Wednesday, November 30, 2005

doing vs. being

While I was out hunting I was doing a lot of thinking and praying. Mainly about what the heck is going on with my situation and why it has taken so long to find another pastor to students position. I even thought that maybe what God wants me to do is start my own church like a couple of my friends in student ministry are doing. (Nick & Jon) But then I thought about a couple of things. The first being that I do NOT want to be a senior pastor and work with adults. They are BORING and students are so much cooler. Not to mention adults are so stuck in their ruts that it is hard to motivate them. And along with all of that, it is not what God called me to, so I would fail miserably.

The second thing I thought about was that I don't want to be a part of the problem, but to be a part of the solution. What does that mean you ask? Well, a pasotr friend of mine says all the time that we need more churches in this area and I completely disagree. We do NOT need more churches, we need BETTER churches. Because most of the churches in this area suck! Don't get me wrong many of them are DOING great things, but they are horrible at BEING the church in their community.

Let me explain this further.... I know of churches that do some really cool outreaches in the community, or are part of their local chamber of commerce, or have some really good worship services that reach out to non-believers as well as believers, etc. But the problem is this, they are just DOING these things, like they are some kind of a gimmick that will make them grow in numbers. You can DO some really cool outreaches, but if you are not BEING the source of hope and light to them, what good are you really doing? You can be a part of the local chamber of commerce and set up a booth or attend their annual banquet, but if you are not BEING a source of help to them and the community, what good are you doing? You can DO a seeker-friendly service, but if you are not BEING a church to them, what good are you doing?

It is not enough to DO things, but it is time to BE that thing that is needed. I am sick of churches not BEING churches. Instead they put together all these flashy things to attract people and just DO church. The flashy things are not bad or even wrong, but it is the heart behind it. That is what it means to BE the church, it means that your heart is there to minister to and touch lives and not just DO church. You can have horrible music, a lousy sermon, uncomfortable seats, but if you are touching the lives of people (i.e. BEING the church) you will grow. It goes back to the old saying of people don't care what you know, until they know that you care!

I for one have decided that I want to get into a church and help it to start BEING the church and stop DOING church. So no announcement from me about the latest church being started up here. Just news that I am more determined then ever to be a part of the solution and not the problem. Let's get out there and BE all the we can be!

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Saturday, November 26, 2005

more white crap.....

Last night about two more inches of snow fell. So here is a pic of the front and then of the back yard. It looks really pretty, but just remember that it means you freeze your butt off, have to shovel, freeze your butt off, put up with idiots who have no clue how to drive, freeze your butt off, be blinded by the sun gleaming of the snow and did I mention....freeze your butt off? Oh well, enjoy the pics!

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Thursday, November 24, 2005

Happy Thanksgiving

My Lion's lost, but that is nothing new. Although, us Lion's fans used to be able to count on them winning on Thanksgiving Day, even though they may lose every other game. What is new is......


About 2 inches of snow fell on Wedensday and I can not think of the last time there was snow on Thanksgiving here in Detroit. And by that picture you can also see that all the leaves have fallen. Kimmy and I took the last 12 or so tarp loads away on Tuesday.

And to go back a couple of days..... On Sunday when I came home from my unsuccessful hunting trip the Hannah and Kimmy wanted to......


put up our Christmas tree and me being the lover of all things Christmas, I said yes! But the piece of decoration I love the most is the one pictured below, because it says everything that I think about Christmas and believe is true.


The coolest thing about Saint Nicholas is that he was a real live human being who loved Jesus and so this is totally true! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Enjoy the craziness tomorrow, for those of you who are nutso enough to go out to the stores. I will think of you as I lay in my warm waterbed!

OH!!!!! Do you like the new Christmas look to my blog?

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thanksgiving 2005


It is that time of year again! I love Thanksgiving, because it is the start of the holiday season and I get to put up my Christmas tree and officially listen to Christmas music, without people freaking out on me. I love this time of year! Our tree is up and the snow here is on the ground. About 2 inches on the ground as I type this.

