Celebration Mid-Week

There are 5 things I wish to tell you about this week:

1. Mitten Tree - I love days like today!  Why? Because today we delivered the presents and food to Edwana and her family.  It is hard to describe how shocked she was when the 2 full carloads of presents entered her home!  Edwana wanted to thank everyone for their gifts.  You brought the love of Christ into this home this Christmas!

2. Sunday - Invite a friend to our Sunday service where we talk about Jesus, often times the hidden character of Christmas.  (John 1:1-5)

3. Christmas Eve - Don't forget the Christmas Eve Worship Service this coming Monday at 7:30PM.  We set the time early enough so that you can go open presents with your family when you get home!

4. Prayers - Christmas and Easter may be the only time that some people will come to church this week.  May we be bold and invite them to be our guest.  May we be loving and respectful when we talk with them.  May we be faithful when God asks us to follow up with them after they visit. 

5. The End? - In case there is no service as we know it on Sunday because the world has ended, I am so glad to have been the pastor of Celebration Community Church.  It has been a joy and honor working with you to reach people with the fierce love of God!  Jesus spoke often about being ready (Matthew 24-25).  My hope is that we have done all that we can to make you spiritually ready for whatever is to come, tomorrow or some other day.  

One thing I know, we have a sure hope in our great God: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-4, NIV).

-- 

Pastor Matt Eenigenburg

Celebration Community Church

1260 W. Sherman Blvd.                              

Muskegon, MI 49441

www.celebrationmuskegon.com/

www.facebook.com/celebration.muskegon

(231) 571-4137

This Week at Celebration

Happy Thursday Celebration! Don't miss these 7 important things for this week!

1. Christmas Caroling! Meet at Seminole Shores at 6:30PM next Wednesday, Dec 5, for your opportunity to go caroling! Very important fashion request: Please wear read or green or just a real gaudy Christmas sweater! I just want others to share in my fashion disorder!

2. Adopt a Family - We have a family of 8 from LoveINC for our tree this year! Cheryl Ferguson will be talking about it on Sunday. Talk it over as a family or small group to see where we can bless this family this Christmas!

3. Offering - Our Thanksgiving offering was for World Renew (formerly CRWRC) for the cleanup efforts of hurricane Sandy. The total came to $338! WOW!

4. Advent - Our Advent sermon series highlights the hidden characters in the Christmas stories. This Sunday is the story of Elizabeth and the surprise of God's blessings (Luke 1:39-45).

5. Christmas Cookies - Bring your favorite Christmas cookies to share with others on Sunday. Sign up at the info booth for your week.

6. Prayer Needs: Please be in prayer for Jena DeWolfe who is going through some big challenges.

7. Thanksgiving - This past week it was very easy for me to be thankful for the many different, dysfunctional, and delightful people just like me at Celebration Community Church. It was our 1 year anniversary together! I am thankful for all of you and look forward to what God will do this next year!

Thanks and Giggles

My kids and I were trying to make a video for the Thanksgiving Worship Service.  It was going so well because my 2 youngest know Psalm 100 by heart.  They recited the psalm perfectly.  They even got their older brother involved and it went OK.

Then the giggles started. They tried to contain it but it was a tsunami of biblical proportions.  There was no stopping it!  They stopped without the last verse of Psalm 100!

At first I was disappointed.  Such sacrilege   They should be reverent and proper when reciting the Bible!  But then I saw it as I think is right: they were thankful in their heart and the joy of living in God's hands spilled over into their activities.  Oh that I always had the joy of the LORD so evident in my life.

Enjoy the video!  BTW: Verse 5 - "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations!"

Celebration Notes!

There are 7 things you need to know this week!

1. We are looking for someone to advance the powerpoint slides once a month. If you can click a computer key and are willing to learn more, you are perfect for this role!

2. We are looking for 2 more readers for Thanksgiving Eve service (Wednesday night, 7PM). There will be a potluck at 6PM.

3. There will be sheets of paper on the walls this Sunday. They are there for people to write on! Fill them up with items, events, and people for which you are thankful. IDEA: get the calendar out and make a list of one item of thanks for each month. Also, list specific areas in your life where you saw God do great things!

4. Pray for families and marriages! Many have taken huge hits over the past few months.

5. Continue to pray for those who have lost loved ones recently: Pam, Bob, Darla, Mary, and others. There is no set way to grieve and come to terms with the loss that is deeply felt. Pray that we as a church family will be what they need.

6. As Thanksgiving approaches, so does the stress level for many people. Pray for good things to come out of family gatherings.

7. I am so glad lately for those from Celebration who care deeply for others. There are many hurts and pains in life and it is good when others don't let you go through them alone!



Celebration Community Church
1260 W. Sherman Blvd.
Muskegon, MI
http://www.celebrationmuskegon.com/

Celebration News

Here are 6 things you should know this week!

1. IT'S FINALLY OVER!:Whew, we made it! Just barely but we are done with the election season until it begins (too soon) for 2014. My hope and prayer is for the country in which we live and the friendships we have. This may be a disappointing election of epic proportions or the best election since the dawn of electoral contests.
The most important thing to remember that this is NOT OUR HOME! (Phil. 3:20)  We are aliens, immigrants, temporary workers, stewards, vagabonds, etc. But we are here for such a short time. Let's continue our main job of bringing God's Kingdom to earth as it is already in heaven. Maybe that thought will break the gridlock of the next 4 years?

2. SERVING TONIGHT: Eat some supper and meet at 6:30PM at 1) Hope's Outlet or 2) Seminole Shores for a night of serving! Bring the kids too!

3. CHILI!: Sunday is the Annual Chili Cook-off! If you would like to enjoy this meal after worship on Sunday and HAVEN'T signed up, contact Holly at church. I hear Roger has a special recipe this year!

