Sunday flashback

Today was the start of a new teaching series on spiritual warfare and the protective armor God has provided every believer. I'm really looking forward to it. Today I introduced the series by putting on my bunker gear (firefighter's protective gear) and giving a description of it piece by piece.

We had a guest worship leader today, filling in for Chad, who has done a great job filling in for Nathan. Robbie is Rich's friend at LU, a guitar player with a great voice and passion for leading worship. He stepped right in and did great, working with our band w/o skipping a beat.

It was good to see Agnes, Tricia's mom back with Don at church today. She's been away at Duke since the first of the year. I also met Patrick and Lynn today. Patrick's dad and my dad were best friends growing up, best men in each other's weddings and went in the the USMC together. Last time Patrick and I saw each other was over 40 years ago. I look about the same, but he has changed a lot!

After the worship gatherings there was still a lot of activity going on. The Call team worked at getting the auditorium ready for next weekend's youth conference. And our elders interviewed 8 new members. We all ate pizza together (about 30 of us) and had a great time.

It's a windy day here, and temp's supposed to drop significantly over night. With Gail in Durham, I'll be sure to turn on my side of the electric blanket. But first, I'm going over to Andy's for dinner!

Update from NICU

If you read my post below, thank you for praying. But Kayla's grandfather just came by and told me "we lost her". Please pray for this young family. And continue to pray for Tyler.

Lessons from the Waiting Room (Pt. 2)

I've been in the NICU unit today visiting my grandaughter. Earlier I noticed a family Mom/Dad and grandparents huddled together crying...not a good thing here. The younger couple went back into the unit. The grandparents went into a conference room. So I went back to see if there was anything I could do for them. Their little grandaughter, Kayla, is really struggling today with NEC. In fact, she's already coded today, but somehow they brought her back. I've prayed with the grandparents and then with the parents.

Then moments ago a young mother passed by and asked how my baby was doing. She had seen me here before. I asked how her baby was doing, and he is also in grave condition. Shortly she'll be meeting with the docs to decide what to do, but the outlook is not good for Tyler. I promised her my prayers and she thanked me, saying that lots of people have been praying for him and that's why he's still here.

And I told her I would let you know.

So would you please pray for Kayla and Tyler? I'm going to just hang out here today just in case there's something I can do.

(Bump) How "Pro-life" are you? Really.

I believe in the sanctity of human life, primarily because I believe life is sacred and God is all about giving and protecting life. But sometimes such beliefs contradict conventional wisdom.

Years ago I heard that abortion might be permissable in the cases of rape and to protect the life of the mother. OK. That sounded reasonable to me. But some would argue, "Come on. How often does a pregancy put the life of the mother at risk?"

It's easy to proclaim yourself to believe in something that never touches you; that you never experience up front and personal. And it's easy to work into positions compromises based on "logic". Until it dares you face to face.

When my son and daughter in law discovered they were expecting the day before she was to being prelimnary physical therapy in preparation for a double lung transplant they had to make a choice. Clearly such a pregnancy would compromise the window of opportunity for a transplant as well as her fragile health. Plainly put, carrying a baby to term would likely not happen, and the chances of her surviving such a pregnancy were slim.

So they were counseled by the medical community which cares for her to abort. The greatest medical minds said the risk is too high. Being pregnant now is the worst possible scenario. And from a human and scientific perspective they were right.

But they were wrong. So my son and daughter-in-law said "No" to the scientific rationale. Their reasoning? God is the Creator of life. They made a choice to be willing to risk her life, believing that God in His sovereignty had all this in His plan for them.

It defies logic. But sometimes that's exactly what faith does: stares finite human reasoning in the face and says "You're wrong because God is always right".

Convictions don't come without a price. But obedience never comes without reward. This story hasn't yet come to it's conclusion, althhough it's getting there rapidly. But regardless of the outcome, it's what God thinks and reveals that counts.

So for me, being "pro-life" has moved from being a political stance or even a theological tenet. It's become experience, and that makes it as real as real can get.

New Singles Ministry?

At our recent Ministry Fair our Fellowship Team introduced what must be a new ministry to singles promoting "True Love Waits". Very creative!

But shouldn't it have been spelled "celibate"?

Sorry. I couldn't resist.

Happy Birthday Gwyneth!

Four weeks ago you made a most remarkable entry into our world. Your strength and will is strong - just like your mommy's. And the love we have for you is so big.

I hope to see you in a couple of days.

(Please don't judge your grandfather by the print gown he wears in the picture. It wasn't my choice of apparel, but was all they had available at the time!)

Lessons from the Waiting Room

My hours in a hospital waiting room lately don't compare with some other members of my family, but still, they've been adding up. While Tricia was in ICU for about 4 weeks we were blessed with a little room directly across the hall from her that was christened "The Hole". Most of my time there was with others, friends and family. Occasionally I was alone (but never without my laptop!).

