Yes! I Am A Stupid American...

I am not sure how many of you had the "pleasure" to view Bill Maher’s interview on CNN a few days ago, too be honest, I’m really not sure what to even say about it. If this was just one person stating his or her views, I wouldn’t even bring it to your attention, because it wouldn’t be worth my time to write about it or your time to read about it. But what he is saying, his view that America is a stupid nation is a very widely held belief among those on the far left. I have heard these discussions many many times by my more liberal friends and professors.

As recently as July 4th I lifted up this same issue in my post “America, God Mend Thine Every Flaw”
http://pastorhigdon.blogspot.com/2009/07/america-god-mend-thine-every-flaw.html

There is a real dislike or dare I say even hatred of this country (or at least its people) by many on the far left. And, if they do love America, they certainly despise most Americans. I don’t want to point out the obvious to you, but Bill Maher was talking about YOU.

Now, don’t feel too badly about it, he was talking about me too and I for one am quite proud to be called a stupid American. I am stupid (in Bill Maher’s eyes) because I believe in God and go to church every Sunday. I am stupid because I study the Bible on a very regular basis and I have the audacity to even enjoy it and gain wisdom and insight from it. I am stupid because I think that the 10 commandments has a profound place in our nation and I am not hesitant to display it, talk about it and encourage others to follow it. Those 10 simple rules have worked very well for several thousand years and I am pretty sure that they are still a good idea for us to continue to follow. Don’t look now, but they still appear on the walls of the Supreme Court of this Nation:)

I’m also stupid because I happen to think that this is a pretty great nation to live in, I am also stupid because I think that our forefathers and mothers did an excellent job of framing the Constitution and I for one happen to be grateful for the sacrifices that they made in order that Bill Maher can say that everything they stood for was stupid. Isn’t the First Amendment a great thing:)

I am stupid because I happen to believe that abortion is a tragedy and that it ultimately destroys lives and that we should seek ways to reduce both abortions as well as unwanted pregnancies. I’m stupid because I happen to enjoy a NASCAR race on a Sunday afternoon or the occasional trip to the Bowling Ally with family and friends. I’m stupid because I believe that our nation is a good nation and each person is endowed by our creator with freedom and certain inalienable rights including life liberty and the ability to pursue happiness. Freedom is hard work and it requires diligence and sacrifice, nothing of which Bill Maher seems to understand anything about. Just out of curiosity I would love to know how much of his multimillion dollar salary he gives to charity? My guess is, not much. Why would he give money to people he thought were stupid?

So today, I am a stupid American and I stand with a lot of other stupid Americans and if the alternative means that I would be “smart” like Bill Maher? Then I think I will wear my title of stupid with dignity and honor, something else that Bill Maher and his kind doesn’t understand.
God Bless America
God Bless Bill Maher (he sure needs it)
And God Bless each of you, even if you are stupid like me:)

Blessings

Salute to Facebook

I bet that you are tired of hearing me complain about Facebook, well today I have something very positive to say. Now, don’t get me wrong, every complaint that I ever had is still valid, but I now have to admit that Facebook also has the possibility of being very special as well. For the past couple of days I have been catching up with a dear old (well not that she is old, or I am old, or well, uhhh, you know what I mean…) friend, Carol. Actually, in High School, we sat near each other in band since the flute section was always next to the oboe section, we hung around the same group of friends and then we graduated together. (along with 981 other people:)

Since the 32 years after graduation, other than hearing periodic updates from Karen’s Mom who worked with Carol’s Mom in the Hospital, I had lost touch with her and pretty much everyone else that I knew from High School.

Well, through Facebook, I have been able to renew that friendship that was certainly lost, get caught up on a couple other friends and find out in general that I did an excellent job of picking friends in High School because they all seem to have turned out very well.

So today, I have to take back at least some of my negative thoughts and statements about Facebook and simply say that I am very grateful that it has been an excellent tool to reconnect me with some very special people, and also allow me to stay connected with many others that would likely have gone the way of my High School friends.

Today I am feeling very blessed. Thank-you Facebook!

A New Milestone

This morning I did something that I have never done before in my life. Before I tell you what it was, let me take you back and tell you a little bit about the experiences that I have had in my almost 50 years on this earth.