4. SONGS OF THE HEART: Confession is only good for other people, right? Wouldn't it be great if we could be free of the dark and secretive stains on our souls? Sunday's message draws on the song of confession from Psalm 51 which we ALL know we need! See you there!

5. IMPORTANT DATES: November 18 - Adopt-a-Family begins. November 21 (Wed) - Celebration Thanksgiving Worship Service!

6. BIGGER BOAT NEEDED: There were 81 adults in the worship center last Sunday! And that doesn't count the children and other adults in the building either! You probably noticed that it was a bit "cozy". Stay tuned for more information from the "We Need A Bigger Boat" Team that will address that issue.



Celebration Community Church

1260 W. Sherman Blvd.

Muskegon, MI

http://www.celebrationmuskegon.com/

Halloween Score!

Some days my job is merely to be the driver or to be the coach.  I get to be background personnel.  There are benefits but I don't do the hard work. That was Halloween this year.

My kids love to dress up in costumes and act like their character.  Budding thespians!  Side note: my little cherubs are natural at this.  Maybe all kids do this by instinct but I have not seen the drama exude from them so quickly and effortlessly.  Get a camera out or put them in a costume and they become a totally different person!  They must get this from their mother.  (This is not to bash her.  She was just in more musicals and drama presentations than I.)

Well, Carla was at work for the evening so I was designated as the adult to accompany our kids on this adventure.   The mission this year was clear: acquire as much candy from neighborhood homes as possible in 2 hours.  I didn't have to dress up or ring the doorbells.  I just needed to be there.  However, I did introduce myself to the neighbors whom we haven't met even after 10 months of living in our home.  That was fun.

The girls got cold after 45 minutes and requested a reprieve from their Halloween mission.  They stayed home while Brandon and I went out for more plunder.  We got to hear a live band play some hard core music and were very successful in finding the homes giving out the large candy bars.  Now, he has more candy than any boy should have and I fear for the health of his teeth!  Just his haul was 12 pounds after the "Daddy Tax".  Not bad!  Maybe we can get more next year!

A Wonderful Sunday!

Since our move to MI, my family has done everything that I have asked them to do.  They have tried their hardest at school.  They have tried to make new friends.  And they have tried to stick together as a family.  They have done all of these pretty well with some outstanding results too!

One of the other things that I had hoped for for my kids is that someday they would look at their new church as their church home.  I realized that this might not be for a few years but I figured that getting involved and doing your part would help ease the process.  It all came together this past Sunday.

This past Labor Day Sunday everyone played their role to make the morning work well.  It was a given that I was going to preach but we had 3 sing in the praise team, I got to play the guitar, 1 was in the nursery, and 1 found his joy of video recording!  It was a great time!

I think this stems from my picture of the church.  Everyone should do their role to make it all work well together.  Some days are better than others but when everyone works together at whatever their role is within the church, it is a beautiful thing!  That makes a wonderful day!

George II

It is monarch butterfly season.  We go out and look for the caterpillars.  They are usually under the leaves.  We take them home and feed them milkweed and help them become butterflies.  It is all a very fun family event.

Tonight we find 2 of them.  One very small. The other was nearly the size of making a chrysalis (cocoon).  We named him George.  We get them both home and before George in the door, Brandon roughly pushes by Jessica and George falls to the floor.  And George doesn't fall where he is supposed to fall.  He falls right where Brandon's shoe is going to fall.  Yep, he becomes a grease spot on the garage steps!  Farewell George!

Understandably, Brandon is distraught.  He is very sorry for his unintentional mistake and doesn't know how to make things better.  He goes inside to sit by himself and wallow in his misery.  I am surprised that Jessica does not feel any sadness about George.  Possibly their relationship was so short in duration that the emotional attachment did not occur.  Sorry for the psychobabble!

I thought that we could have left things this way with one child OK and the other miserable.  Seriously, 50% isn't bad sometimes.  But would it not be better to try to make things right?  I thought so.  Brandon and I went out on a quest for another caterpillar and came home with George 2.  Not as big but still a monarch.  Guilt washed off his shoulders and his behavior is atoned for.  That is a good day!  Oh that all our mistakes were that easy to fix!  Grace, mercy, and peace!  This good!

Big Fish Plan

Sometimes things just go according to plan.

We were at the church campout and we thought fishing would be a good thing to do on a Sunday afternoon.  Not only do my kids drop anything to go fishing, I enjoy taking them.  We have trained them all to bait their own hooks and all but the youngest can take the fish off the hook.  The fish we catch the most is the sunfish/bluegill variety but we have been catching a few bass lately.  Which brings me to the present story.

We are out on the dock catching all sorts of sunfish and having a great time.  However, they can see this nice largemouth bass about 15 feet off the dock.  Try as they may this bass was not interested in their bait.  It was strange to see them drop a juicy worm directly on top of this fish and he would swim off a few feet with indifference.  Maybe like most of us this fish had a bad experience eating worms.    Well I will not be taunted by some large mouth bass!  I took this as my personal mission to catch this fish.  He would not make a fool of me!  I can do that all by myself!

So I developed a plan.  The little sunfish in the lake seem to like worms and the largemouth doesn't.  But, he might like little fish as bait.  Now if I catch a 1 1/2 inch sunfish, that might tempt him.  Hmmm, sounds like a plan that just might work.  Maybe.

I love it when a plan comes together!  And yes I did catch it on a pink princess pole!  And I feel no shame!

Ending: We were going home soon and didn't have time to filet this huge largemouth bass, AKA Leviathan.  So we gave him to a dad and son coming into dock from their outing.  They didn't have too many fish but welcomed a chance to feast on some bass.  It was a great weekend!

