Married with Children

Slow down Gretchen. Do not be fooled by the title of this blog, this is not an announcement of any sort!

I was thinking the other day about the show Married with Children. Well Actually i got there by thinking of my family. And I thought that we aren't quire the Cleavers, but we are close. But that got me thinking about what might be the opposite of the Cleavers. My first thought was The Bundy's from Married with Children. And i remember that as a child i was not supposed to watch that show. As i began to think back on that show i realized that it seems to be as far fetched as Leave it to Beaver. The odds of finding a family like the Cleavers these days is rare. But then i realized that finding a family like the Bundy's would be impossible.

The thing I realized is that I am impressed with Al Bundy. Al Bundy does not like his kids, because they are disappointments. His daughter is a slut. He son can't ever do anything right. Neither of them have done much to make their father proud (yet some of this fault may lie with Al himself). Al doesn't seem to like his wife, at least not all the time. And he does not seem to be attracted to her anymore. She constantly is hitting him up for affection and he seems to get nauseous when he thinks of their love life. He hates his job. He sells women's shoes, and finds his work completely unsatisfying. He is constantly in debt because his job does not pay well.

Ward cleaver is some sort of Business Manager. He is successful and enjoyed his work, though it was hard. His wife stays at home where she cares for the house, she cooks and cleans everyday, she keeps an eye on the boys daily so they do not veer to far off the "narrow path" and so Ward only comes in once a show to point the Beaver back on course, and The Beaver always listens. When ward comes home he finds his attractive wife just finishing a nice home-cooked dinner, adorning a nice dress and her pearls. His boys tell them what great tings they are doing, sports teams and good grades mostly. He cares for them and they care for him.

Ward and Al seem to be opposites. but to see them as similar we need to imagine taking men from today and placing them as these fathers. If Joe Sixpack found himself as Ward Cleaver place he probably would think that he had lucked out. How many men have a salary that can pay for all their families needs? How many men come home every night to big home-cooked meals? How many have children that only make mistakes that can be resolved in 30 minutes? How many men are satisfied and contented with their life in the way that Ward Cleaver is? How many men would like to be?

Now think if a man wound up as Al Bundy? What happens to men that lose interest in their wife, have troubled kids, and hate their job. Do you think many men would stay married with children, or would they divorce their wife by some Rogaine and try to start over. Al's life peaked in High School when he was the star running back. But he remains married to peg working a crappy job to support kids that think he is joke. Al is not perfect. he many faults, but he does love his family enough to be faithful to them. His head is always filled with thoughts of running away and become someone else, but he remains committed to his family.

I suppose if you look you could find men with great families. Finding happily married men is not hard. But to find unhappily married men would be harder. In a society that tells you to always reach for your individual potential, it is rare to find people who do not cut and run. Today it is much more likely to find split families who seem to be "ok" than troubled families who stick together.

It made me think if Al and Ward switched places. What would happen? Something to think about.

Also, if your read Matthew 1, you realize that Jesus' family was more like the Bundy's than the Cleavers.

Hope your advent is filled with love and hope and peace and joy.

Mr. Freeze

So....Winter arrived this week. It snowed on Monday evening, and this was the scene Tuesday morning:

I am not the kind of person that enjoys pet-clothing. I don't think animals are supposed to wear sweaters or boots or pants or stuff, but man our dog is prissy. She does not enjoy the cold or the rain. So out of pure function we purchased a rain coat for Daisy, I was against it, butthen i remembered that we got her groomed just about 3 weeks ago and so her fur is shorter than usual, and the weather is also colder. So we decided to go ahead and get her a coat. I am not sure which Daisy dislikes more, the cold/wet weather or the coat. The first few times we put it on her should would not move. She wouldn't even come get a treat! She is adjusting now. Anyways this is her in the snow:



How is the weather elsewhere? Is it going to be a White Christmas? I am enjoying the cold (for now).