First of all let me begin by saying that I am not now, nor have I ever been a strong swimmer. I have always been just good enough to keep myself from drowning and that is about it. I still remember as a child going to the Moline Pool. I was always so impressed by how big it was and how small I felt when I was in it. Fast forward a few years, I remember going to High School and being forced to take swimming classes. I hated everything about them. I hated getting undressed and wet in the middle of the day, I hated wearing those dorky swim suits that they made us wear, always wondering who wore it before me, and did they actually wash it between times and I really hated the cold water. The only good thing was that I could swim well enough that I didn’t have to stay in the shallow end with the guys that couldn’t swim. (although the deep end was not the place to be in water polo) In reality, this was the only real swim training that I ever had, and you have to trust me when I say that it wasn’t all that good.

When I was about 25, I participated in a Triathlon where I had to swim ½ mile. This was the farthest that I had ever swam in my life up to that point and when I came out of the water, I couldn’t get my legs to go straight, I kept going sideways. (not a pleasant experience)

All of this I tell you to bring you to this morning. So far in my workouts I have equaled my personal best of swimming ½ mile a couple of different times, but this morning I swam ¾ of a mile without stopping. I have really been pleased with the improvements that I have made in swimming, going from only swimming one lap just a few weeks ago, to swimming ¾ of a mile today. Maybe there is something to be said for my new lap counter:)

And yes, I do know how to use it, and no, I didn’t mess it up, and yes it is accurate, and no I didn’t get button happy and press it too many times. (See I knew what you were thinking) :)

Blessings

Oh That’s Good, No That’s Bad...

These past few days it just seems like things haven’t worked out the way that I have planned them. No matter how well thought out, and how much care I have put into my preparations, not one thing has gone the way that I had worked out in my mind. But with that being said, about the time that I was about to say poor me, something else happened that would make me grateful that adversity had struck. One example would be that I was supposed to go to a workshop on Monday and Tuesday, the water main broke at the facility and it got cancelled. Twenty minutes later the phone rings and it is Terri with car problems (her wheel fell off) and so now I am glad that I will be in town to help her out. So goes my existence these past few days.

I am reminded of a song that I heard many years ago called "Oh That’s Good, No That’s Bad." In case you don’t remember it, or weren’t around in 1966, here are the words that can still bring a smile today:)

Blessings

OH THAT'S GOOD, NO THAT'S BAD
(DeWayne Blackwell)
Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs - 1966

(Ohhhhh, that's bad!) No, that's good!

Not long ago I was walking down the street
When a woman in a car knocked me off my feet
(Ohhhhh, that's bad!) No, that's good!

My insurance paid me a lot of dough
More money than I'd seen in a year's payroll
(Ohhhhh, that's good!) No, that's bad!

My doctors' bills is where my money went
And all I had left was a very bad limp
(Ohhhhh, that's bad!) No, that's good!

'Cause the way I walked got me a role
As the Marshall’s partner on a TV show
Pretty young actresses started hanging 'round
And every night we'd do the town

(Ohhhhh, that's good!) No, that's bad!

I ended up back in a hospital bed
'Cause my horse fell on my bad leg
(Ohhhhh, that's bad!) No, that's good!

'Cause just when I was feeling my worst
I fell in love with a beautiful nurse
(Ohhhhh, that's good!) No, that's bad!

'Cause I found out she was the doctor's wife
Now I'll be in a wheelchair the rest of my life
'Cause no matter how I pleaded and begged
He operated on my good leg

(Ohhhhh, that's bad!) No, that's AWFUL!!

Can Embarrassment Be A Motivational Tool?

I think I was just put in my place this morning. I hope that you don’t mind my talking so much about my YMCA experiences, but everything else seems to be going along pretty well, and I can’t let you think that my life is a bed of roses now can I? I would rather share a few of the thorns with you, and besides, they are a lot more fun to write about. Of course, I could tell you about the challenges of finding some of the address around here, or about how far out and remote some of my parishioners live, (Thank goodness for my GPS, even though it even gets confused sometimes) but that is a story for another time.

Anyway, back to getting put in my place. First of all, this morning’s workout wasn’t going exceptionally well. Yesterday I had started doing some of the weight training that our trainer at the Y recommended and even though I started VERY easily, I woke up this morning and could barely move my arms. They have never been so sore in my life. (Is this what getting old feels like?) So I decided, no weight training, no bike, no treadmill, just some easy laps in the nice cool water of the pool.

