrilled because she lives in a tent and needed all of the items. She even said the hair dryer was great to use at a place where she showers and cleans up. I am so thankful she won that prize and to see her face.

This is one of those times when it's not important what our theology is or where we stand on any of a variety of issues. This is one of those times when it's important to just act like Jesus. I'm so proud of our Eastside volunteers... can't wait until next year!!

Rainy Season

I love the Happy California Cows commercial where the cows all run panicky from a puffy cloud, and one of them says, "I hate the rainy season!" I think it's one of the most clever in the whole series. Well... the real rainy season has begun as of yesterday. A big storm has moved in off the Pacific, dropping rain all over the Bay Area and Valley, and depositing several feet of snow in the Sierras. The resorts are loving it. Last year we had quite a bit of rain about a month earlier, and people were skiing by early November. We haven't been here long enough to know for sure, but I think this year is closer to normal. Soon the hills will change from this "golden" color to.......














something more like this green. It happens slowly over the next coupld of months, but, trust me, by February, the hills will be luch and beautiful.

In the mean time, we'll try to enjoy the "rainy season" and hope the skiiers and snow boarders appreciate the white stuff.

Thanksgiving Retrospective

Jen, Fok, and Kaleb took a "red eye" flight from SFO to Boston Saturday night and made it home tired but in one piece. I imagine they were glad to have Sunday to recoup before going back to normal schedules on Monday.

Jeremy and Amber stayed over through Sunday lunch before negotiating he I-5 maze back toward L.A. It was special to have them here for worship. Since Jarrod was gone, I preached and Jeremy led worship. Virginia and Amber both sang on the praise team. It was a good Sunday in many ways.

Here are some photos of the weekend. Enjoy!



An early Christmas since we'll all be with others in December.












Great hike over the hill to Contra Loma Regional Park on Saturday.










OK... so who took the pic???












All of us on the bridge to Loma Island.












Fok, Kaleb and Jen... Kaleb's the one with the bubbles. :)













Jeremy and Amber.

Kaleb taking a picture of Amber.

Kaleb in the leaves.

Kaleb and Virginia both love bubbles!

We had a great time... just ask The Shadow!!

Thanksgiving

The food has all been put away... the dishes washed... the table wiped clean... some of the gang are catching a late matinee of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire... the 3 pies are patiently waiting their return. It's been a really good day.

Fok and I ran in the hills this morning for a little over an hour. He finished the run with a quarter mile sprint while I just tried to remember what it felt to have young legs. Virginia and Jen went for a walk around the lake. Kapil arrived just before they got back. Amber had Kaleb focused in fun ways on the Macy's Parade. Jeremy and I went over Sunday's service, and he kept tabs on fantasy teams.

We all pitched in to prepare the meal... a composite of traditional fare from several family sources... each one contributing something special to the meal. Watching Virginia enjoy the collaboration may have been the most fun of the day! We called my mom and talked with her for a while... Kent and Susan and family will be in Cabot tomorrow for a couple of days.

At one point during the day I checked email and linked to an article from the Bruderhof site. One article called Lights for Thanksgiving (http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/mosley-thanksgiving.htm?source=WeeklyDig) was really good. Check it out if you have a few minutes to spare.

As the day draws to a close, I'm feeling very thankful. My prayer is that more and more the actions of my life reflect that feeling. God bless, and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving Homecoming

I'm getting excited... not about the drive to SFO tonight, but who will be getting off the plane and meeting us in baggage claim. Jennifer, Fok and Kaleb arrive at 10:30, and we should be back home before midnight. And so Thanksgiving 05 begins.






Jeremy and Amber are headed from L.A. to Fresno even as I write. They'll spend the night with Steve and Gail, getting some rest, and head this way in the morning, arriving sometime tomorrow afternoon.
We're ready... or getting that way. Virginia has been shopping and cleaning and planning. We'll try to prepare favorite recipes... lots of fun with ideas from a variety of families. We'll hang out and talk, maybe hike in the hills or see the new Harry Potter flick. Some of us will probably hit the famous "Friday after Thanksgiving sales" that will abound... I'll pass on that one.

Oh yeah, we'll also take some time to pretend like it's Christmas and exchange gifts. Kaleb will love that... and so will I for that matter. It will be a great few days.

God, help us each to appreciate and relish the time together, brief though it is, and be thankful.