Redundant

Often I find that someone else writes the exact same words that I have in my head and heart.  I do not know how or why that is.  I have strange little creatures milling around the dungeons of my brain!

Sometimes a person even writes something downright beautiful and brilliantly captures what I wanted to have said but didn't think of it that way before.  I wish I was that creative!  I wish that I was able to put words to paper to so effectively capture an idea.  Either way, my world is made brighter by reading the article or book.

That situation happened today.  And it was while I was reading the Banner.  Gasp!  I know!  Maybe you feel the same as me about this.  There are times I find that my reading of the Banner is another 15 minutes of my life wasted that I can never get back.  But that is why this article grabbed my attention.  It was short, to the point, about a topic that is totally relevant to me and our culture. Maybe the biggest reason this spoke to me is that he was daring enough to use a book of the Bible that is often avoided: Song of Songs.

I don't think that I could improve on the author's thoughts about love. So, to keep from being redundant, I will direct you to read the article yourself. I think that it will be well worth your time.

http://www.thebanner.org/features/2012/05/love-lessons-from-the-song-of-songs

Mr. Mom

I  have never tried to take the job of my wife.  She does a great job with managing the home and I am grateful for it! I felt that I could do the job for a very short term but that the damage grow exponentially if the length of time was extended.  We have never tried to prove it until this week.

This week confirmed what I have thought all along.  I could do it as I proved this week but I am sure that this was not the best use of my talents. There are some that are snickering with the thought that I actually do have talents.  Yes, I do have some talents and they are quite varied.  However, to use a baseball analogy, this week was not my "sweet spot".

I know without a doubt that my kids will be soooo glad to see Carla come home tomorrow night.  They will run to her and tell her they missed her and love her.  They may even pick up her luggage and carry it to the car.  Then they will state quite plainly say, "Mom, it was fun to have dad do the work of home management but could you never ever ever go away again!"

More than once we had this exchange, "Mom doesn't do it that way." followed by "Oh, you must be confusing me with Mom?  That is the way we are going to do it when mom is gone!"  Or "Why can't we do it?  Mom let's us." followed by "Mom probably lets you play with sharp knives too.  We aren't doing that today!"

I know that it is a parent's job to permanently scar their children in every possible emotional way.  Most find ways to live with the damage that was unintentionally inflicted.  I think that I added to this trauma this week!

So, Carla, we are looking forward to your return.  See you soon!

Your admiring and loving husband!

Beat Up By God

How does God get our attention? We know that sometimes God speaks in a still soft voice in our heart. We love this way because it is a great conversation with God. However, sometimes we are a bit thick and the "ears of our hearts" are plugged. That is when the “God stick” comes out and things get really interesting!

For example, I know a guy who has been struggling to find a reason to stay at our church. He is a great godly man who honestly wants to do what God wants. It has been an ongoing conversation for a few months whether he will stay or find another place for God to use him.

Yesterday, this past Sunday, the newsletter comes out and the secretary wrote an article about commitment to the body of Christ. She said that followers of Jesus need to “set down roots and grow” with other Christians. THUMP! The man came up to the secretary before church and said, “If you wrote that article for me, it doesn’t change anything!” Then, part of my sermon had to do with having others in your life who have permission to speak into your life and help you stay close to God. He talked to the secretary after church and said, “Yeah, I heard it. It still doesn’t change anything!” THUMP! THUMP!


Just before he left for the day, this woman approaches him. She has been coming to church for a short time and is presently in the middle of a relational mess. She gives him a hug and says, “I am so thankful that you were here today. I needed to see a friendly and familiar face.” THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

This morning, the man drives over to the secretary’s home and says, “OK. I guess God is telling me to stay at church.”

I love it when God finally get’s our attention!

Avengers

My boy and I went to see the Avengers today.  First we needed to go to the store and get a $1 box of Mike & Ikes for me and some Airheads for Brandon.  We were 2 of 6 people in the room and 2 of them were staff.  With so many seating options, it was difficult to choose our seats!

It was a good movie and quite funny. The best part was when Loki says to the Hulk, who is looking quite angry, "Enough! You are, all of you are beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I shall not be bullied..."  Then the Hulk grabs him and totally thrashes the room with him.  It was impressive to say the least.  After he has embedded him into the floor, the Hulk says, "Puny god."

I am sure that there are a few sermon applications here but you can think up your own.  I am just glad that I had a great time with my son and that the world didn't have an unruly, ego-maniacal, otherworldly power thinking that I should bow down to him.  It was a good day!

Father's Day

It is tough to be a dad!  If you are a dad you know what I am talking about.  I don't mean that being a mom or being a student isn't tough.  It is just tough to be a dad.  Especially a godly dad who wants to do things right.  To do things the way God wants them done.

Today we thank God for all dads.  The ones who want to do things right and even the ones that are/were not very good "dad examples" for us.  What a blessing is a dad that shows us Jesus despite their flaws!  Maybe through their flaws!

I love you dad!

We played this great video this morning at church!  What a tribute to godly dads!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liZBFdKXKIE

Bored With Blogging!

I am bored with blogging!  There, I said it!  Haven't you ever just get bored with doing something so you stop doing it?  You aren't totally sure why you STARTED doing this thing in the first place but you no longer find the joy in doing it anymore.  It isn't that it is a a bad thing to do but the fun has gone.

I stopped blogging around 2 months ago because I was just bored with it.  I am still not sure that anyone reads these ramblings from the cobwebs of my brain!  If it is just me writing for the sake of writing, what is the use in that?  I can entertain myself without typing out a few paragraphs about my insights on life which may or may not be insightful.