As I started swimming, my arms felt like bricks and never got any better the entire workout. I did manage to swim 19 laps (38 lengths sounds better) in about 50 minutes. (Yes I know I am slow, I think that we already established that fact.) Anyway, about the time I was finishing up, here came a couple of young people a boy and a girl, probably around 16 years old. They got in the same lane together and started swimming laps. I couldn’t believe how rude they were. They had the audacity to swim at least one complete lap for every length of the pool I was swimming. These kids today, couldn’t they tell that the ego of the old guy in the lane next to them was being badly bruised?

So, I figured that after I had swam a half mile and then been embarrassed by a couple of kids that I should probably call it quits for one workout. Thank goodness that tomorrow is Saturday and I can give my body a day of rest from the torments of exercise and my ego a rest from the humiliation.

The good news is that my new toy came today. My Sport Count Chrono 100 has now arrived. Those young whippersnappers better be ready on Monday. Now I am a serious athlete, the package says so:)

Blessings

Taking It To The Next Level!

We have been continuing to be faithful to our trips to the YMCA, well with the exception of yesterday, we just decided that we would sleep in a little bit. I have actually made a little change in my workout routine. I decided on Friday that I would just spend my time swimming laps in the pool instead of doing the treadmill and the bike. So far I have found that the most enjoyment that I have had in my workouts has been the time spent swimming laps. (I have come a long way from swimming one lap and thinking that I was going to die)

Both Friday and today I went straight to the lap pool and swam over ½ mile each day. The sign at the pool says that 36 laps is 1 mile and I swam 23 on Friday and 20 today. I have found that if I swim freestyle on the first length and the backstroke on the way back that I can continue to pretty much stay in motion for a long time without actually stopping to rest.

This seems so much easier on my legs and back as opposed to the treadmill or the stationary bike. And from everything I have ever been taught about swimming, it is supposed to be just about the perfect exercise. So for now, I think that I will spend my hour or so at the YMCA doing just that.

One problem that I discovered was that I had a hard time remembering which lap I was on. Did I just finish lap 15 or just start on it? So I would always err on the conservative side, so it is possible that I have been swimming even more laps than I have been giving myself credit for. To remedy this problem, I did a little research on the Internet and discovered this small lap counter that fits on your finger and can be used with only the thumb and index finger.

This is its description on the web site:

The SportCount Chrono 100 is our top of the line model. It is the best choice for coaches, serious athletes, and racers who need to record multiple lap times. Great for marathon runners, triathletes, and for those who want to monitor races or workouts lap by lap. It also has a PAUSE feature, so you can interrupt your workout without throwing off your timing statistics.

1. Recall up to 100 individual lap times
2. Recall fastest, slowest, average, and total lap times
3. Display split times and lap numbers
4. Total number of laps completed & total lap time
5. Water resistant to 50 meters

Serious athletes, racers, marathon runners, triathletes… sounds just like me doesn’t it!

It should be here next week, I’ll let you know if I am suddenly transformed into a serious athlete:) … Hey what are you laughing about? It could happen! Oh ye of little faith:)

Blessings

Humble Beginnings?

Yesterday after church we were invited back to the Oak Grove church for a pitch-in dinner to welcome Karen and I to the church. I must say that it was really a great dinner. Of course the food was excellent, but what made this dinner stand out in my mind was the way that people stayed around after they had eaten. Most dinners after church seem to follow the pattern that as soon as the first person says that they need to leave, suddenly everyone is packing up and getting ready to go home.

After dinner was over, people sat around and were talking and relaxing. One of the members brought out his guitar and started playing a few gospel songs and within minutes he had 6-10 people standing around singing along. I couldn’t let this opportunity slide by, so I found my way over and joined in for about an hour or more of singing and playing music. (I should have ran and got my guitar)

In reality, Karen and I finally left at 3:30 (the dinner began at noon) because I had a 4:00 visitation scheduled and I was about out of time. When I returned from the visitation at 5:30, there were still people there although it looked like things were beginning to break up.

The best thing that came from the dinner was the commitment of all of those who were singing to come on Sunday and we are going to sing “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” as a special song during worship.

Could this be the beginning of a praise team or choir?

Blessings

Always Something To Do...

