A Little Pinch

I am currently working on installing a fountain in the flower bed in the front of our house. I found the pond base at a garage sale and have always wanted to add a water feature to our home. We went out and purchased a small pump and a large flower pot that I am going to push the water up into. Everything was going well. I dug the hole and leveled it. Then I added the pump, the tubing, and the river rock. Finally, I got to place the flower pot on top of the rocks. Then the moment of truth. I added the water and watched it flow. Problem...the tubing was pinched so the pressure was cut off and the water wasn't flowing like it was intended. So I had to remove part of the fountain and fix the pinch tubing. Amazing how many problems a little pinch in the tubing caused the fountain.

It is the same way in our Christian walk. We work hard to walk the walk, talk the talk, but the moment there is a little pressure to either share our faith vocally or by action, that little pinch stops us from being the witness that we are called to be. The pinch effects who we are and doesn't allow God to shine through us. Thank goodness that God see our troubles and rebuilds us through word and sacrament. He fixes the pinch so that when the opportunity arises again, the message of God will flow freely.

That's Ministry

Ministry. Many people talk about it. Many people share what they think ministry is. Many people struggle to see that they are part of the ministry of God. I love to talk about sharing my love for our Lord through music and worship. It is a privilege to lead God's people in worship. It is an honor to worship with everyone. What I do is ministry. But it doesn't stop there. You see, my ministry is more than just my position at Living Word Lutheran Church. My ministry extends further than that. God gave me a wife and family. This is part of my ministry, to love, support and lead them. God gave me friends. This is part of my ministry, to support, listen and pray for them. God has allowed me to be part of this community. This is part of my ministry, to demonstrate and show Him in all my words and actions. My ministry doesn't stop after the 11:00 worship is over, it continues.



Many people don't see that what they do is ministry. The way they treat a co-worker. They way they act in a restaurant. The way they drive. The way they talk. Everything they do is ministry. When you build up the kingdom of God through what you do...that is ministry. You are and will always be part of God's plan to grow His kingdom. He has you doing what you do for a reason...that is ministry. Live your life like God intended. After all, people are watching, listening and understanding. Do they see a disciple of God? Do they see your ministry?

All-Star Games

I enjoy watching all-star games. Football, baseball, hockey, basketball, college sports, it is all good. I really enjoy watching players from different teams, different systems, different coaches come together and play as a team. During the season, they battle it out against each other. Then when the all-star game comes about, they together with other players from the same division or conference to accomplish the same goal and that is to win. Players come together and support and cheer each other on. For one game, everyone is the same.

We can learn a lot from the all-star games. We all come from different backgrounds. Raised in different ways. Have different ideas of what worship is. Have different gifts, talents, levels of faith. We do what we are gifted in. But when it comes to the church, the body of Christ, we are all on the same team. This means, we shouldn't be condemning, backstabbing, gossiping, putting each other down. We shouldn't be acting like we are better than others or building ourselves up at others expense. We shouldn't be putting down styles of worship or the way a fellow believer worships. We are all on the same team. We are all brought together to worship and build up the body of Christ. Differences should be celebrated, not condemned. Gifts and talents should be used and be thanked, not put down. Coming together makes the church stronger and puts our focus on Him. We are one team for His purpose!

Titles

I've had many job titles over the past 16 years. It is amazing what a title can get you. When I was teaching in Indianapolis, I would use certain titles for certain jobs. For example, when I was planning choir tours, I would use the title "Director of Choirs". When I was working on student council activities, I would use "Student Activities Coordinator". I had titles that I could use for all sorts of things, from coaching to crisis planning to even working at the ice cream shop. I had a title. Now here, I have a title again. The title helps in knowing what I do, but does the title help in showing who or whose I am?

I think the hardest title that I have isn't one for my earthly position. It is my heavenly title of servant. There are times when this title gets in the way. To truly be living up to the title of servant is to put Jesus and others first. That is a very hard thing to do. My ego and earthly desires stand in my way. When you are servant, you aren't getting extra love from God. You aren't getting a bigger and better place in the heavenly kingdom. You are serving...giving of yourself for others, for our heavenly Father. There are times when I don't deserve this title, but God, out of love for us, continues to forgive and stamps that title back on us so we can better His kingdom. So what is the title God is giving you?

Running the Race

I just heard a remarkable story about the Boston Marathon. It was the dream of this lady to run in the Boston Marathon. Her dream came true as she qualified. So her and her husband packed their bags and headed for Boston. As the race began, her husband waved and cheered her off, then after careful planning, he had it set that he could see her at three different points of the race. At each point, he would yell her name and cheer her on. At the final point, just before the final turn to the finish line, he arrived and yelled her name and cheered her on. This gave her the strength to finish the race. As the story was finishing up, she commented that if it wasn't for him cheering her on, she might not have made it. His cheering gave her strength.
Our God is cheering us on in our race. He was there when we started and has many points along the race to cheer you on. He calls out to you by name, giving you encouragement to finish the race. Our God doesn't stop cheering, even if we stumble along the path. He will continue to holler for you to get up and continue forward. What an amazing God. He wants us to finish the race; the race to our heavenly home. Look around, listen, God is cheering you on. Can you hear him?

Camping Experience

My son, Joey, joined the cub scouts. He is starting as a Tiger Scout and is thrilled to be part of this. This last weekend his pack had a camping trip. This was his first official event as a Tiger Scout. So we loaded up and went with his pack and camped. Because it was such late notice for myself, we only spent one night there so I could be back for the weekend worship services. But that one night, those 18 hours were a delight. Joey was excited about everything. Cooking dinner in aluminium foil, seeing a racoon in a tree above us, walking and seeing fish in a lake, sleeping in a sleeping bag and tent, the flag raising, and most of all (the main reason why we went) to learn to shoot a BB gun. It was a thrill for him. His face was beaming. He was excited to do what little he got to do. He talked about it to me and had a grin on his face from ear to ear. I loved spending every moment with him. I loved watching him being excited about the little things.

This is the same for us as Christians. We have opportunities to do things, to share the message of Christ, to enjoy the creation He has given us. We have the opportunity to enjoy the moment that God has given us. It isn't always the big things that bring joy, but the small things. Seeing a deer eating by the side of the road, watching the sun set, feeling a gentle breeze on our face. It is those things we can find excitement about what God has given us. God is loving watching us, each moment, each exciting time, each little thing. He is watching, smiling, and loving it.

Self-Centered

When my children were younger, they would need help doing things. I thought that this was the greatest part of being a parent. They would ask, "Daddy, I need help" and I would help. Once the task is accomplished, they would run and tell Mommy. But when they did that, they would say, "Mommy, look what I did" or "Mommy, I did this...". They never mentioned that they had help accomplishing the task. They were excited about themselves and proud of what they accomplished.

Strange, but we still do this even as we are getting older. We tend to look only at the "I" and fail to look at who really helped us through things. Sometimes our focus in life isn't about God and His love for us, but on what "I" can do or what "I" can say. We fail to spend time in prayer. We fail to spend time in God's word. We fail to focus our lives on God. "I" can be a very dangerous word when it comes to our lives and what blessings we have been given. "I" can be a very selfish word when it comes to sharing the message of Christ. "I" isn't showing our Father to others. We can be very self-centered. When that happens, we need to re-evaluate who our focus in on. Everything we do, everything we have, we do it for Him, not for ourselves.