In my other life as a pastor and chaplain I've spent countless hours with others as well. Some are church family; some are (until that moment) total strangers. All are there because of a medical crisis of some kind. And all have that one thing in common: waiting. Waiting for the surgeon to come and say "It went well" or "I'm sorry". Waiting for the waiting room attendant to make a fresh pot of coffee or for someone with the remote to please find something other than "The View" and Regis to watch. (Please give the remote to a man!)

And lately I've been thinking about things I've learned in those waiting rooms. They have been among the most real life and at the same time surreal experiences of my life. But out of them I'm learning many things about what it means to wait, and that waiting time doesn't have to be wasting time.

An oft quoted verse these past weeks has been Isaiah 40:31. But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (NLT)

I'm not an "omen" kind of guy. But on successive trips to visit Tricia, Gwyneth and Nathan, at the same spot on the highway a bald eagle flew directly over my vehicle. And God used that to remind me of that verse and the time I had spent and would be spending in waiting.

As I have time, I hope to write down some of those lessons. Maybe they'll be an encouragement.

Giants win!

No, I'm not a Giants fan. In fact, the Giants are a hated rival of my team (who like me was watching from home). But neither am I a Pats fan. And there's just something about them that had me pulling for the underdogs to win.

I missed a good part of the game. We had our commuion fellowship tonight. But then, the only part of the game that really matters is the end, right? When I tuned in it was 7-3 NE.

Great game! Really. I think probably the best Super Bowl ever.

Now I'm listening to my pager in case some fool driving home drunk doesn't get there. Let's hope for radio silence.

Sunday flashback

Tom Lee did a great job - quintessential Tom style - of teaching about love and hate. Practical stuff. Great use of a couple of props. An easy chair for hate and a backless stool for love. He also used a video that fit well from Bluefish TV about how an older Christian won some thugs to Jesus by loving them.

I shared the video from Nathan's blog with the church for those who somehow hadn't seen it yet. He and Tricia are such an integral part of our congregation, and because our church really is a family, they are so much a part of that whole story.

Good pick of songs, Nate, with an emphasis on love. And the band, as they always seem to do, did great. Buddy and Andy both rocked on solos. We'll miss Chad's leadership next Sunday. And thanks to T for subbing at the sound table. Great job.

It looked to me like there were way more people in the second gathering. And the weather today was incredible! Sunny and around 50.

Tonight we came back for communion and a fellowship meal. I think the lure of the Super Bowl was too much for some people! But still, we had a great turn out and Burnie did a super job taking us to the cross. We shared around our tables about lessons God was teaching us about faith and prayer. And tonight was Italian food!! Thanks to Mike and Chris for surprising us by getting the room set up for us with tables and chairs. And as always, a big thanks to our fellowship team for getting it all organized. You ladies are pros.

Barring any surprises, I should be teaching next Sunday - starting a new series called "Gear Up!" about dealing with life by wearing God's protective armor.

Let's quit our bellyaching

In recent days many of us have seen God turn life and death crises into miracles. Others in my church have witnessed life as it is for most of the world outside our land of plenty. They've been humbled by people who in comparison have next to nothing materially live with appreciation for what little they do have and joy in spite of their poverty.

God uses experiences like that to wake and shake us who have so much, yet whine about it anyway. We in the US are simply spoiled rotten. Thankfully He graces us by placing us in contact with people who have strength and courage that makes us realize how petty and shallow we can be and too often are.

I'm thinking of people like my dear friends Tom and Sandra and their daughter Cindy. She was born with spina bifida. Several times in her 26 years her condition has placed her in life and death situations. Yet I have never ever heard a complaint or whine from any of them. But let me catch a cold or strain a muscle in my back and I'm out of sorts. Like I deserve perfect health or something.

Tommy and Claire are another couple whose lives speak volumes to those of us who gripe. He's suffered for years with a debilitating back injury, numerous surgeries and more recently pancreatitis that's hospitalized him more than once. She just completed a long series of radiation treatments, having to travel over an hour each way every day for weeks and dealing with the pain those treatments cause. Now she's looking at surgery to remove a tumor the radiation didn't get, to be followed by chemo. Yet they shine with the joy of God.

God help me from whining and getting irritated when something doesn't go just quite like I want it to go. God help me from demanding You do something about my inconveniences, like when my internet connection is slower than it should be or my cable reception is snowy or some other minutia that sets my orbit out of kilter.

God help me to remember I'm not the center of the universe. So what gives any of us the right to complain one iota if He or his don't treat me like I think I deserve to be treated? In fact, that He would even pay attention to me at all should be all the grace needed to rise above the stupid little things that get my shorts in a bunch.