Hanging with Jesus!

Just had to show you this. Sherri and I had our picture taken with Jesus. I asked to be on His right hand but Jesus told me not to worry about it and then promptly put Sherri at His right hand. Hey! Anyway here's the picture!

Cube-Light!

This morning as I sit in my cubicle the sun is shining on my computer screen. This is odd because my screen faces away from the windows which are two rows away. I'm kind of in the corner of the building so the other windows are three cubes away if that makes any sense.

Anyway, for a few minutes, less than 10 I would guess, between 8:25 AM and 8:35 AM or so the bright sunlight pours into my small area. How does this happen? Well, First Data has two buildings right next to each other here in the Aksarben campus. The sunlight reflects off the other building's windows and then makes a beeline for my area. For me, I enjoy the sunlight and its nice to have for those few minutes.

The light that brightens my day doesn't last long enough for me to get a tan but I like it all the same. Sunny days make everyone a little happier don't they? There is something wired in us to enjoy the light. In a way we are attacted to the light like bugs on the porchlight on a summer day.

This morning as the light arrived again I thought about how we should be reflectors of The Light. How we can brighten people's day by our attitudes and actions and words. This doesn't mean every sentence we speak with others has to include the word 'Jesus'- but He did call us to be 'bright' people saying, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Have we caused this reaction in anyone lately?

I can still see the prism of light poster we studied in Bethel Bible study. The poster was a depiction of the call to Abraham where he was 'blessed to be a blessing' (I still remember this is in Genesis 12). That is our call today as well. We've been blessed so that we can reflect that blessing to others - maybe like my cubicle sunlight only for a short time - but that short time will be used by the Holy Spirit to make a difference in the lives of others.

I saw a bumper sticker a long time ago that has stuck with me ever since. Maybe you've seen it or read it somewhere as well. It read, 'God said it, I believe it. That settles it.' Jesus called us to reflect His light, to let our little Gospel light shine in our actions and words. He said it. I believe it. That settles it. And to add a Nike line, now we need to - Just do it!

So today's call is to brighten someone's day, to reflect a ray or two of God's great blessings upon you towards others. As Augustine said (in a rough translation), use words if necessary. The sunlight is gone now from my cube but the Sonlight can still shine bright - time to go find a place to reflect.

Blest regards,
kp

When a Plan Comes Together!

I went to church last night - Tuesday. And every once in awhile you get a sense of what church should really be like, a glimpse of how God intended our gatherings to be. Last night was one of those times for me.

Walter Lamoureux died this past week at the age of 87. He was a longtime member (over 50 years) of St Bernards parish. To say he was well loved and respected would be an understatement. The proof of this statement was brought to life with a packed church.

A cathedral full of people is a pretty cool thing. There were no empty seats, the way God intended a church to be filled. Then people sang out. Not a common thing to hear in a Catholic church, but they did. The words to the songs echoed off the renovated high arched ceiling and flooded back down again over the congregation. It was truly beautiful and powerful.

After the service which was well done, filled with a great Gospel message and sweet rememberance stories, people didn't leave. They stayed to encourage the family and each other. I saw a community of people caring, loving, and providing support to each other- just as powerful as any hymn - it was love in action.

We all know church isn't a building, it's God's people. Last night I went to church, I was with God's people and they were in rare form. God's church last night lived up to their billing, stepped up to the plate and encouraged and consoled Walt's family and each other just as God planned for His church to do.

Do you remember the TV show 'The A Team' and how the leader would say in almost every show, 'I love it when a plan comes together.' Walking back to the car on a perfect cool Fall evening I couldn't help but think how maybe God loves it when His plan, His church comes together as they did last night. Sometimes God's people get it right, and that is a blessing to see and be a part of.

I want to encourage you to be part of it as well, to be a faithful encouragement for others by your attendance at church, by using your voice to praise God, and by taking time to love others you meet there. That's what God's church, God's people, are intended to do. That is God's plan. And I have to tell you, I love it when HIS plan comes together.