Saturdays are always busy days in the life of a pastor. I have been up since 6:30, went to breakfast with a parishioner, came home and caught up on emails, and now I am getting ready to head out for a visitation. (and it’s only about 9:00AM)

Last night we went downtown to the band concert on the square where Fountain Church was serving the refreshments. I have been to these kinds of activities before and too be honest, I thought that the amount of food and the preparations that were made were pretty optimistic. Wow was I ever wrong. We had a line almost for the entire evening. We sold out of all the pies, we ran out of hot dog and hamburger buns, and we went through all of the homemade ice cream. I have no idea how much money was made, but it was certainly an outstanding evening.

In addition, it was a gorgeous night. Oh my goodness, it was cool, and the band was really good. They played basically big band music which I am a big fan of. After it was over, Karen and I went on a carriage ride around the town. (Guess how much that cost? Only $5 apiece!) Last time we went on something like that it was about $15 each, so that was really nice. We got to meet Blaze and Bell (the horses) who were sisters. Before coming to live with the people who were giving the carriage rides, they worked on an Amish Farm, so my guess is that they really have a life of luxury now, spending their days frolicking in the meadow and then only having to work a few hours each week pulling people around the small towns and community events in Southern Indiana.

The rest of today I have to finish my sermon and finalize preparations for worship tomorrow. Wouldn’t you think that I would have this all done before Saturday? I guess procrastination is a hard habit to break, even though I don’t really feel like I have procrastinated at all this week. Too much to do and not enough hours to get it done:)

Blessings

Better Day Today...

Today has been a much better day. I hope that I never have to go through a day as difficult as yesterday was ever again, but reality says that there are more difficult days ahead, and maybe that is why God gives us these little creatures to love and care for so that we can truly grasp and understand the goodness of God’s creation and the idea of unconditional love.

On a brighter note, I stepped on the scale this morning and found that I have now lost 14lbs in the past about three weeks. I really haven’t been working on my diet, but I believe that the early morning trips to the YMCA are beginning to make a difference.

I mentioned that on the first day, I basically made it one lap in the pool and decided that I had gone about as far as I could go. This morning I went 7 laps and knew that I could go further but ran out of time. (I had also spent about 30 minutes on the treadmill) I have decided that tomorrow I am going to skip the bike and treadmill and go straight to the pool. I want to see how many laps I can go if all I do is concentrate on swimming laps. I believe that I read that 36 laps is a mile. That may be a bit ambitious, but I think I will shoot for 20 laps and see what happens.

Good thing that they have lifeguards on duty, I may need them:)

Blessings

My Broken Heart...

As I sit here in my office this evening, I have a very heavy heart. I had to do something today that was perhaps the most difficult thing that I have ever done and I pray that I never have to do it again. This afternoon we took Terri (and Karen’s) dog Mimi to the vet and had her put to sleep. I have known for over a year now that this needed to be done, I have secretly hoped that she would just pass a way in her sleep some night dreaming about chasing rabbits (or more realistically for Mimi, dreaming about an endless bowl of food, Mimi loved to eat)

Mimi couldn’t see very well anymore, here eyes were continually coated with a thick film of mucus that wouldn’t go away regardless of treatment. She had a terrible skin condition that has been a source of perpetual scratching for many years, no matter how many treatments the vet gave her to try and stop it. She had a kidney problem that left blood in her urine, she didn’t really have any bladder control anymore, she lost most of her teeth, her hair was falling out and she often cried out in pain for no apparent reason. But even with this laundry list of ailments, the decision was an incredibly painful one, and although, perhaps, it could have been postponed for a little while longer, I knew that it was time and in addition, circumstances in Terri’s life realistically made the decision for her.

This afternoon, Terri, Karen and I took Mimi to the local animal hospital petted her and told her what a good dog she was. We watched as the veterinarian aid took her away to put an IV into her so that the shot could be given to her as easily as possible, and when she returned we spent a few more minutes with her remembering the joy that she had brought to our family. When we were ready (as ready as we could be) I held her in my arms as Terri petted her and comforted her while the Doctor gave her the final shot. Tears streamed down my face as I thought about all that she had meant to us and I continued to hold her little black furry head as the shot began to take effect. I felt her little body go limp in my arms and it took every once of strength I had not to break down completely. Sometimes it really stinks to try and be some type of emotionally strong male figure when your heart would rather just say the heck with it. It has been a very long time since anything has hurt this much.