Mushroom Omelet and a Broken Chair

Jarrod and I drove past Rio Vista to the intersection of Hwy 12 and I-5 today to meet with Chris Goldman and talk about the training weekend Cordova is hosting in March. We chose that intersection because it's about half way between Antioch and Sacramento. There are several service stations and fast food joints, a 76 truck stop, and a "family restaurant"... a relic from another era.

Walking through the door of the restaurant was sort of like stepping into 1960... back when they called such establishments cafes. The waitress (yes, waitress... not server... 1960, remember) smiled and showed Jarrod and me to a booth to wait for Chris. She poured coffee and went about her rounds. We decided a table would work better for conversation, so we moved, and I had to switch the broken chair on my side of the table for a replacement. Our waitress, decked out in her burnt orange uniform... kept the coffee cups filled until Chris arrived.

We talked and ordered food and talked some more and ate. My mushroom omelet was passable, and the country potatoes were tasty, but I'm pretty sure I received this week's supply of grease. The conversation with Chris was productive, so it was definitely worth the trip... to the intersection and back to 1960.

Kindred Spirits

Ministry in a local church is challenging, fun, fabulous, frightening, full of surprises, frustrating, and fulfilling. How is it all those things? I don't know... but if you've been in ministry, you're shaking your head knowingly, aren't you? One of the characteristics of ministering in a local church is that all the blessings and all the challenges tend to focus your attention more and more on that church... her needs, strengths, weaknesses, and dreams. In at least one sense that's exactly the way it should be... ministering to, praying for, working with a church family. An inevitable side effect is that it's easy to forget that you're not unique... that there are guys in similar roles out there who are experiencing the same blessings, struggling with the same challenges, and dreaming the same dreams for other church families.

Today I spent most of the afternoon with Greg Brown, the Associate Minister at Tri-Valley. We're collaborating on forming a joint praise team and crafting a worship time for the Pepperdine Lectures in May. Coincidentally, Jarrod spent some time with Steve Martin, Tri-Valley Preaching Minister, working on a class they'll co-teach at Pepperdine. Our meetings went well, but the unexpected benefit was that we were all reminded that we are in this together... that our churches, our ministry roles, our experiences with our church families are all more similar than different, that they create community among us, and remind us that it is God who wills and works through us. That reminder is freeing, and it's always nice having companions on the journey.

Friends

Last week was really special for us. Our friends of many years, Arlin and Pamela Hendrix, were able to stay with us for a couple of days, and our time with them, though usually brief, is always rich. We hiked in the hills behind our house; we caught up on all that is going on with each other's kids; we shared dreams and memories; we just soaked up our time to be together.

They're currently on furlough from their life-long work for Jesus in Lyon, France. Every three years or so they come back to the States to visit family and friends and touch base with supporters.

I just love how friendships in Jesus can grow and be enriched... even when we don't get to see one another very often. God is good.

Sweet Spirit

About 27 months ago Virginia and I walked into baggage claim at Oakland airport. We gathered our luggage and looked for the couple who were there to pick us up for our exploration weekend with the Eastside church. It didn't take us long to find each other, and thus began our friendship with Bruce and Sandy and Bruce's mom and dad, Carl and Betty.

Tonight we joined several others from church at Lone Tree Convalescent Center to gather around Betty's bed and sing to her and with Carl... to sing old favorite hymns, some of which Carl and Betty have been singing since before I was born. Betty's health, due to multi-systems atrophy, has declined dramatically in the last year, and she may not live to the end of the week. How very special that makes the memory we now have of her mouthing the words along with us as we sang,

Angry words, O let them never

From the tongue unbridled slip

Let the heart's best impulse ever

Check them 'er they soil the lip.

Flat on her back... in a nursing home... probably her final home on this earth, Betty ministered to each of us as we all sang her favorite song. She never went to seminary... probably wouldn't be considered a biblical scholar... but her lovely and caring heart, her concern for others, her gentle nature, her love for others have been breaths of fresh air in a fellowship where being right used to always trump "the heart's best impulse." Thank you, Betty, for allowing Jesus to shape who you are. Thank you Carl and Bruce and Sandy for sharing tonight with us.

EEM

Virginia and I went to a dinner at the Concord Hilton tonight to hear all the latest that is going on with Eastern European Missions (http://eem.org/). It is truly amazing what God has done and is doing in former Soviet countries like Russia, Ukraine and Siberia... and EEM has been positioned to have a wonderful role in many camps and schools in many provinces. Since the fall of the Wall, EEM has grown from a band of dedicated Bible smugglers to a partner in providing education in spiritual values for hundreds of thousands of school teachers and children.

