Next Weekend

Next week Leslie will go to a Girls of Grace conference to be an alternate in their IT girl contest. Marcia, Lauren are going with Leslie and will meet Point of Grace. Leslie auditioned with Alas And Did My Savior Bleed and Strong Enough. I am excited for them.

Counseling

I may not be the best counselor. . .maybe I should take a lesson from Bob Newhart.

New Life Church in the 50's

Post Branding

Who else gets to look like this on their vacation? I suppose people pay hundreds of dollars for a cowboy vacation like this. We branded 176 calves today.

A prayer for today

What, therefore, is my God? What, I ask, but the Lord God? "For who is Lord but the Lord himself, or who is God besides our God?"[13] Most high, most excellent, most potent, most omnipotent; most merciful and most just; most secret and most truly present; most beautiful and most strong; stable, yet not supported; unchangeable, yet changing all things; never new, never old; making all things new, yet bringing old age upon the proud, and they know it not; always working, ever at rest; gathering, yet needing nothing; sustaining, pervading, and protecting; creating, nourishing, and developing; seeking, and yet possessing all things. Thou dost love, but without passion; art jealous, yet free from care; dost repent without remorse; art angry, yet remainest serene. Thou changest thy ways, leaving thy plans unchanged; thou recoverest what thou hast never really lost. Thou art never in need but still thou dost rejoice at thy gains; art never greedy, yet demandest dividends. Men pay more than is required so that thou dost become a debtor; yet who can possess anything at all which is not already thine? Thou owest men nothing, yet payest out to them as if in debt to thy creature, and when thou dost cancel debts thou losest nothing thereby. Yet, O my God, my life, my holy Joy, what is this that I have said? What can any man say when he speaks of thee? But woe to them that keep silence--since even those who say most are dumb. Confessions of St. Augustine, Book 1, Chapter 4

Whirlwinds of ignorance

Whirlwinds of ignorance have circled the South Dakota decision to stop abortions like a prairie tornado. The criticism I’ve read has centered on the insensitivity of the South Dakotan legislature and governor to the plight of women who don’t want the babies they’ve conceived. These children will enter the world unwanted and throw the women’s lives into irrecoverable disarray. Therefore, the logic goes, they should be executed before they can cause such havoc.

I know a lot of women with unplanned children who look back at those children as the best things that have ever happened to them. However bleak the outlook is when they are born they are not necessarily the harbingers of personal disaster for their moms.

On the other hand, I know a lot of women whose lives are complicated, overwhelmed, and completely disrupted by their aging parents. This inconvenience is in addition to the outrageous cost of care for their parents. Medical care available to the seniors can prolong their lives in a highly dependent state for years.

By the same logic as I hear opposing the South Dakota decision, a woman ought to be able to kill her parents so as not to have her life thrown into chaos by their ill health. Surely the government would support her right to live the kind of right she chooses without regard to her parents.

Now, that would never happen – at least we’d like to think it wouldn’t. Why not? What makes parents less dispensable than unborn children? I think it all rests on the pre-ultrasound belief that an unborn child is not really a person when the invalid parent is. If the child who, when wanted, is called a baby from the day of the first pregnancy test is a person, then South Dakota has done the right thing.

Reavely Coat of Arms, Family Crest

Reavely Coat of Arms, Family Crest

Marquee

Matthew 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Isaiah 12:4 In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.

When you give thanks tomorrow notice the ways thankfulness is expressed in this verse:

1. By calling on his name: Be in prayer.
2. By making known what God has done to people who don't follow Him.
3. By talking about how far above us (exalted) He is.

So don't just say thanks. Take the opportunity to do those three things to display your gratitude!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pulpiteering

Pulpiteering

Marcia & Mary

We always used to play Mary Tyler Moore. . .

Paint Colors

Marcia is an overachiever. She has been her whole life and today is no different.