The doctor then checked her heart and said that she was gone. As we left the office, I took Karen and Terri back to the house and then I had to leave almost immediately for an appointment. I know now that I should have canceled the rest of the day, but I had no idea the impact that little black ball of fur would have on me. I managed to make it through the rest of my appointments but my thoughts and heart were with Mimi and Terri and Karen. I simply could not get the image of Mimi’s little black lifeless body lying on the table as we left the office out of my mind.

I know that there is nothing more important that we can do as a pet owner than be prepared to make those difficult decisions about life and death and suffering. I know that the last act of compassion that we can do for them is to be there with them and for them as they close their eyes for the last time. But this evening as I type though the blur of tears in my eyes, I can’t think of anything more painful.

I wish that tonight I could have written about the joy that Mimi brought to us and tell some of the wonderful Mimi stories that we have. But for now, the pain is too fresh and the sorrow is too heavy. Rest in peace little Mimi dog, rest in peace.

Blessings

I Can't Believe They Pay Me To Do This...

I have to admit that I am really looking forward to tomorrow. One of my parishioners is taking me up to Lake Patoka for a fishing expedition. It has been a long time since I have had a chance to do much fishing and I am really looking forward to the opportunity to spend some quality time out on the water.

We are starting to get more comfortable with our new home. We have met a whole lot of people and we are beginning to find our way around without getting totally lost.

We have also continued to be faithful with our early morning trips to the YMCA, although tomorrow we won’t be able to go because I have a 6:30 AM appointment with a fishing buddy, Uh I mean parishoner. I told Karen that she could go to the Y without me and she said “Uhhhhhhh NO!” Well at least I tried:)

It seems like each day my calendar gets a little more full. I have really been enjoying my role as full time pastor, especially when I can spend a morning at the lake and call it work:)

Blessings

Catching My Breath...

This evening feels like a good time to relax a little bit and catch my breath. It seems like we have been going almost nonstop for about as long as I can remember. I had thought that most of today would be a restful day, but it really hasn’t worked out that way. We began the day with a trip into Louisville to visit a parishioner at Jewish Hospital. I have actually been to four hospitals that I had never been in before just in this last week alone. They were all extremely user friendly places with the exception of Jewish Hospital in Louisville. Jewish Hospital seems to make no effort to help people figure out where they are going. I parked in the parking garage, went down the elevator and arrived at a long corridor into a lobby, after a few minutes of looking I discovered that this wasn’t even the Hospital building. We had to leave that building, go across a courtyard and then into the actual hospital. I stopped by the front desk to inquire what room my parishioner was in and the lady checked a sheet of paper and said “Your boy is in room…” I smiled to myself and headed up to the room for a very nice visit.

This afternoon we went to Abby and Jacobs wedding. Terri was the Matron of Honor and the entire wedding was just beautiful.

My sermon is finished for tomorrow, everything seems to be ready and now I think that we will order a pizza and watch a movie. This will be a new experience for us. It has been almost 5 years since we have been able to pick up the phone, call Papa Johns Pizza and have them deliver it. That should make for a nice relaxing evening.

Oh, and did I mention that tomorrow is our 29th wedding anniversary? That should make for a very good day:)

Blessings

Sometimes ministry can be down right fun...

This has been really an excellent week. We have started settling into a new normal, we have been consistent with our exercise program, my schedule of visitations has been a great blessings, and we have begun to see God working in some very significant ways in our life. We are really counting our blessings and looking forward to what God is going to do next!

Today has been a long day! (but good) I am heading to bed!

Blessings

I Think I will Tour the Alps Tomorrow...

I feel a little bit like we have jumped into the water with both feet. Last night we went with a couple of our parishioners to a hymn sing that the Oak Grove church is a part of. To be honest I have no idea how we got there, but we went a long way down one road, turned onto another road, drove to a small country church out in the middle of nowhere, and lo and behold there were dozens of cars already there. How do people find these places? LOL It was such a great experience and one of my Oak Grove members played his guitar and sang a song, which was really quite excellent. I talked to him right away about doing special music one Sunday real soon.