The other day when I was about to give up blogging forever, a person asks me if I am going to keep blogging.  They said that they missed reading my blog.  I tell them thanks and that I will consider writing it again.  I really think that they are just being nice.  Then another person asks me the same thing.  Is this a conspiracy?  Does this overcome my boredom with it?  Do I see a reason to continue blogging now?

I have met many people that get bored with going to church or even the people at church.  They find that they don't receive one little bit of joy from attending a Sunday worship service.  They find that it is rather tedious to hang out with people from church because they are not fun!  So they don't go.

Then, just when they are going to give up on church and sometimes God too, someone asks them how they are doing.  The person asks if they are coming to church on Sunday because they missed seeing them.  It is that interaction that leads to a quandary: do they continue to go to church until they find a purpose?  Does the interaction with a caring person overcome the boredom in their heart?  Someone appreciates them so maybe there is something to this gathering of misfits at church.

If I know anything, which is often in doubt these days, I know that people usually return to church after their "vacation" because someone made it personal.  People genuinely cared.  Strike up that conversation with your friend who is on "vacation" from your community.  Make it personal and care for them.  And if God lays it on your heart to do this, invite them back again.  Maybe you are the reason they have been looking for.

Suicide Forest

I saw a news clip today that made me sad.  It was the mission of this Japanese man to hike throughout this forest and save people who wish to commit suicide.  The 20 minute video clip shows him walking around discovering remains of people who have died, stopping one person from killing himself, and questioning why a person would kill themselves in such a beautiful forest.

One quote of his really struck me, "You think that you die alone but that is not true.  No one is alone in this world.  We coexist with one another to take care of each other."  This man has such a heart for people, for those who feel they are all alone, that no one really cares for them.  Could we be that kind of person for those around us?  There are so many who feel defeated, rejected, and alone.  They need us to give them a reason for living.  May we tell them about Jesus who cares for them and honestly care about them too.

Blindsided!

I was recording my kids sledding one day in March and out of the blue I feel this thump on my backside.  I turn and see that my daughter has just blindsided me with a snowball!  She was laughing so hard and enjoying herself that she kept throwing them at me until I screamed like a little girl!  It was a great day!

Spring Beach Days

It was a beautiful Saturday in mid March  (St. Patrick's day) and I am at the beach!  I didn't really factor the cool beaches into our decision to move to MI but it has been a great thing for us.  We were running up and down the dunes and my kids were playing in the water!  It was a nice 70 degree day at the beach.  How much change can happen in 3 weeks when we were sledding?

The best part was sitting on the beach with Carla as the waves were lapping on the shore.  When the kids were otherwise occupied, it was like being on a date .   Just one more thing to thank God for!

Our Duty to Have Fun!

My kids love life!  I think it is the duty of all kids to have fun and take each day as it is the only day that matters.  It is so difficult to think of tomorrow and waiting until later to get what they really want.  The focus is on now and living today.  Look at my kids in the video and how eagerly go after fun.  I will put another one up next week!

It was one of the only days this year that we went sledding.  This event was at a park in Grand Haven which has benches to sit on that look like hot dogs.  Seriously!  We had so much fun and we even left before they stopped having fun.  (The key to every event with kids!)

Just to let you know, I don't believe that any of us should get rid of our playful, fun-loving side of life.  But that is just me.  I am usually the one at the funeral home visitation that is seen laughing in the hallway with people.  Remembering the great times of the person who has died (gone on ahead of us) should bring up smiles and sometimes great belly roars of laughter.


I hope that my kids and I never lose that perspective of life.  I hope that we all see each day is vitally important and filled with potential for enjoyment.  I hope that we see that fun is so interwoven into every part of our lives that it should be impossible to remove it from even the most ordinary events.

Basics of Life

I love creative people!  People like Ian.  He is a student that I met in Canada a few years ago.  He has been radically changed by the love of Jesus.  It is so fun to hear of how he is presently serving God and how he plans to continue to do that in the future.

Ian recently sent me a list of different ways to state the basics of life.  Do not confuse these with the facts of life.  That was an awkward conversation with my mom when I was younger.  I'm glad that is over.  These were the basics of life, an important framework through which life makes sense and has meaning.  Without the basics of life, everything starts revolving around us and will ultimately fail horribly.  The best part of it all is that it is simple, easy to understand, and memorable.

The first way I learned the basics of life was as Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude from catechism class.  The basics stated that it is undeniable that we are full of Guilt because of our sin.  This Guilt offends our holy and perfect God.  Thank God for Jesus through which we may receive Grace, total forgiveness of all of our sins.  Because of this grace that is freely given and undeserved, we live with Gratitude to God for what Jesus has done for us.  That is a framework makes sense and gives meaning to life.

Until now, I did not know any better words to portray the basics of life to a growing post-Christian culture that we now live in.  My hope is that the following list may communicate the basics more effectively and will help open the door of a person's heart for Jesus to work.  

So, thank you Ian for this list.  I will see if I can use it in the future.

awful - abolition - adoration 

bad - born again - benevolence
corruption - correction - calling

death, deliverance, Discipleship
evil - eternal life - exertion
failure - freedom - fruitful
hindrance - heaven - help
lie - liberation - love
reprobate - redemption - righteousness
Sin, Salvation, Service 

ugly - upkeep - utility
wreck - wash - worship

Holy Skeet!