She has a stack of paint color cards, swatches I think they are called, all over the house, in order to decide what color to paint the bathroom and the girls room and anything else that will hold still long enough for her to coat it. On this, I don't share her enthusiasm.

But, I have learned something very important. I have learned what my next career will be. I'm not ready to leave ministry for it yet, but someday I'm sure I will. Yes, I want to be the guy who names the paint colors. I know it's a hard job, but someone has to do it . . . and you have to be good!

Listen to these color names sitting on our counter (I am not making these up):

Coffee Rose (think brown, dead, dry rose.)
Chocolate Sparkle (More exciting than plain chocolate.)
City Bistro (too noisy)
Chocolate Licorice (Marcia had green licorice as a kid and that doesn't sound any better.)
Rosemont Hall (The color of your college English lecture hall.)
Cafe' Mystique (Mystique without the cafe'.)
Wood Carving (Actually the color of the old man sitting on the porch in his overalls whittling.)
Poetic (What color? Roses are red, Violets are blue. . .)
Voodoo (I think I'll pick this for the baby's room.)
(I'm starting to leave some out now)
Amethyst Reflection (Not quite as bright as the amethyst itself)
Belladonna (Translated from Italian: Beautiful Woman -- has nothing to do with the color.)
Tawny Mushroom (I had a tawny mushroom chicken sandwich the other day).
Ferris Wheel (Only works in high round rooms. Doesn't make you sick like the Tilt-a-whirl color.)
Sweet Spiceberry (Is that a tea or room color?)
Alfalfa (The scratch and sniff smells just like the farm.)
Zen Mist (Christian mist must be on another card.)
Celestial Plume (If dried turns to a celestial prune.)
Featherstone (really, is it a feather or a stone. It can't be both!)
Crocodile Tears (And what color are those exactly?)
Reluctant Raisin (And what color is a willing raisin?)
Scandinavian Sky (We have to get this because Marcia is Norwegian!)
Honesty (It's a little lighter than the color "Truth".)
Cinnamon Diamonds (It looks a lot like plain cinnamon, but is more expensive.)
Veil of Dusk (You can't actually see the dusk because it is behind a . . . well you know.)
Tabu (Can't talk about it.)
Silver Service (You might be surprised it's not silver. Must be more the service color.)
Silver Bells (See Above.)
Moondance (An 80's movie perhaps?)
Tin Lizzie (Not the color of my old '71 Fury.)
Silverado (Not the color of any self-respecting pickup truck.)
Pins and Needles (Bet you can't wait to see what color that is.)
Abracadabra (This one magically looks different every time you look at it. That's why it takes us so long to decide on a color.)
Morning Cloud (Not in the Scandinavian sky, mind you.)
Comes the Dawn (Without the veil of dusk.)
Heavenly Blue (It would be heavenly if it were the last color!)
Cityscape (complete without any buildings.)
Chambray (?)
Filigree (See Above.)
Crescendo (And you thought that was a sound.)
Shimmering Sky (anywhere but Scandinavia)
Faithful (Looks very much like Honest)
Eternal Dream (Too obvious, an eternal nightmare.)
Cloud Nine (The first eight clouds have no color at all).
Moon Rock (complete with NASA certification.)
Gravity's Pull ( I promise you I am still not making this up.)
Exclamation Point (!)
Glass Slipper (by Cinderella)
Marianna's Aria (By Wagner)

And, you're probably wondering what we decided on?
Montana Morning -- Hate the color. Love the name.

Some of my favorite pics from Rome

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

John & Christine's Wedding

Had a great time today doing a wedding for a couple of new Christians, Jon & Christine. They were very determined to honor Christ and I think they succeeded in spades!

Treasure Chest

If you are looking for the Treasure Chest blog from New Life Church it has moved to Treasure Chest. Keep looking each day for short news items about New Life Church.

Sorry for the temporary inconvenience.

Just getting started

I've changed the address for my church blog and am starting a new personal one.