Tonight we went to a meatloaf dinner at Heidelberg UMC, which is a church nearby and also a part of our cluster of churches. We had a great time, once again seeing some folks that we had already met and adding a new group of people to my long list of names to work on. I am amazed at the connections and relationships between the multitudes of churches in this area. I am afraid that it is going to take me a long time to begin to put together all of the relationships between the people.

Today was also Day 2 of our visits to the YMCA. I was able to see an immediate improvement. Instead of about dying after 1 lap in the pool, I about died after 2 laps. So far, so good. There was also this very cool bike that was connected to a video screen and I rode the bike on a trail through the Redwood forest. Maybe tomorrow I will take a tour of the Alps??? Naaaaaaaa that might have to wait until Friday:)

I'm Sore Already!

This morning I fulfilled a promise that I made to myself when we found out that we were moving to this area. Yesterday afternoon, Karen and I went down to the YMCA and signed up to become members. It was a fairly painless process and we left feeling satisfied that we had accomplished at least that much. This morning, however, at 6:30 AM when the alarm went off, that was a different story. The last thing that I wanted to do at that moment was to get up and drive down to the Y, but regardless of what I was thinking, we got up and headed that direction anyway.

I started off by spending 25 minutes on the treadmill. I must say that this treadmill looks more like the control panel of a space ship than a piece of workout equipment. It had a built in fan which was nice for an old fat boy, and it also had a built in TV. Wow, now you can exercise and get caught up on your favorite shows at the same time. When I had finished it told me that I had gone somewhere around 1 ½ miles (is that all?) and burned about 5 calories:( (Maybe it was more than that, but it sure didn’t seem like much for all that work)

Then we stopped by the gym and went in and shot some baskets. I was surprised at how much of a workout that was (it’s been a long time) and then went into the pool.

It was my plan to swim a few laps and start building some endurance. I know that swimming is one of the best exercises that you can do. Unfortunately, I only managed to swim one lap, up and back, and I thought I was going to die. I was breathing hard, my arms were sore and I was glad I was ending in the shallow end so that I didn’t drown. (That would have been an exciting way for the life guard to have started his day)

We ended up then going into the “Therapy Pool.” Oh, now that was nice, the water was over 90 degrees and it felt good just to relax.

All in all we spent a little over an hour at the Y this morning and tomorrow Karen and I are both scheduled to meet with a trainer for our initial orientation. That should be interesting:)

My plan is to try to go Monday through Friday and take Saturday and Sunday off. We will have to wait and see how strong the resolve and will power are. But at least we passed the test of Day 1, I’ll let you know how day 2 goes:)

Blessings

Returning to a "New" Normal...

The word blessed just doesn’t seem to do justice for the way that I am feeling this morning. First of all, let me say that the first Sunday in my new churches went wonderfully. The people were so kind and welcoming, even when I didn’t do things quite the way that they have always been done. (or even as I had planned them) They didn’t even point out the obvious mistake when I missed the “greeting one another” part in the service (Karen let me know after the service). We always did the greeting at Crothersville at the beginning of the worship service and I skiped right past it in the service at Oak Grove, but I remembered at Fountain. I will try to do better next week:)

After the second service we went to a pitch-in dinner at a large beautiful cabin along the Blue River with the Fountain church. Karen said that she thought that there might have been more people at the dinner than there were in church and there was an excellent crowd at church.

Then, we came back to the house and talked with Ben and Crystal a little more before they headed for home. It was so nice to have them come down and spend the night Saturday night and go with us to church on Sunday. For dinner Saturday night we fixed a prime rib that my sister sent to us from the Kansas Steak Co. Oh my, that was about the best piece of meat that I have ever had in my life, and the best news is that we have one more just like it out in the freezer:) Life is good!

This morning I was up at 5:00AM to drive into Jeffersonville to be with a parishioner who was having surgery. As I was heading west on I-64, I got to see an awesome sunrise through the fog, it was really quite beautiful. I also learned that the shortest way to Terri’s house is to go on I-64 through Louisville, go figure!

This has been a wonderful couple of days and I am looking forward to getting life back to normal and seeing what God has in store for me the rest of the week!
Blessings

"America, God mend thine every flaw..."

"America, God mend thine every flaw." Ok that was the comment on Facebook this morning that started all of this so, you will just have to bear with me, especially since there isn’t a “dislike” option on Facebook.