Election Day

So this is my 1st video blog:

Pro Life

I have decided that the term pro life is about as helpful as being pro-goodness. I am pro goodness. I think evil is wrong. Hooray for me, taking such a courageous stand. It seems to me that the term prolife means pro the life of the unborn. This seems a little short sided to me. Could I be pro second amendment if i said that every person has the right to own a musket. We are all gauranteed by the constitution one musket. Have all the other gun laws you want. but as long as a person is allowed a musket, just like the colonial militias had, then i am happy and believe that our right to bear arms has been protected. I feel like the NRA would not accept that. In fact they might shoot me.
This is my problem with prolife. They only seem to care about life until it breathes. Then once the baby breathes its on its own. Now i think abortion is bad. Its a tragic medical procedure and should be treated as such. I don't know that i can say that it should always be illeagal no matter what the circumstance is. I do know that it is a cruel form of birth control. But i also know that life extends beyond birth. I am 27 years of proof that life continues after conception and birth. I think most of americans want the number of abortions reduced. But i think we could do more by loving young mothers who face difficult times than by passing some law. Jesus cursed the pharisees for putting harsh laws on people then not raising a finger to help with the burden. Too often pro life arguments are only about laws which force women to brth their babies, but what percentage of pro life voters adopt, or foster children. What percentage of parents accept their daughters who get pregnant and don't cast them out as "sluts". I figure those percentages are low and thus abortions are high. Abortion is not a political issue, its an ethical issue. It is not the mothers choice, it is the community's choice to accept all children and commit to raising each one of them. You seem am not sure that voting for a "Prolife Canidate" could stop abortion. Bush had six years with a friendly congress and could not make any headway. But even beyond that point; life is more than just the issue of abortion. The problem of abrtion needs to fought on the demand side, not the supply side.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY:
Being PRO LIFE should mean caring about things like war, poverty, health care, the death penalty, etc. So yes, life begins at "conception" I guess but I KNOW that it extends beyond 9 months. Why do i feel like there are many pro lifers who support the death penalty. If that's not crazy I am not sure what is Pro-life and supports DEATH penalty? To be pro-life and not Pro ALL life is problematic. To ignore the AIDS Pandemic is what Pro-Choice. I choose to let them die. To not give everyone access to health care is tho be Pro-Choice, I choose my lower taxes over your heart condition. I call them pro choice because that is the opposite of Pro Life right?

Well anyways, I am trying to figure out how to be pro life. That means of children fetuses mothers prisoners immigrants, Muslims, Asians, Africans, Europeans, North and South Americans, Africans. In the mean time refuse to let the "Pro Life' movement tell me what that means. I will turn to God, breathed life into all of us. For i believe that means God defines pro-life.

Haunted House

So there have been people asking about our house. Here are some pics of our house decorated for halloween.

Living room:

Kitchen:

Hallway (duh):




Office:

Guest Bathroom:


Guest room:






Our room:



Stairway



Game Room:

October 6th

Well the cold weather has arrived. Last week we had at least 2 days where it did not reach 60 degrees. It is great. The morning are typically around 50 degrees and the high this week is about 80 degrees. For those of you in Texas. This is called autumn. Its magical!! Seriously, the weather is good.

Well Each year the Holston Conference has a large youth gathering called "Resurrection." It is just a large youth conference, with worship and stuff. But each district in the conference (there are about 12) can submit a group to perform during one of the worship times. So in the Fall, each district has a "Festival of gifts and talents" where people can present their gifts, and the district selects the group/individual that will represent them at Resurrection. Our FOGT was last night. It was at Wesley. The group chosen was from Wesley. We had a group of 6 girls perform a liturgical dance to Nicole C Mullen's "On My Knees." They were good. I was very happy for them. I saw them do their routine last week during our church service. UNtil then we didn't even have a group in the FOGT. So on Sunday, I saw them do it, and during the offering, i passed them a note saying, "Can yall do that next sunday night?" Luckily they could. I knew that we had a Youth Girls woprship team, but until last sunday did not even know they had anything they could do. So we lucked out and then stole the show.

A good day

Yesterday was good day.