Blest Regards,
Keith

Bearing Vegetables

This past weekend ended the flower and garden season at our house. I took out all the pumpkin and watermelon vines with the exception of a couple watermelon which are making a final effort to get up to size in our cool fall weather.

So far the harvest has netted three watermelons and thirteen pumpkins. Not bad considering I planted them just to fill in some empty space out in the front flowerbed. They ended up going crazy, climbing over the retaining wall and taking over a portion of our yard and half the steps leading to our front door. At first I tried to point the vines back into the garden but they were persistant in their escape attempts and ended up winning that war.

We all enjoyed watching our crop grow. Pulling into the driveway we were greeted each time by a couple good sized watermelons that I was sure would one day mysteriously disappear- but they never did and instead ended up being fine additions to our Sunday evening family dinners. Some days it seemed as if you could see them growing they grew so fast.

The pumpkins grew fast as well and they came in all shapes and sizes. We had long tall pumpkins and perfectly round pumpkins. Some turned orange early, way back in mid September, and some are still a bit green. Our last and biggest pumpkin (about the size of a basketball) is on the steps trying to ripen even as you read this.

In addition we had some radishes, jalepenos and tomatoes. The petunias and marigolds bloomed brightly all summer and fall as did a couple hanging plants I don't know the names of. All in all it was a very successful growing season at our house unless you wonder about my lawn - that is another story itself.

Bearing vegetables, that's what we all need to be doing. I think bearing fruit gets far to much credit. Trees bear fruit. The hard work of bearing vegetables is done at or below ground level. It's a ground war of sorts against bugs and rabbits and birds. We lost some tomatoes, even a pumpkin to bugs. But our plants pressed on and we harvested a great crop.

Of course I'm going to encourage you to bear vegetables of a different sort. To keep working to climb out of the retaining walls of your life and bloom and well, bear vegetables that, with the help of our Gardner, the Holy Spirit, bring Life to others. Bearing vegetables, I like the sound of that. Next time you hear some child being told to eat their vegetables think of your role in sharing God's Good News. See you vegetable producers Sunday in church.

Blest Regards,
kp

OK, maybe you've read this far and have been screaming all along that pumpkins and watermelons are fruits - and that would be correct except this fact ruins my blog so let's just pretend that via a proclaimation I order they are now vegetables as I think they rightly should be. The story now once again makes sense except to those of you who are fruit radicals and will not accept any recatagorization that reduces fruit numbers. Fruity people can be that way. I still call on everyone to bear vegetables! : ) kp

United We Stand - Delayed

I'd learned this lesson before on numerous occassions, but it was one I was learning again. I shook my head in disbelief at my stupidity, what was I thinking? Now I was paying the price for my bad decision.

So what was my error? I had chosen to fly to Indianapolis on United through Chicago's O'Hare airport. Here's the lesson I'd learned many times in the past and was now being taught again, DON'T FLY UNITED ANYWHERE THROUGH O'HARE. So I sat in the Springfield Missouri airport wondering if I could even get to my Indianapolis meeting the next day.

The brand new Springfield airport is an interesting place. Ten gates makes it about the size of one of Eppley's two terminals. I had just glanced up at the TV which was on the Weather Channel when I saw a line of clouds approaching Chicago. I know from experience that just the threat of clouds is enough to send O'Hare into a tailspin. Only a minute later the announcement comes over the public address system, " United Airlines Flight 629 to Chicago has been cancelled." Cancelled? Really? On just the threat of a few clouds? EEESCH.

I looked around the empty terminal. Just two other guys were booked for this flight from what I could see. I then thought the honest announcement should have gone something like this, "Based on only having three people purchase tickets, United has decided it is better for us to cancel your flight. To bad for you because we're going to blame this on the weather so don't be asking us for a free lunch or a hotel for the evening- don't ask us for anything! And thank you for choosing United."

So the three of us weary travelers headed for the United desk - back in the main lobby, back through security whose number of employees exceeded the total number of travelers in the entire airport. Long story short, I ended up watching another three hours of the weather channel and flying to Dallas to get to Indy - arriving at my hotel at 1:30 AM. A stiff but fair punishment for my poor United decision.

