Greetings and welcome to Koinonia in Connexion. Perhaps I should first explain my title. Koinonia is a Greek word which means fellowship or communion and connexion is a term used by John Wesley to describe the covenant relationship between the people called Methodists. This relationship is one which is based upon a shared understanding and commitment to Christ as well as to each other.
Therefore, my purpose is to share with you my understanding and thoughts about what that relationship means today, and what it means to be the Body of Christ in fellowship and connection to God, the church and to each other. It will be my desire to share my life with you, both the good and the bad, as well as my unique perspective as a Seminary student and Pastor of two small churches in Rural Indiana. Come with me as we join together in conversation.
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27
Two of the greatest qualities in life are: Patience and Wisdom.
This was just too good not to pass on. And you will have to trust me when I say that Odie doesn't posses either of these qualities (the same could probably be said for his owner) :)
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.
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:)
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!
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) :)
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
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:)
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 SportCountChrono 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:)