Saturday started off kinda slow but a slow start on Saturday is OK once in a while.  We watched Anika play in a basketball tournament.  Some coaches take this way too seriously!  It is as if the kids who play have a direct reflection on them as a person.  They have no separation.  So when the ref calls something that they see wrong, loud demonstrative ranting ensues.  The girls are in 4th and 5th grade!  There is a slim chance they will get a full-ride scholarship or play in the NBA!  No one gets a million dollars for winning or shot for losing!  Dude, chill out!  So, basketball was a little boring. ;)

Then, I got to go skeet shooting with my friend Mike.  This was to be my day to show off what I know about guns and how to use them.  In most respects, it was not a successful outing.  This sport is more complicated than I previously figured. I thought that everyone brings their guns to the open field and shoots the clay pigeons.  Just like on Wii sports!  Reality is that there are specific places to shoot from and load your gun.  There are different ways to angle and move your body to adjust to the arc of the discs.  There is skill in leading the clay pigeons just enough so they break and reflexes needed to consistently catch up to the flight.  My head was spinning just trying to keep up with it all!

Unbeknownst to me, the gun club that I visited is world famous!  There are skeet shooting world champions who are members!  Roger shot over 100 straight last week!  That means he didn't miss a bird for over 4 rounds!  There are people who shoot hundreds of shots each week!  These are serious shooters!  And then there is me, the guest shooter for the day, who only got 7 of 25.  It was quite fun and I may go again some other time.  Trouble is that there is no place to practice your shot except to just shoot!

I kept thinking of how often I miss the target of what God requires and expects of me.   Even if I practice all the time, I will not live up to that standard.  Saturday I was really trying hard but there was no way I was going to get a perfect score. What a sad life to be required to be perfect knowing that sooner or later you will miss the target.  How do people live without Jesus?  "But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Now I can deal with that perfect score!

The Hunting Pastor

I am sure the drawing was rigged somehow!  How else could I get such a prize?

We had our annual Wild Game Dinner this past Saturday.  What a great event!  The best attended yet!  There were so many people at church that I had never seen before!  This is the 3rd time that this event has occurred and I hear that it keeps getting better each year.  The organizers do a great job!  The focus of the evening is clear each time: celebrate our God!  He has made us stewards and managers of his creation and we celebrate him with others who share a common interest, hunting.  (And a few of us who are not hunters, yet.)

If you love food, this is definitely the event for you.  It is clear that the cooks made each dish with love.  I have heard of the detailed recipes that were used.  Wow, they took their role very seriously!  We had bear roast, rabbit stew, pheasant gumbo, venison steaks, perch appetizers, and more than that.  And each dish was incredible!  It was like Christmas dinner!  

After we were stuffed to near bursting, we heard a talk by the CEO of Scent-Lok.  If you know anything about hunting you know this product and how well it works.  I of course had no clue until a few months ago.  It was great to hear his story of how God has changed and shaped his life.  I think that this meant a lot to those who know the brand.  A CEO within the industry is a follower of Jesus and is proud of it!

The next part of the evening was a blur for me.  Each person gets a ticket that is used for the drawings.  The event organizers have so many contacts within the hunting industry that they can get many different promotional products and donations for the event.  There was hats, deer stands, hunting videos, and even urination pouches.  I will let you Google that last item.  Everyone walked away with some kind of gift, maybe two.  The night progressed well and the gifts were slowly given away.  People seem genuinely grateful for their gifts.

Then, the next item in the drawing is one of the big prizes donated for the night, a muzzleloader rifle worth around $250.  I have a vague idea of this style of weapon but would not be able to tell you the details of how to operate it.  My brother, niece, and I are joking that we are going to win it.  We are eagerly holding our tickets and laughing with mock expectancy.  The crowd is silent as we anticipate the number to be called.  They call my number!  Seriously!  I wait for someone to say "Just Kidding" but no one does.  Really, there may be only 2% of the people present that could not shoot this weapon better than me.  They must think it odd that the new pastor who is pretty green and ignorant in the ways of hunting gets a brand new rifle.  But no matter, I now am the proud owner of a rifle.

It is my lesson of grace all over again.  Receiving something of great value that is unexpected and undeserved always brings me back to the grace of God.  Priceless, unexpected, and undeserved yet lavishly given out of love and at a significant cost.  I am sure that I will underestimate the value of this rifle just as I underestimate God's grace.  My hope is that I learn to appreciate both and find great joy in having both.

It was a wonderful weekend!  And I haven't even talked about Sunday yet!

Harried and Scattered

Just looking at my desk makes me think that I should not be typing my blog entry.  But this momentary pause in my morning will hopefully provide me some focus for the remainder of the day.  At least that is the hope!

Today starts the very full weekend where many friends and relatives will be at our house.  Nerves will fray and I am counting on at least one episode of flared tempers.  It is just not a good event with family if passions don't get heated up like that!  In-laws come in tonight, friends come in Friday night, my sister and brother's families as well as my parents come in Saturday.  And those are only the ones we know about!

In the middle of this there is my ordination.  The main reason or excuse for these people to travel to Michigan.  I guess there always needs to be a reason and this may be a good one.  I am looking forward to Sunday but is just a bit stressful getting all the details set before people come to town.  It is like Christmas in many ways and there are people in my family that would like to set up the "I hate planning for Christmas" group!

So, if I survive this weekend, I will let you know how things transpired.  It is almost noon.  I need a nap?

I Am Getting Married Again!

I am getting married, again!  


Now that has got to get your attention!  Actually, I will be ordained in the Christian Reformed Church and installed as the pastor of Celebration Community Church in Muskegon, MI on Feb 19.  Ten years ago I would have laughed at this.  Even today I chuckle a bit but it is more out of God's goodness to me and his funny way of directing my life.


But, in crafting this ordination service, I realized that an ordination service is in many ways like a marriage ceremony.  There are commitments and promises made between 2 parties with the direct and active involvement of our God.  Like a wedding, many of the words to be spoken at the ceremony seem long and drawn out.  It is necessary to give it some structure and direction.  The bigger picture is that the meaning behind the words and the substance of our hearts is proclaimed.