I walked into my office to find an email telling me how a girl in our youth group had come home and told her mom that she enjoyed it. Her mom said that was the first time she had ever said that about church. She also told me that the daughter is excited about the Middle School Retreat I am planning. I suppose i could stop there and the day would be good. But it wasn't even lunch yet.
Speaking of lunch, i went to Sonic for a late lunch, which you might think is bad (that i had missed lunch earlier) but it was after 2pm so i got my drink half price!
Then i went right across the street from Sonic to the Salvation Army store, and found 3 board games for a total of 6 bucks. We are decorating our den with movie posters and things from Board games, so i had been looking at Thrift stores for games, but had come up empty handed until yesterday.
Our Wednesday meal was good. And so was our lesson. And then when we went to play in the gym, the kids requested Dodgeball Bowling, the game i made up on Sunday!

It was a good day.

Church and state

So I saw this story on usatoday:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/
2008-09-10-pulpit-IRS_N.htm

There are "liberal" church leaders encouraging the IRS to crack down on preachers who are endorsing candidates. Many of these preachers are supporting candidates at the encouraging of the Alliance Defense Fund (http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/main/default.aspx). The ADF wants the pastor to break the law so they can challenge it in court.

[I see this group as the twin brother of the ACLU. Though they each see each other as the evil twin.The ADF defends sanctity of life (though apparently not the lives of deathrow inmates) traditional families (is divorce becoming art of our tradition?) and religious freedom (right wing fundamentalist christian freedom apparently)]

The "liberals" claim that there should be a strict separation of church and state and that preachers should stay out of politics. The ADF thinks that preachers should be able to speak of biblical truth in all aspects of politics. I agree with the ADF desire to speak Biblical truth on everything, even politics (But I think their own theology keeps them from speaking the TRUTH more than the IRS ever will). I disagree with them if they think that they should be able to critic the government and point out where it fails to live up to God's calls for justice and still expect the government to give them a break on Taxes. You can have freedom of religion, thats a 1st amendment right. Freedom from taxes is not a right. Its part of deal the church made with the government. "You don't bother us and we won't tax your money."

SO really, i agree, and disagree with both sides of this case. The church should speak the truth of God, and if that means you have sall out the government even individual candidates then so be it. But be prepared to give unto caesar that which is Caesar's. The money in our collection plate has the Gov't name on it, so sometimes we might have to give the Gov't its money. Other times the Gov't may have a big dose of truth with its name on it and the church should be bold enough to give it to the Gov't as well.



I think the ADF and the church leaders opposed them need to have a talk and leave the IRS out of it. I also think the ADF is dumb. Sanctity of life....Sanctity of life you deem worthy is what you mean to say. What a bunch of hippocrites! They want to protest the war. They don't protest the death penalty. They do protest laws against demeaning the life homosexuals. Sanctity of a way life that looks like me!

"Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"
-Jesus

Games

So last week i tried to play a game with the youth group. It was meant to be like Stratego, but it was really weird. It was kind of like tag, but I gave out playing cards and if you had 4 you beat someone with a 3 and if you had a 10 you could beat a 9 or an 8 or 7 etc. And the kids tried to play, but overall it just didn't seem to work. So this week I made up another game. It was based on dodgeball, and bowling, and cricket. Sort of. I called it Dodgeball bowling. Instead of hitting each other with balls, they try to know down bowling pins which are on the far ends of the gym.

You put a goalie along the backline and then everyone else has to stay in the volleyball court. So the people in the volleyball court can try to block throws, but they won't be able to block them all. And the goalie can block things and retrieve balls to give to her teamates in the volleyball court.

I though it was good because no one gets hit in the face. But I also thought the real-life statego would be good. We tried it last night, and it was lots of fun. I got really lucky. I was so suprised and happy that we had as much as we did.



On a different note i went to an exciting HS football game on Friday. Science Hill HS (where most of my HS kids go) had a 2 TD lead in the fourth. The other teams scored, with 3 minutes to go, then tried an onside kick. They didn't get it but forced Science Hill to punt with about a minute left. So the other team had the ball and was only down by 1 TD with under a minute to go. They start passing the ball down the field. THey get to about mid-field with 21 seconds to go. Its about 3rd down and i notice people begining to leave. People were walking out the exits with 21 seconds to play, on fourth down, with the other team trying to tie the game.