I used to not like turkey, until a few years ago a friend of mine introduced me to the Good Eats Roast Turkey by Alton Brown. And let me tell you that it is the most delicious turkey I have ever eaten. When you cut into the breat meat, which is usually dry, juices just ooze out of it. It is VERY good! So I recommend that you click on the link I provided for the recipe and give it a try. You won't regret it!

I hope that you and your family have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade and then watch the Detroit Lions kill the Atlanta Falcons! GO LIONS!!!!!!! And Happy Thanksgiving!

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Wednesday, November 16, 2005

heading for the big hunt.....

Tomorrow i leave to go....


for.....


just like....


uncle ted!

I will miss my family, though I think my daughter would like to join me!



And the scary part is that I will be listening to THE game on the radio while I am sitting out there in the woods with a loaded weapon hunting for a buck! I am not sure if this is such a good idea, because if Michigan loses, which i doubt will happen, then it might not be good for me to have a loaded weapon while hunting for buck! Cause I might just shoot out their buck eyes! So Michigan you better beat that team from down south, I know you will!

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Saturday, November 12, 2005

THE GAME!!!!!!


You have many great rivalries in college football, like the "Iron Bowl", "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party", "The Bayou Classic", "The Red River Shootout", "The Backyard Brawl", and the "The Army-Navy Game". But one game has stood out as the biggest, though there is a VERY valid arguemnt for "The Army-Navy Game" being bigger, and that game has been simple known as THE Game. ESPN even labeled it the number one sports rivalry.

And what game is this you ask?

It is none other that the Michigan Wovlverines vs. that team down south, known as the Ohio State Suckeyes. U-M leads the series 57-38-6 and this game will mark 102 years of great tradition. And these two men have brought this game to the level that it is at now.




So all I can say now is..... GAME ON and GO BLUE!!!!!!!!!!

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Wednesday, November 09, 2005

So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish.....

No, this is not a post about The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Sunday was our last Sunday at Echo Christian Fellowship. We came there hurt because of many things that happened to us, and Kevin gave us a place where we could heal up and rest. Kevin told me that he would not expect us to do anything and he stood true to his word. Thank you, for your integrity on that, my friend.

Not only did he do that for us, but the church there opened up their hearts and lives to us. We made some great friends and know that we will always be welcomed back with open arms by everyone there. Thank you for being a place where we could come, connect, heal up and feel loved.

The best part about the whole experience was leaving on such a good note and with an actually "goodbye", unlike with my previous experience. They prayed over us and sent us off with a blessing. We actually felt like there was a conclusion and a closing to the whole chapter there. And I guess that is why not having that "goodbye" at my previous church, left us with something missing. Saying "goodbye" is hard to do but it is such a necessary thing. It helps brings closure and resolution. But all in all, I really want to say thank you too Kevin for being a friend, man of integrity and a great pastor!

And if you want to see a cool way to do a communion service, which happened to also be the last service we had there, check out his post about it on his journal space. It was a really neat way to do communion.

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Monday, November 07, 2005

fall week 6

Well, i forgot to do this on thursday, but I took the pictures on that day. I had some other things on my mind and then was gonna do it Friday and/or Saturday, but I was busy raking up all of them stupid leaves. But here are the colors......

As you can see the trees in the front are almost naked! LOL


Here are all the leaves that fell. We filled one big trash bin and two smaller one's and then hauled away about 16 tarp loads.


As you can see from the pic here, our back yard was really covered as well. And that was about another 16 tarp loads.


And yet our biggest tree is just starting to change color!

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Thursday, November 03, 2005

In Honor of Meghan Leigh Russell


Meghan Leigh Russell - 2 November 2005 @ 6:18p



I never got the chance to meet Meghan Leigh, but I can tell you that from what I know of her many brother's and sister's that she was one beautiful person. She would have grown up in such a loving and godly home, but for some reason God decided that He wanted her up in heaven instead.

Read More Here

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