I know that there will be challenges in the future after this ordination but I need to remember that it is like a marriage.  I need to remain true to the commitments I make and to do everything I can to build this "marriage".  This is the crux of my promise on Feb. 19.  I want to be a man of character who honors his promises to others, lovingly cares for those who are in his care, and most of all finds favor with God.
I make the commitment and promise to Celebration Community Church in the sight of God and his people, that I will do all in my power to have and to hold from this day further, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, to love and to cherish from this day forth.  


I am getting married, again!

Torn

Sunday I preached about the John 8 story of the woman caught in adultery.  Jesus lovingly responds to the woman who had led a life of sin.   Jesus lovingly told her to stop her life of sin but still reached out with deep compassion.  Both sides of the same love, God's love.  Could I respond the same way?

There is this recent news story that hits a little close to home and tests me in this.  As reported, a man beats this little 10 month old baby girl so that she has several skull fractures.  The girl is presently recovering in the children's hospital in Grand Rapids.  There is no rhyme nor reason given for the beating.  I am not sure that I could accept any rational reason anyway.  I am angered by the incident and cry out for justice to be done!

Man accused of beating 10-month-old | WOOD TV8

However, what if I met this man face to face?  Would I be able to treat him with love, God's love?  Would I afford him the compassion that he reportedly did not give to the little baby?

My head screams that this is different!  When you mess with our children, you have crossed too far over the line!  There is a victim in this situation and a perpetrator of an evil act of brutality!  Mercy and compassion are not to be a part of the equation!  If the reports are accurate, this man will get what he deserves and I will not shed one tear for him.  People like this should be locked up, shot, or worse!  But is this the way I should respond?

Jesus said (Matthew 5:43-44), “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!" Are you kidding me? Jesus, this is insane! How does a person love those who do things that only an enemy would do?  Where would I draw enough strength to pray for a person like this and NOT hate them?  How could I "gasp" LOVE him?  Truly, this kind of strength and focus would come from God because everything in me would want justice, not love!

I hope that I never meet this man.  Not that I would do bodily harm to him.  That is not my point.  Honestly, I do not want to have to respond with love and compassion to this person who I think does not deserve it.  Even with Jesus' example and words, I do not think that I could give the same example.  But I must!  I must do all I can to remember all of my own wrongs that do the same thing to a holy and almighty God.  I do not deserve God's love and compassion yet it has been lavished on me!  I must!

I pray for wisdom and God's strength because I am torn to my core.  Who says love was easy?

Still Studying

Yesterday was my Classical Ordination Examination.  It was the nicest grilling that I have ever received!  For 2 hours I was in front of colleagues and fellow pastors from the surrounding CRC churches.  There was not any "gotcha" questions or people that wanted to make a statement.  The pastors were more concerned with the person God made me than how much theology I knew.  Most of the questions were pretty easy for me to answer because I have had to answer them several times before.  I tried to remain calm throughout the questioning and I really do not remember whether I was scared or not.  I think that sometimes I am not smart enough to know that I should be scared!

I understand the necessity for the Classical examination.  There is great benefit from making sure that a person is a good fit for the ministry.  There have been too many people who have fooled people their entire lives about their character or their motives.  It is a sad day when they blacken the eye of Christianity as the person derails their ministry with a variety of moral failures.

There is great benefit to know whether they are a good fit for the CRC too.  How many pastors have come to CRC churches and then decided that they did not agree with the doctrines or theology?  They end up causing much trouble and heartache and often take the church they pastor out of the CRC.  (Some are joking about why a person would want to be a CRC pastor in the first place.  Maybe I will write about that someother time.)

It is a serious thing to serve our God, whether full-time ordained or part-time volunteer.  It should not be taken lightly and I do not.  The road has been long for me to be a lead, ordained pastor.  It has not been a comfortable process but it has been good.  There have been many things that I have missed in life due to this journey while I have gained many things too.  


Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy in his second letter: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."  The old King James version says, "Study to show yourself..." Yesterday was not a grilling or a test or an exam. It was a showing of who God made me to be. It was a "check up" as to how have I been studying. I think we all need to have a check up once in a while to see how we are studying. I would think that we would all want to show that we are approved by God. Wouldn't we?

Boxes

I have this insane joy each time I empty a box, unceremoniously tear off the tape, and put the box in the garage.  Doesn't that seem odd?  You have to understand that 2 weeks ago our house was filled with boxes that came from Minnesota that were packed 6 months ago!  We packed up our world in the middle of the summer and haven't been able to restore that world since.  We have been living on the bare necessities for all of this time.  That is OK but it leaves us in an unsettled and rootless state of mind.

(The Game is "Where's Maria?")

And then as we open each box we get to look the contents and think of possible places it will work.  Sometimes it is easy to place the items in a fitting place to be used again.  Case in point: deodorant and razors.  Necessary.  Needed.  I know where to store them.  While other times we leave the contents in the box because the place is not readily known.  Our dining room is full of boxes for the pantry and will be for some time.

Dining Room Boxes

So each box gets emptied and placed where it is supposed to be.  I think that the boxes have multiplied since we packed them in MN.  How that happens is not known to me but it just seems that way.  So, we needed to upgrade our storage potential by putting up more shelves.  I am unsure whether this is good since that just means we can accumulate more stuff that we don't need.  But there is joy in seeing items come from boxes that used to be part of everyday life and have been missed.

This entire process reminds me of when I first came to know Jesus.  The first few months were a wonderful time of adventure.  God was unpacking the various areas (boxes) of my life and determining where they fit into the life we lived together.  We looked at the big issues like my music, my relationships, my parties, even my ethics.  We looked at small issues too. It is difficult to put into words how each day was a joy to unwrap.  Life was much more simple then.