WHY DID YOU EVEN GO TO THE GAME????? Were you just there for the band? Now SHHS does have a great band, but the parents who just come for the halftime show, leave after halftime not 75 minutes after halftime, and 21 seconds before the game ends. I was utterly baffled, and still am. If you try that a Texas HS football game, you might get shot.
I guess i have alot to adjust to, living in Tennessee.

Communioin of the saints

Living in the Bible belt i realized, people talk alot about Catholics and yet know very little about them. I find myself as a defender of the Catholic church. It takes various forms. But people assume they are not Christian and they use them as some sort of whipping boy whenever they want to make a point. As this has been going on I have realized that i have come to issue on several occasions on the Saints. Whether it is the Hail Mary or "praying to saints" i had the issue come up on several occasions. I have realized that protestant have a horribly weak belief in the "communion of the saints" and that it perhaps stems from a poor theology of resurrection. Have you noticed how in many churches there are pews, tables, etc. given in honor or in memory of someone who has died. Perhaps the pulpit was donated by So and So's grandpa. Someone's grandma donated such and such, and you had better never change it. I feel like the reason people are so unwilling to change those things is they feel like the only way to keep grandma in the church is to keep this table. Or this picture. That once that is gone, then grandma is gone. And so they feel that because grandma is dead, she is no longer here. But if we believe in the communion of the saints and if we believe in resurrection then grandma is still part of the church. She is still in communion with us, because death has lost its sting. So when we deny that we can still commune with those who have died, then we forget so much of what God offers to us. Which lead me to Hail Marys. Do you ever ask anyone to pray for you. Do you ever ask people you know are close to God. I have noticed that most people bring their problems to pastors to get prayer. They want someone who is Clergy or set apart to pray for them. And if someone is not really serious about their faith, then you probably don't want to entrust them with your concerns. You want someone like Abraham, who was close God, so close he could change God's mind (Gen 18). And if you believe in the communion of Saints than why not ask Mary, the mother of Jesus to pray for you. If i had a choice between me and Mary, i would choose her. Apparently so would the Catholic church. They believe in the communion of the Saints. They really do. So much so that they ask the saints to help them, just like protestants ask people in church to help them. They really believe this stuff, that we protestant just say we believe but don't really act as if we do. Well, all I am saying is that Catholics ask the saints to pray for them because they believe that God has given the Saints the same resurrection promised them by God. So may the Saints look after all of you.

Busy Times

So last night was the first night of the volleyball league which i run for the church. It was a success, despite the scoreboard not working, us not having a ref stand, and my limited knowledge of volleyball. ALso, last night i learned one of the vans i was planning on using for our trip tonight has a broken door and can't be used. Hooray. That would be really bad news but i also learned the person i was planning on driving that van couldn't come. So that stinks too. Yes i found out 24 hours before the trip. SO i sent some emails and i think i got enough parents to drive, but it was CRAZY!.

Today i have to lead worship @ 2. It is mainly for staff but i am excited, no preaching just scripture. it should be good. This is just a real busy time.

Nooma

SO this was supposed to be posted last week, and somehow just wound up being saved. WHOOPS.
Here is last weeks brief post.

I have decided to use Rob Bell's video series, NOOMA, for my HS group this fall. I purchased 001-020 and have watched them, and overall I am impressed. If you haven't seen them you should go to the website and check out the previews. I like them, though i will not use them all, nor will i use them in the order produced. They are designed for the 20-40 crowd but i think most of it will work with our group.
Rob Bell is the pastor of Mars Hill. A large church, but i think they have a great statement of faith. check them out if you are interested.

Sermon 8-17

I preached at our Contemporary Worship Service this past Sunday. It went well, once again i think people were surprised that a "Youth Minister" might have something worthwhile to say to the congregation.

The Text was Matthew 15:10-28. It is the story of the Canaanite woman whom Jesus calls a dog. When I saw that it was the lectionary text I thought "What else might I preach on..." But I stuck with the text because it is our Scripture and we can't hide from it even when its hard.

If you don't know, the Lectionary is a 3 year cycle of weekly scripture readings. Each week consists of a Gospel, a NT Letter, an OT reading and a Psalm. There is no strict enforcement of these scriptures, You never have to use it, but it is a way to keep you honest, and keep you from only preaching what you think is important. It is designed to help scripture shape us, and not let us shape it. Over the three years you get about 60% of the entire bible. Which is pretty Good. The only downside is that there is about 30-40% that does not show up in the lectionary ever. But no system is perfect. for more information look up Revised Common Lectionary.