For those in the area, Frank Farr will teach a combined class this Sunday morning at 9:00 at Eastside.

Treat-'n-a-Trunk

Treat-'n-a-Trunk last night was great! Quite a few of our Eastside Family showed up in their vehicles with lots of candy in hand. Some came straight from work... some were all decked out in costume... some were in street clothes with big smiles... all showed their hearts to be warm and full of love as they greeted kids from the neighborhood, from Harbour Lights Preschool, and from church. Ruth had arranged to have a couple of those inflatable bounce houses and a cotton candy machine to round out the evening. I think most of the kids had more fun bouncing and playing than collecting candy. More than one parent was overheard saying something like, "Come on, Johnny, don't you want to stop playing now and go get candy?" The evening was a hit with the neighborhood parents who came by with their kids. I pray that this event will grow bigger and better each year. Here are some pics of the evening...

Praying God's Will

I've been thinking about prayer today... how my ideas about prayer have changed (I hope grown) over the years. For me there's always existed a tension between praying boldly in faith and praying according to the will of God. There have always been times when those two concepts were in sync, but there have also been times in my life when I felt the tension... praying fervently... not sure my prayers were in God's will. Maybe you've felt that tension as well.

The last few years I have learned to think of prayer as way God wants us to partner with Him in His work. To do that... to partner with Him in that way... makes it even more important to pray according to His will. That, of course, raises the importance of Bible study... in order to understand the kinds of things God thinks are important so I can pray that direction.

It seems to me that we usually use that phrase "according to God's will" as a limiter, a way put a caveate on bold prayers, a reason prayers are not answered the way we want. However, I was looking at Ephesians 3 today, and it hit me in the face... Paul writes:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Paul is so confident in God's power... in prayer. It dawned on me that praying in sync with God's will is definitely not a limiter. He can do so much more than we can even think of praying about, that if we can actually get beyond ourselves to the point we are actually praying in the center of His will... WOW!! There is no telling what God can accomplish through our prayers "according to the power that is at work within us."

May each of us grow in our ability to think and live and pray in step with Him.

Cross Country

This afternoon I ran over the hill to Contra Loma Park to tour around on the trails for a few miles. As I was about to head back around the lake and over the hill home, cars and buses with high school runners were arriving for a cross country meet. I coached cross country in the 70s and 80s in Arkansas, attended a couple of meets in TX, and ran CC a couple of years when I was a student at Harding back in 69-71, but a Thursday afternoon CC meet took me all the way back to Hueneme HS days. While almost all of our meets in college and when I was coaching were Saturday meets, in HS we ran lots of Thursday dual or double-dual meets, running only occasional big meets on Saturdays. There's just something special about the head-to-head intimacy of a dual meet. :)

Heading home, I had a message that she had been released from jury duty in Martinez early today, without being selected for the jury (yea!!) and was on her way home. I called her with the news about the meet, and she was excited as well. You see, in HS (although they didn't have girls sports in those days) both her brother and her boyfriend (me) ran CC, so she loved going to meets.

We walked over the hill in time to see part of the varsity girls race and the varsity boys race as well. The course had enough hills to be challenging, but was still pretty fast. There were some really good runners, and it was fun watching the races. The one thing that was missing... which I actually didn't miss at all... was that queezy feeling in the stomach that comes with both competing and coaching. It was fun to just watch the races, enjoying the performances of the runners.

We walked back over the hill and headed home. Virginia had to hurry to get ready to go to a "witches party"... but that's another story.

World Series

As a kid growing up in SoCal, I was a pretty serious Dodger fan. Most years it was a good time to be a Dodger fan, although I do remember one year that they blew a 13 game lead the last month of the season and (if I remember right) lost a one game playoff with the Giants. Most of the time, though, they were fun to watch... if you liked pitching, steals and defense. In the 60s with pitchers like Koufax, Podres, Drysdale and Osteen, the other teams usually didn't get too many runs.