Out of all the things that one could say on this day, out of the countless expressions of gratitude that should be articulated for those who have given up everything so that we could have the freedom to say what ever pops into our minds, this is not exactly the expression that comes to mind. Now believe me, I understand exactly where this world view comes from, I have spent four years of my life being bombarded by this mind-set with no ability to speak out against it.

I have very much grown to understand the position of those who really do think that the United States is the bad guy in the world and that everything that is wrong in the world can be placed directly at our door step. The problem is that I believe this world view is TOTALLY UNFAIR, INACCURATE, AND DEMONSTRATES A PROFOUND LACK OF BASIC HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING AND CONTEXT.

You know something; I get really tired of hearing from those who seem to have nothing positive to say about our nation. First of all, let me agree that as a nation, we have done some pretty horrific things: slavery, racism, the treatment of Native Americans, the treatment of Japanese citizens during WWII, lack of ecology and care of the planet and the list goes on. There are many things that, as a nation, we can look back upon and know that we could have and should have done better or differently. I am also aware that we have a plethora of issues that we face today, and that 100 years from now, historians and people living in 2109 will be wondering what the heck were we thinking back in 2009.

But with that being said, the answer that none of these people (some of them I consider friends) who seem to think that America basically stinks, those who think that Rev. Jeremiah Wright was fundamentally correct in his assessment of The United States and in his sermons denouncing America, and trust me, I know many of these people personally, none of these people can tell me a place on earth that does it significantly better.

I have traveled in other countries although admittedly not as extensively as some, but I didn’t hear anyone in my group that went to El Salvador wish that they could stay there permanently amidst the violence, corruption and razor wire. (Admittedly, some, like myself, would like to return in the capacity of mission work someday but that is different) I didn’t hear anyone who just returned from South Korea say that they would rather stay there. (Many of the Korean students I have known, although not all of them, desired to stay in the United States)

I didn’t hear anyone return from Israel, Afghanistan, or Iraq say that they would rather live in those nations. I don’t hear any of my friends and colleagues begging for the opportunity to move down to Havana and live under the Castro regime, although I have heard from Michael Moore how much better their health care system is in Cuba (Oh Please! let me run to Cuba next time I need serious medical attention) You don’t hear that very often despite what a world class expert like Michael Moore thinks.

In addition, I haven’t noticed a flock of people leaving the United States moving to other parts of the world. I don’t see a mass exodus from the United States to Europe or Central America, or Africa, or Canada, or Australia, or China, or Russia, or Cuba.

NO, instead we are a nation that essentially throws open our doors for others to come.

I for one am grateful to live in the United States. I have family members that have served in every major war and conflict in this past century. Freedom comes at a very high price and on this day of celebration, I choose to express my gratitude for this great nation and those who have served in our military and pray that God continue to bless this nation. Today, this Day of Independence, my thought is not "America, God mend thine every flaw." But instead “America, God shed thy grace on thee.” Perhaps the criticisms could wait until July 5th?

Blessings

How Many is Enough?

Tonight is one of those times that I have so many thoughts going through my mind that it is difficult to just pick one and share with you. One thought that I have is, How many Bibles does one person need? I have 11 Bibles sitting on my desk, 2 more within arms reach, and then the “Bible Works” program on my computer that has more different translations, including Greek and Hebrew, than I could ever use.

The funny thing is that I actually use all of these Bibles in one way or another. I have my “Life Application Study Bible” in the “New Living Translation” that I use because it is so easy to read and I don’t really have to think very hard while reading it. I have my “New Interpreter's Study Bible,” which is my primary research Bible, I have my new “Scofield Study Bible” in the “New King James Version” which was a gift from the local pastors in Crothersville, which I really enjoy reading. I use “The Message,” when I want to get a new perspective on the scriptures… Well, you get the idea. The funny thing is that one of my friends on Facebook the other day was talking about her Wesley Study Bible and I had just been wondering if I should invest in one of those as well. I’m sure Karen’s answer would be, “Another Bible! Are you crazy?” So maybe I just won’t tell her that I have been thinking about it. (My secret is safe with you, isn't it?)