Anyways here is the sermon i preached:


Could you imagine if FOXNEWS got a hold of this story. What would the talking heads say if that had a verified account of Jesus treating this foreign born woman so rudely. “Boy Jesus’ numbers really seem to be taking a hit in light of these new allegations that he used some sort of racial slur. The self-proclaimed freer of the oppressed gave a Canaanite woman the cold shoulder and all she wanted was some help for her demon possessed daughter. This is just another example of Jesus’ tendency to flip flop on the gentile issue.

Truth be told, when I read this story for the first time I thought why is Jesus being a jerk? I could not understand this story. And if you were paying attention then you probably wonder why Jesus didn’t know he should heal gentiles. We know the whole story, that Jesus was often caring for gentiles and healing them, so how do we explain this story where he doesn’t seem like he wants to. We have some options. One is that Jesus was tired and just wanted to rest for while without having to heal anyone. He is tired of the house of Israel and even his own disciples not knowing who he was and he was just frustrated. He was a person, he was allowed to have bad days, right? Or A second a option. Perhaps he didn’t at this point in Jesus’ life he didn’t yet see his role as messiah reaching the Gentiles. And it isn’t until this encounter that he sees that they too are going to be brought into the fold. Perhaps this woman is responsible for helping him understand his role as Messiah. Or third, we can assume Jesus spoke like a normal person, using humor and irony to make points. If so then every sentence Jesus spoke shouldn’t be read like the 10 Commandments. Perhaps he spoke these words, which taken literally seem cruel, to teach the disciples a lesson. If you are like me then what you need is to go back and examine this story again.

Lets look back at the first part of the reading. Jesus explains to the Pharisees and disciples that the idea of being unclean is not really about physical things. Its not about what types of foods you eat or even if you have washed your hands before eating. Because if you eat Kosher foods and have an evil heart you are unclean. The words we say to one another are much more likely to make us unclean than the things we eat. Jesus is telling people that our words and our actions, the things that stem from our heart and our soul, determine whether we are clean or unclean. Cleanliness is a matter of the heart.

And then they go for a walk across the gentile part of Galilee. As they walk, a woman begins to cry out for Jesus and Jesus says nothing. This causes the disciples to come over to him and ask that he send her away. Jesus responds to them and I wonder if his words are a more of a question. You think I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel. I would guess the disciples nod there head as if to say of course. The woman cries out again refusing to be ignored. And the disciples hear Jesus say a common saying. The gentiles were often called dogs by Jews for they were unclean. Where they came from made them “unclean” and untouchable. Jesus calls her a dog because she is a gentile, because she is unclean. But he just tried to change the meaning of unclean earlier that day. The disciples hear this contradiction and yet they apparently nod in approval forgetting the lesson that had just heard. They are still without understanding. They do not get it. But this woman does. She knows that God’s blessings spill off the table and fall to floor. Even “unclean” dogs are fed from the table of the Lord. And it is because she gets this that she proves that she has a clean and faithful heart. Her being born a gentile does not cancel out the cleanness of her heart. The disciples show themselves to be without understanding. They think Jesus was only talking about hand washing and food not heart and soul. So they cannot deal with this woman, they cannot hear her cries for mercy, they cannot see her clean and faithful heart.
But we too are in danger of overlooking this woman. Because in this story we mainly just want to know about what Jesus was thinking, and forget all about that woman. Whether she was sick or her daughter was sick or possessed or something. So let’s stop pretending that we would have made this connection if we were there, and let us look at exactly what it was this woman was saying that proved her Great faith, and revealed ours and the disciples misunderstanding. These are her words:

“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”
“Lord, help me.”
“Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