To paraphrase Ecclesiastes, "Of the unpacking of boxes there is no end."  Today, there are many more areas to unpack and not every "box" fits nicely into my life.  The boxes are usually the same with minor variations but I have become better at unpacking them.  The more unpacking I do with Jesus, the better I get at knowing where things fit if they do at all.  It continues to be a joy to unpack an area of my life and figure out where it fits into my life with Jesus.  It is all the process of getting settled with Jesus.

Family Room

Be Like Caulk?

The special sanded oyster gray caulk came in today!  There was joy in my smile as the lady said, “Your order came in this morning.  You can pick it up whenever you want.”  This was the only thing stopping us from using our shower.  It took 2 weeks to get to Home Depot but wow was it fun to work with!  I am sure that this is boring for those who do not enjoy home work projects.  But if you have ever been in the middle of a home project that included caulk and that caulk was subpar at best, you know how frustrating it can be.

This caulk is amazing to work with!  It is smooth.  It blends in to the grout so that you wouldn’t even know the difference if I hadn’t told you.  It has a little grit to it from the sand which sets up nicer than plain silicone caulk.  Over all, it is a nice end to the 6 week shower remodeling adventure!  Great work Bobby!

I wish that I was as easy to work with as this caulk.  Don't be fooled.  This is not false modesty.  I know that in many areas I am rough around the edges and don’t always give a fine finished product.  My imperfections stand out quite easily even though I try to hide them.  I am certainly not as flexible!  Those who work with me do not always say that our work has been fun together. That is just an honest assessment.

I am a testimony to the way God chooses the things that are weak in our world to show his strength. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”  Only God can take a person like me with all of my weaknesses and imperfections and make me useful to others.  If I am nothing else, I am a picture of God's power working in me.  This doesn't absolve me from becoming more refined and useful to God but it does show others that God is at work in me.

It seems weird to say but it is clear that I need to be more like caulk.

Moving Day!

Tonight we hope to move much of our belongings from Grand Haven into our new residence in Norton Shores.    Yeah!  Then, Saturday we will move the remainder from this mountain of boxes at church.  You are all welcome to help!  We may even be sleeping in beds by 10PM at night!


This has been a long process of making our home in MI.  There has been many moments of anxiety and lost sleep.  We have left many good friends in MN and have begun to make good ones in MI.  We have put in much effort (as have others from church) to make this house our new place to live.  I have missed too many family meals and bedtimes.  It has gotten very old to come home and hear, "Yeah, Daddy is going to eat dinner with us tonight!"  


We have been anticipating this next step in our MI journey for a long time.  Presently, Grand Haven is called home but it is merely a temporary residence, not our home.  We haven't unpacked much at this house because we have bigger plans.  We haven't put energy into beautifying the Grand Haven house because we plan to continue the process of making the Norton Shores house our home.  After all, it is all a process.  Someday this year I hope that I and my family will be able to call the Norton Shores house our home.


I hope that I can have the same focus on my heavenly home too.  This life is to be lived to the full but it is not our final destination. We should invest some energy and focus here but always remember that this is not our final home.  It should not be confused with the end of our journey.  It is only a taste of real life, a glimmer of what is in store for us.  


I want to have the laser sighting on this life like that of the last verse of "It is well with my soul".
And Lord, hast the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

That will be a cool moving day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjGZqp59RZg

Genuine Love

Mornings are an adventure.  It makes sense that I take the kids to school since I need to be to church not long after the kids need to be at school.  So we rush around and get all of the lunches made and clothes on.  Most mornings child #3 is the slow one because she can be and it bothers the others.  We all have our control issues and this one is hers at the moment.  Other than that, mornings have fallen into a quiet routine of which we have navigated safely so far and without coming to blows.

This morning Maria asked me if I would help her roll up her blanket with her.  Preschool is so cool these days. I just had hang time with mom.  I could have been a rocket scientist if I had preschool!  But I digress.  Maria brings her fun dog blanket pillow for rest time at school.  She wanted it rolled up well so that it is easy to carry.

We fold the sides in together and begin to roll it but it doesn't roll as she wanted.  I notice that she couldn't get it so I jumped in and did my daddy thing to fix the problem.  I rolled it up and stuffed it just right so that it looked like a cool dog blanket pillow.  I must say, it did look well done!

Then, the coolest part of the morning took place.  Maria realizes that she now is in possession of a cool looking dog blanket-pillow.  Her face changes from one of anticipation to that of "this is the coolest thing ever!"  She lunges at my neck and gives me the biggest hug and kisses me on the cheek.  Then she says thank you, picks up the pillow, puts it in her backpack.

Such a genuine display of love is maybe the coolest thing ever!  This girl showed me her deep appreciation for my efforts and her love for me as her dad.  As a dad, what else would be better than that?

I get moments like that with God too.  Hopefully you know what I mean.  God unexpectedly puts a person in my path to bless me.  God arranges a complicated set of circumstances into a perfect alignment that I thought impossible.  God inexplicably sends his comforting peace when I am frazzled and am most definitely in need of it.

When I am confronted by God's greatness and goodness, my attitude suddenly changes from one of deep concern to a response of wonder and amazement of my heavenly dad.  He blows me away!  I sit back and smile and say, "God you are so good to me!  Thanks!"  And if I could physically hug his neck, I would for the longest time.  Someday!

God Makes Me Laugh

I talked with Linda today.  She is the prayer coordinator from church.  We met at McD's to talk about ministry at church, an upcoming Pastor's retreat, and to get to meet her.  We talked about so many things but I remember the conversation about her journey with Christ over the years.  She told me stories of how God had always been faithful to her family through the ups and downs and the in between times.  The dry times and the times when she knew that she was doing God's will.  The mountain tops and the dark valleys.  After a few stories she stopped and said, "God.  He just makes me laugh sometimes."  