Flying home the next day I again was punished for flying through O'Hare. This time I got to Chicago but when I arrived, the board didn't show a time for my Omaha flight. Instead it said 'Servicing Jet' in the time spot. Let me tell you if you ever see that comment, don't expect to leave anywhere near on-time. What that ended up meaning to me was an after midnight arrival at home. Ahhhh, the joys of business travel.

I'll let you make your own analogy when it comes to faith lessons you've learned and forgotten. In the end, as in THE END, forgetting those lessons could mean more than a delay to our final destination - it might mean ending up in a less desireable destination. Enough said. Hope to see you all on that FINAL flight to our exciting, exotic eternal home - which luckily won't go through Chicago!

Blest Regards,
Keith

IDI - 'Know Doubt'

I think I've told you before that the absolute worst thing I can say to my wife, the thing that fires her up almost immediately, the way to get into instant hot water... is to say, 'IDI'. Those three little letters can dig a pretty deep hole.

What does IDI mean at our house? I doubt it. Being doubted, questioned, having your sincerity and honesty reviewed doesn't sit well with anyone really. So when it comes to matters of faith, how does Jesus respond when we put the 'IDI' on Him which everyone has done at some point?

Have you ever heard of what some call the 'Doubter's Prayer'? The prayer consists of words spoken directly to Jesus. A man comes with his demon possessed child and asks for healing. Jesus replies healing is possible for one who believes. The father responds, 'I do believe, help me in my unbelief'! Those are the words of the doubters prayer, words that we can all in some way relate to. And Jesus responds by healing the boy - He understands we all struggle at times with faith.

John Ortberg in his book 'Know Doubt' quotes Madeleine L'Engle, 'Those who believe they believe in God but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God Himself.' Those words ring true for me. We are all in a way Jacobs, Isrealites, wrestling with God for the blessing of a stronger more sincere faith, to be helped in our unbelief.

Maybe you think doubt is something only you deal with. Not so - not even close. Ortberg goes on to tell an interesting story about Martin Luther. 'Luther was approached for help by an elderly woman troubled by doubt. "Tell me", he asked her, "when you recite the creeds - do you believe them?" "Yes, most certainly." "Then go in peace," the reformer said. "You believe more and better than I do." Peter sank in the waters of doubt, Thomas the disciple got a doubting nickname, you and I are not alone in times of doubt, in fact I'd say we are in impressive company.

Ortberg writes that 'doubt is a good servant, but a poor master'. Having doubts is okay, we can use doubt to encourage prayer, worship and time in God's Word. Luther said the opposite of faith is not doubt but pride. The bottom line is that we trust in the One who gave us the very gift of faith. Romans 1 explains the evidence for God and our faith is plain to see and visible all around us. I agree, no matter what happens.

Let me encourage you today to be a championship wrestler, to take on your doubts when they appear. You've been guaranteed a win if you'll only enter the ring- sorta like a scripted WWE match I might guess. Unchallenged, doubts will make you a wave tossed about in the sea (James 1:6) with no point or direction. Put the IDI on doubt itself when it comes around, engage the battle, reach into your shorts and pull out the brass knuckles of God's Word and you'll win hope, the sure confidence of salvation, that faith brings. Faithfully wrestle so as to win the prize Paul would say, a prize worth fighting for without a doubt.

Blest Regards,
kp

Always Been Faithful

I haven't heard much from Sara Groves lately. Maybe that's more due to my focus on other things lately.She is an independent artist who found a label and some success in the Christian music industry in the early 2000's. When we were doing concerts at Atonement I helped provide some information to a church in South Omaha on how to bring in a Christian artist. The artist they selected was Sara Groves.

And she put on a great show telling stories and playing the piano and singing. I was thinking about her as I was surfing some YouTube videos. Two of them stood out I think and I wanted to share them with you here. Hope you enjoy them as I do. kp