She calls him Lord, Son of David. She has heard of him and knows him. She humbly calls him Lord, which is Master, in every address. She has faith that this Jesus is who people claim he is, the Christ, the promised messiah of Israel. She makes this claim before Peter. Yes, before the rock of the Church knows who Jesus is supposed to be, this gentile woman calls him the Lord Son of David. She has come and called him Lord, not letting her gentile status hold her back. She won’t let being an outsider seek her from calling Jesus, “Lord”. She has faith because she comes to Jesus and says Kyrie Eleison, Lord have mercy. Lord help me. Her being a gentile and him being a Jew were no more important to her in this time of desperation than washing your hands were to Jesus when it came to having a clean heart. She wasn’t around to hear Jesus speak about clean hands versus clean hearts, like the disciples, but she knew that when it comes down to it, God cares more about her suffering than her nationality. She had faith that God is more about bringing things back together, than segregating them. This woman has faith that God is in the business of redeeming the whole world, and that this Jesus, the Messiah, came to do just that. So yes, Great is her faith.
But she does more than just call Christ Lord. She also gets insulted. Jesus calls her a dog. She doesn’t know his motives, she doesn’t know if he is joking, serious, proving a point or just being mean. But instead of worrying about who she is, whether she is a dog or a woman, or a Canaanite, she focuses on who Jesus is, her Lord and Master. She says I may be a dog, but masters let their dogs eat crumbs from the table, Jesus you’re my master, so where are my crumbs? She does not complain about her place but accepts that that place offers her access to the Lord. It may be as a dog, it may be as an outsider, but she still gets access, she still gets help.

She was willing to be called a gentile, and outsider a Dog, She was willing to not be one of the Chosen ones. How foreign is that way of thinking. Like this Canaanite woman, I am a gentile, yet I spent so much time thinking that Jesus came just for me. Not even for us but me. He is My personal savior. I have my personal relationship with Jesus and you are not a part of it. Christ died for me. He is the lover of My soul. God is going to give me MY best life now. We forget that this is the Son Of David, King of the Jews. I am an outsider. We are outsiders. We are only allowed in the Church, we are only the people of God, because God has stretched out his arms wide in order to pull all of creation back to God.
It is by grace that we are saved. It is by grace that we the dogs, can feast on the crumbs of God’s table. And perhaps that is why Jesus calls this woman’s faith Great. She knew that the crumbs were enough. God’s grace is enough, the crumbs that fall to us are all that we need; they are our Daily bread. God’s grace will not fail. It is all we need. This woman saw that even the crumbs that Jesus, her Lord, the Son of David, even the crumbs that Jesus offered would be enough. Just one dose of God’s grace would save her daughter. Her faith is great because she knows it is better to be a dog in the house of the Lord, than a Queen on her own. Great is her faith.

Are we willing to say that we are the outsiders, the foreigners? That we are guests invited to another family’s family reunion. In so many ways it is something that we should fear. The reason we too can make this claim, is that though we seem to be outsiders we are not on the outside looking in. God sent the Christ to reclaim Israel and while he was down here he was to go ahead and redeem the entire world. This was God’s plan from the beginning. Israel only existed as a people who might help the world find God. It was part of Abraham’s blessing. It was not something that was made up on the fly. We as gentiles were always supposed to be brought in. Israel was always to Care for the foreigner. Because God cares for the foreigner. When they received the Law on Mt Sinai, God told them to protect the rights of the foreigners and in Isaiah 56 we read:

Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”
The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to minister to him to love the name of the Lord and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath and do not profane it- and hold fast to my covenant,
These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.

These others of whom Isaiah spoke, the foreigners that are allowed to enter God’s house, that’s us, we are the others. We are the dogs. But we are dogs who eat the crumbs from our masters table. And these crumbs are the bread of life. These crumbs were enough to heal the Canaanite woman’s daughter. These crumbs were enough feed Israel in the desert. These crumbs were enough to feed 5,000 men and their families in Galilee. These crumbs were enough to turn Saul into Paul. And these crumbs are enough for me. And the crumbs are enough for you. God is not offering you your best life now, he is offering you the crumbs from his table. And these crumbs are nothing but the grace of God. This grace may not get you nicer house upon the hill, but it will make you a member of the family of God. This grace may not give you the promotion you want, but it will give a mission in this world. This grace may not change what you look like but it will change the way you see. This grace is the grace of God and its more than enough for me. It’s more than enough for us all. This grace not only washes away our guilt, but gives us the power to break free from sin. With this grace we can love, we can forgive, we can have Joy and Peace and patience. So we feast on crumbs, crumbs that fall from our masters table, but our master, our Lord, is the Son of David, the Lord of Lords. Do you believe that Christ is who he claims to be? Do you believe that what Christ offers is enough? Then great is your faith. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Messy Day