In 1965, Sandy Koufax sat out game 1 of the World Series in the Twin Cities to observe Yom Kippur. (I wonder if that would happen today.) Minnesota beat up on Don Drysdale, Koufax's replacement that day, and even edged out a victory over Koufax the following day, but both Drysdale and Koufax returned to form in Games 4 and 5 of the Series when it moved to Los Angeles. Koufax did it again in Game 7 back in the Twin Cities to put the Dodgers over the top in the series. Koufax had a 0.38 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 24 innings. WOW!!

Here's a quote from the Twins Manager, Sam Mele, "If anyone would like to make the World Series the best five out of nine games I would be willing to go on with it right now. But Koufax is murder. Great! The best I believe I have ever seen. You hate to lose, but we didn't disgrace ourselves. We were beaten by the best pitcher that there is anywhere."

A couple of years earlier, the Dodgers gave me one of my favorite memories from Jr High when they swept the mighty Yankees 4 straight. Now, that was fun!!

Speaking of fun, Maury Wills was always good for lots of excitement. Whether it was beating out an infield hit, stealing a critical base, or playing the banjo, he provided lots of entertainment. With the Dodgers poor hitting in those days, it wasn't uncommon for them to win 1-0. Wills would beat out something or walk; he'd steal 2nd and maybe 3rd; then a sac fly would bring him home. Their hitting was so bad at times that Drysdale often had the best batting average, and it wasn't unusual for him to pinch hit.

My days as a rabid Doger fan are long gone... partly because we haven't lived in SoCal since the 70s, but also because I just don't follow baseball like I did as a kid. However, living in Houston for 14 seasons did sort of shape me into an Astros fan. I think they sort of reminded me of the old Dodgers in that many of the stars of the team have spent most of their careers as Astros. So many players today bounce around from team to team like bumper cars at a carnival. Anyway, all that to say that I'm pulling for the Astros. How about you?

Scary Monsters

I ended up the weekend pretty tired. Sunday morning was really good... sort of left me spiritually energized as our worship assemblies often do... but Sunday afternoon I felt the fatigue of the weekend slip back into my body. So, why was I so tired? YOUTH RALLY!!

This weekend was the 10th annual Scary Monsters Youth Rally in Martinez. Last year we attended only the Won By One concert, so this year was our first real Scary Monsters experience... and the first youth rally we've been part of in years.
And because it was the 10th anniversary, we got to hear all the origins and history, including the themes for the first 9 years. It's really pretty cool... the premise is that Satan is the only really "scary monster" around, and he uses all the tools of his trade to trick us and bring us down and draw us away from God. All-in-all... it's probably one of the most continuously creative youth rally themes I've seen in all my many years of doing that kind of thing.

Of course there was LOTS of singing, and the presenters this year were guys who had taught at Scary Monsters in the past... sort of a reunion. Visions (drama ministry troupe from Cascade) and Won By One (singing group from Pepperdine) were there again... both doing their usual great job.

Here are some pics...

Giant biblical script

There are really two really cool unique aspects to this youth rally worth mentioning. One is that they actually cook really good meals and feed everyone. None of this load-up-your-group-and-hit-restaurant-row for this youth rally. Nope, Saturday and Sunday mornings it was pancakes, sausage, bacon and fruit. Saturday lunch we had grilled burgers and hotdogs. Saturday night it was grilled tri-tip and teriaki chicken. Sunday lunch was Mexican food prepared by the Hispanic congregation. And... dessert Friday and Saturday nights. Actually it's pretty amazing they can pull off feeding 400+ so efficiently... lots of hard working volunteers and Ray Lawson's creative leadership are what make it happen.

The other unique thing is the afternoon carnival... games, crafts, rock wall, and almost everything except the ferris wheel and the roller coaster.... well, a couple of pictures are worth more than words.














Anyway, adding it all together (the rally, staying up late visiting with WBO, who stayed with us, etc.), I ended up the weekend tired... and feeling really blessed.

Troy

I'm watching a DVD tonight while Virginia is gone to a baby shower. It's been a long time since I read the Iliad, but the story is fresh in my memory. I remember the themes of love and greed and power and intrigue... in the Homer's rich style.

The movie is... well a movie... and because it is, it is much more graphic than reading Homer's epic poem. It is indeed a reminder of just how bloody all those battles we read about in the Bible actually were.

Now to the reason I'm even writing this at all. At one point in the movie Achilles is asked, "When will it end?" His reply is simply, "It will never end." And centuries later, it has not ended.

To paraphrase the late Reuel Lemmons, only the gospel of Jesus will make way for the doves of peace to build their nests in our cannon barrels.