It so apparent that Linda was overwhelmed by God's faithfulness to her.  This woman's heart was completely filled with exuberant joy when she recalled how she was never lost or alone.  She was always in the presence of her heavenly Father and he was always directing her path.  More importantly, she knew this to be clearly evident in her life.  

Do I laugh with joy in my heart when I look back to see God's hand at work in my life?  Oh yeah I do!  It is a well spent and worthwhile moment when I trace the line of God's shaping the events of my life.  I don't hit pause and recall God's goodness as often as I would like.  But when I do pause, it is so easy to see how God has wired me, how he has prepared me, how he has led me to the place I am today.  It is clear that my God has been so good to me.  

God makes me laugh too!

Kick a Puppy!

We used to have a question book at church with the question: would you rather make a child cry or kick a puppy?  Never a good answer to that one.  Well today I kicked a puppy!

To tell the full story, I went running with Carla today.  Again, this doesn't sound like me but yes, I did run without a soccer ball but it was by the beach which was cool!  We were running down the street and out comes this little Pomeranian.  While technically I consider these animals as part of the rat species, I did get spooked when this ferocious sounding furry creature suddenly comes directly at my ankles.

I tried to ignore my feelings but this beast kept charging.  When the dog got close enough to lunge at my ankle I just reacted.  I swung my foot out to move the dog away and ended up kicking it in the snout.  It wasn't a driving soccer blast but enough to get a yipe and dissuade a dog from further intimidation.

What if sin and temptation was a fierce Pomeranian puppy?  One day my first reaction to temptation and sin in my life will NOT be to ignore it or to be afraid.  Rather, I hope that it will be a swift kick to the snout as I continue running on my journey of life.  Too many times I just don't have the correct attitude toward.  If temptation and sin was a dog would you not kick it as hard as you could and continue running the race?

My advice to everyone this year: kick a puppy!

I Love It! I Hate It!

I am so conflicted!  


Today was a great day and also a day where it was clear that my nerves were wearing thin.  During the day I got to talk with a plumber while he was installing our water heater. (It was covered under our home warranty so it is OK.)  It was cool to talk to him about the vast knowledge base he has about plumbing and just construction in general.  There are projects in the future that he helped us map out!  The bad part was that I was not able to get to work on time nor get all I needed to get done there.  Thus, I am still busy at 10:30PM!

Then, I got to go shopping with Carla.  This was the highlight of my day because in the stress filled world of trying to move to our home we sometimes rarely get to be near each other until late at night.  And by then we are just done.  But we went to Lowe's to shop for a washer and dryer.  (This is sad for a handy person like myself but I had never stepped into a Lowe's before!)  The sales man was so helpful in what we were looking for and willing to drop the price of a new washer to that of the scratch and dent model.  Yeah!  Then we got an additional 10% off because of a coupon we got in the mail.  Very fun!

Then we went back to the house and I saw all of the painting and little projects that need attention.  We are taking care of many large projects on Saturday but there are many walls that need painting!  I was so tired that I didn't even enjoy painting the trim in the upstairs bathroom!  Something is seriously wrong when that happens!  

I want to be moved into our home!  I want to have most of the projects completed or at least to a manageable amount!  I want to hang out with my wife and kids instead of racing to get these home tasks done!  I want to put more of my attention and energy into ministry!  I want to have people over so that we can invest in each others' lives!

Why must I so quickly lose my focus and grow impatient with God's timing and leading?  Today, even in the valleys or the stress filled frustrations of my life, I know that my God is there.  And in the fun and exciting times or mountain tops, he is there too.  How can I just be content to know that my God is beside me every second and gives me what I need and even more?  

I long to live with the perspective of Paul who says in Philippians 4, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all things through him who gives me strength."  


Someday.  Not today but someday.

Snow!

Monday!  The first Monday of the year and a very snowy, windy Monday!  I have not settled into the pastor's day off on Monday yet.  I think that Saturday would be a much better day to take off so that I could be with the youngin's.

Anyway, I am sitting in Russ' Restaurant in Grand Haven, MI organizing my world.  We start a new sermon series on Sunday and many other details that need to put in order before then.  They gave me a corner booth right by the window with an outlet next to the seat.  Perfect!

The best part is that I can look out the window on 2 sides and see the snow coming down.  It is swirling a bit and is supposed to continue throughout the day.  It is really pretty but last night the wind was howling with gusts of +40mph!  Even now the wind is really blowing hard and the wind chill makes it feel much colder than it really is.  But for me inside Russ', I am toasty and warm, the waitress keeps bringing me hot coffee, and I don't have to worry about the swirling cold outside.

A comforting thought for me is that my God has his warm, strong hands cupped around me.  The terrifying and destructive winds of evil threaten but I am safe and secure, protected by my God in the palm of his hands.  I can hear the terrifying winds shriek around me and even shudder at their ferocity.  But I clearly hear that quieting voice in my heart telling me that nothing will ever happen to me that my God will not turn to my benefit.  The winds may whip in at times and cause me pain and discomfort but my God will draw me closer and warm me with his love.

Of course, it is much easier to talk about the freezing gales of chaos when I am comfortably indoors and safe.  For those who are being buffeted by these fierce gusts, this post seems totally wrong and even naive.  As one who has been chilled in these winds and then drawn back into the comforting peace of God, I know that there is peace in God's warm, strong hands even while the storm rages outside.  I pray that this frigid season will let up for you.  I pray that God's protection and peace might shine into your world and warm you as never before.  I pray that you will also stand confident and defiant against the chilling winds as you hear God's strong voice speak to your heart that you are indeed safe in his hands.