Let me give you some pics of Messy day so you can truly see what happened:

Here is a before picture:

Don't we look great


And now here we are after the Shaving Cream Fight:




We also played a Musical pies. Its like musical chairs except you end up looking like this:



And I cannot forget the Slime Slide:

In the end, it was a good day.

The Dog Days August

I must say, it is nice to have a pay check. I am not the kind of guy who worries about money. Or balances a checkbook. or keeps receipts. or pays taxes.....j/k. Anyways I got paid at the end of April from Edenton Street. I then got paid here at Wesley on the 30th of July. That's about 90 days w/o income. Luckily Jodie got paid in June so we didn't starve. But over the summer we lived on Daily Bread. It makes me kinda glad i didn't go buy myself a Wii for my birthday. Now however I have to really start putting a dent into those student loans. Which shouldn't be too hard since we are DINKS (Dual Income, No Kids). I suppose we are officially settling in. Jodie has been working for 2 months, and i for 1. We have a dog. I am using her to gauge when to mow the mountain of lawn we have. When Daisy starts to dispear, in the grass I decide its time to mow.

Last Sunday we had Messy Day. IT consisted of water-balloons, egg tossing, Shaving creme fighting, Pies to the face, and finally a slime slide. It was fun. If you don't mind being covered in the fore mentioned items. The kids had fun. I did too. I will post some pictures shortly so everyone can see. It really is something you most see to really understand.

I preach this week. If I can I will try to get at least an audio recording. If that can't happen i will just get a written copy, and maybe post it here.

A Family Grows

Well, i just want everyone to know that the Ihfe family is expanding (not just my waistline). Perhaps if you come visit us this spring you will meet our newest member. Although you could come meet her right now. Her name is Daisy. And she is a yorkie. Yorkshire Terrier for those who aren't down with the dogspeak. She is about 2 years old, and she belonged to members of Jodie's church but they needed to get rid of her. So we now have a dog! This is her.

I she is real sweet, and not too crazy, and even a little smart.

Whiffle Ball

Whiffle Ball got rained out. That sux, we had 10 kids ready to go and then nothing. They don't even get to go see the "Field of Dreams." Oh well Other than that work is good. We are fillling up my schedule rather completely these days.

Jodie and I are thinking about getting a dog. We might get a Yorkie that someone is giving away, but i am not sold on the Yorkie. Anyone have experience with one?

Reviews

I started a new blog to review movies. I watched Dark Knight, so i started with it. go to www.ihfe.blogspot.com

Pool Party

So week two began with a pool party on Wednesday. It was fun. there 15 kids that showed up. Some of them were only out of the water for the brief time it took to eat. Some of them were only off their phones for the brief time it took to get in the water, but everyone seemed to have a good time. We played with water pistols, and these were some cheapo water pistols, so that added to the enjoyment. In the midst of 10 minute water gun fight with Emma, I stopped and refilled the pistol maybe 12-15 times. there was actually only about 6 or seven minutes of squirting the guns. I saw some great flips, and some incredible almost flips, and even a couple not even closes.
So far I have met a good number of the youth, maybe half, and they have been great. They have welcomed me more than I could have expected. They are funny and smart and some of them are goofy, its great. I think I will fit well with this bunch.

Work has begun

Day 1
Well, work began this week. I came into the office on Tuesday. I moved some furniture around, I went through the youth library that was left for me, and I pulled out the 15% of it I will keep. Its the process that the next Youth Minister will use when I leave. I will leave a mess of books that i think are awesome and some that I didn't think were worth taking and 85% will just be given/thrown away. I was told in my first staff meeting on my first morning that they need a six month calendar turned in ASAP from everyone on staff. I feel like that's alot of pressure to put on someone on their first day. Are there no plans in place for the next 6 months? I have yet to talk to any parent about scheduling, I have yet to meet with any students, with the youth council. But i needed to get to work on that schedule. Well I made one today on Microsoft Publisher. It has alot of blank space so far. Alot. Well, soon enough i will fill it. I went to the Staff parish relations Committee meeting. I was introdiced to the 6 people there. THey had no questions for me, so then i left and went home and they had the rest of their meeting. Overall it was a good day.