And, while I am on the subject of books, I have been spending some time this afternoon unpacking boxes of books, which begs the question, “How many books does one person need?” I think that I have more books in my personal library than some of the public libraries that we saw in El Salvador. I actually felt sorry for those poor moving guys as they hauled box after box of those heavy books out of the old house and then into the new one. So, in solidarity with their pain, I thought (very briefly) about which ones I would get rid of. Unfortunately, they are all a bit like children to me, and I sure would never have entertained the thought of giving my kids away... selling them to the circus maybe, but definitely not giving them away. (he says with a big smile on his face) So, I will just have to consider never buying any more books… Actually, that thought about selling the kids to the circus reminds me of O Henry's story, "The Ransom of Red Chief" Maybe I should go buy the book and read to the Grand kids :)

Another thing that I did today was completely violate one of my own common sense, prime directives, “Never go into a new church and make immediate changes!” Well, I just couldn’t resist, I started working on the bulletins for Sunday’s worship and thought “oh let’s do this song here,” and “let’s move the offering over there,” and when I was done, I realized that I had completely switched around the order of worship. This will either be good or bad; I will let you know how it turns out on Sunday.

Actually, I have talked to several of the members of both congregations and they seem as excited about Sunday as I am. We are really looking forward to meeting everyone and getting to know them all. The people that I have talked to have shared with me many of their ideas about church and worship and I have shared mine with them and I just feel like, here initially, we all seem to be on the same page, so I am trusting that the Holy Spirit won’t lead me astray in the initial changes that I have made. Of course, there is the possibility that it isn’t the Holy Spirit prodding these changes, it could just be my ego, and if that is the case, I could be in trouble:)

So anyway, those are a few of the multitude of thoughts rolling around in my head tonight. Karen is already in bed, the dog is fast asleep at my feet, and I am beginning to grow a little weary myself, so I think that I will just turn these things over to God tonight and perhaps by morning, God will have figured them all out for me:)
Blessings

I Am Very Blessed!

As I sit here in my new office surrounded by enormous stacks of boxes, I am reminded of how very blessed I am. These past few days have gone about as seamlessly as I could have possibly hoped for. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, everyone has been so kind to us, everything that I have put together has worked, and that is saying a lot when you are trying to get your stereo surround sound to work:)

I have had the opportunity to talk with several of my new parishioners who have stopped by to introduce themselves, some even bringing gifts of food and gift certificates with recommendations to local restaurants.

I have been surrounded by my family over the past couple of days, I know that I have overworked them, but I am so grateful for their hard work, love and support, and I am very thankful to each one of them:)

Tomorrow begins the work of sermon preparation (although I pretty much know what I am going to talk about Sunday) bulletins, and a host of a thousand unknown things that God has planned, or at the very least God will see me through.

These past few days have been challenging, we have moved from one house, been homeless for one night, moved into our new house and are now preparing to serve the community of Corydon. God has been very good to me and I am feeling very blessed right now (and maybe a little bit tired)

Blessings
PS: A special Thank-you to Ben for getting my computer up and going, although I think that he had ulterior motives, I think that he wanted to play a game or something:)

Homeless...well at least for tonight

Well, step one is complete. The Mayflower Truck came early this morning and then the fun began. It was actually rather funny, I was sitting on the front porch waiting for the movers to arrive and I saw a small Mayflower Truck pull up in front of the house. As I assessed the situation, all I could think was that there would be no way that all of our junk was going to fit on that truck. But no sooner than that thought entered my mind a humongous Mayflower Semi coasted to a stop in front of our house and I knew that the work was about to begin, well at least for the movers.

I was so impressed by these guys, they had everything loaded and were on their way by 2:00 PM That was totally amazing to me. I do have one thing that was rather embarrassing. We managed to almost completely fill a 52 foot Semi. We have way too much junk and we will never move that much junk again. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I know those of you who know me have heard that before, but this time I really mean it (Really I do)

We are now safely tucked into Terri's house and will meet the movers tomorrow morning at 8:30 in Corydon. If today is any example, they will be done and on their way back home by noon. (well, that may be a bit optimistic)

So, for tonight, we are just relaxing, enjoying a little pizza, watching some TV and recuperating from our long day of moving and preparing for what will be a busy day tomorrow. I am very thankful for Ben and Crystal and Terri for all of their work today! Plus, I am extremly thankful to Terri for the use of her Internet. (It is so good to be back in touch with the world)

This time tomorrow we will be in our new home, and Ben doesn't get to go home until the Internet is up and going:)

Blessings!