Day 2
I went to lunch today with Hunter, Noah, Chase, Allie, Natalie, Mary, McKenzie, Brittany, and Daniel. It was very low-key. But it was fun to see them and watch them interact. They seem to be alot of fun. They don't seem to wonder why I am here. Apparently the former Youth Minister parted on much better terms than where I previously served. I think that is a good sign. I came back put my Buddha collection on a table in my office, tryed to fill in some blanks on that calendar and then went home. overall it was a good day.

Dark Knight

So, since about March I have been asking Jodie if we can go see The Dark Knight.

I can't remember a movie I wanted to see so badly. I think the 2 trailers I have seen for this movie are better than the last 5 movies I have seen. This movie just has so much going for it. My obsession over this movie is quite a bit over the top i admit. Pretty much everyday this summer I have thought I really want to see the new Batman...oh and I need a job. But mostly Batman. Well just when it started getting closer, and I thought that this movie might be the highlight of the Summer, I get the Youth Ministry Position at Wesley Memorial. And now Batman is not as important. Don't get me wrong...I will see it the first weekend, but what has me the most excited these days is starting my new ministry with the people (youth specifically) of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church. July 15th is now the day I am looking forward to. That is the day I am awaiting.

Gainful Employment

So I got a phone call today from Rev Paul Seay of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church (in Johnson City). I was asked if i could start work as the Youth Pastor on July 15th. I cannot tell you how satisfying this call was.

I rarely say things like this is what God wants or this is where God wants me. But as I interviewed with Wesley memorial I really began to feel like it was where I was supposed to be. Paul said that the committee was meeting last Wednesday night, and so I figured I would get a call Wednesday saying they went with someone else or that they were choosing me. The call never came. In fact the call never came. So i sat by phone from Thursday morning (actually Wednesday night) until Friday evening when we went to a 4th of July party. During the party I received an email from Paul that the committee was meeting Sunday. So I sat around all weekend wondering what would happen? I began to wonder what i would do? Go Back to school? Work at Food City or La Carretta? just stay home and clean (like thats what would happen).

That decision is now irrelevant. I will talk with them this week to get the details on working there, but to all of you who have been praying for me, thank you. More to come as I get it.

Peace,
G

July 5th

g:
Well, just so you know, I am still unemployed. I have applied at a church here in Johnson City to be the youth pastor. I am one of three finalists, but I was unable to secure immunity going into the last round. They were supposed to let me know by now, but the search team has called for a meeting on Sunday, and hopefully I will find out Sunday afternoon. If that doesn't work i might go to school again to get a Masters in Education.........wow, I hope I do not have to go back to school.
Though this time of unemployment has allowed me the freedom to play more golf than ever before, it has not given me enough income to play the amount of golf that would allow me to improve.


Around the house things are improving. We have our china and glasses out of their boxes for the first time ever (except for our anniversary). We now have living room and dining room furniture, Things like a couch and love seat, a hutch, and an old secretary desk. We have put up enough photos of ourselves to replace the need for mirrors. BUT....we have an entire hallway downstairs with things to go on walls: diplomas, maps, pictures, etc. So we have alot of bare walls.



So I went over to someones house from Gray UMC for the Fourth. This house was landscaped like i had not ever seen. It was impeccable. Oh, they also had a whiffle ball field. No seriously they had a whiffle ball field. Like field of dreams style. There was a full whiffle ball field. Imagine a small softball field, with the fence the manicured grass, and the perfect dirt diamond in the infield. There was also a backstop and stadium seating. Then the youth of the church did a fireworks show. It lasted over 15minutes and even ended with a huge finale. It was pretty good considering it was just a bunch of stuff people had bought. I celebrated my independance by not wearing red white or blue.

Well take care. Peace.

you can see some new Wedding pics on this page

wedding pics 2

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