Memorial Day

"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?"
Luke 14:31

What do you do for Memorial Day? What are your memories for the holiday in years past? What are you doing today? Are you enjoying your day off? I know I sure am! Memorial Day in the past for me meant that my mom's side of the family, the Thompson side, would be going up to the mountains at our cabin called "Rock Oak." The cabin isn't like most people imagine a cabin...There's no plumbing at all, which means that going to the bathroom takes place in out-houses. Our water comes from a spring that we use to fill up five-gallon buckets. It was always a fun, memorable weekend. I have lots of memories from Memorial Days. A few of them are playing at the lake, hiking, and of course, playing lots of the board game 'Clue.' As kids, we had a blast. I'm sure our parents all just enjoyed having a day off, because that's where I am now.

Memorial Day this year was pretty wild for us at the butcher shop. From Friday to Saturday, we sold somewhere around nine-hundred pounds of hamburger patties! Customers kept coming in, and there really seemed to be no relief. I can't even begin to imagine what big supermarkets must have been like if a little place like us sold so much stuff. I waited on a lot of people though, and said this a lot at the end of our transactions: "Have a nice Memorial Day!" It's real easy to say all cheery, and then clamor over to the next customer. But what is this day? Why do we have a day off? I think that most of us really don't think about the true reason for the day...We take it for granted...We're actually enjoying a day off because other people have died...

I just saw the new Narnia move, Prince Caspian. I liked it a lot. There were a few big battles of course, and people died. Now, it's silly because it's not actually real, but as we watch the movie, if none of the main characters die, we're usually okay with that. We kinda take for granted all the lives lost...It's really no big deal though because those aren't real lives being lost; it's all fake. But what about the actual lives that are lost which we forget about? I'm not a huge fan of war...What really stinks is just all the innocent people dying. There's the soldiers who are risking their lives for our country who die, but there's also lots of other people who die. Plus, I just don't think that killing each other really solves much. At the same time though, I don't know what to do about it exactly, because I'm not sure what other options are. This is where my mind becomes boggled. I know where I stand, but I'm also glad I'm not a leader of the country who has to make HUGE decisions that often involve the death of many people. It stinks. What I do know though is that people are dying. For ages upon ages, people have been dying in wars. The reality of that became clearer when I had a cousin who was in Afghanistan and Iraq, serving in the U.S. Army. He came home safely, but had some close calls. Every person in the army though has a whole family of people that love them, who will be greatly affected if they die. Every innocent person who is slaughtered too has a family around them. I know I recently talked about the cyclone and earthquake, and it seems like I'm on a death kick, but it just doesn't seem entirely right that we get to have hamburgers, hot dogs (or soy dogs, ANGI) and smile and have fun, when all these people have died. So, I'm not sure what to say other than to remember why we get the day off. I do know that we are blessed to be able to live in a country that we're free to express ourselves, and we're still free to believe in Christ. I know that we're blessed to have days off, to have lots of money, and that we can live big dreams. I'm thankful for that...and no matter how we feel about war, and how ugly it is, people have died fighting for this. I'm not justifying all the killing that has been done, but just remember, that we still have breath, and we get a day off, while others weren't so fortunate.

I'm not sure how to end this, and I don't mean to be a 'Debby-downer.' Let's just be thankful, and remember that this day off did not come easy. Have a blessed, safe, and happy Memorial Day!


(by the way, I chose today's scripture verse just thinking about war, and how casualties seem like they're not often thought of)



Posted by Ben ><>

Eternal Treasure

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (NIV, Matthew 6:21)

Yes I know this is hard to read but it's just so fitting to have gold font with today's topic :)

O' my where is my head?? I nearly forgot about writing the Thing today. This seems to be a regular pattern when I'm scheduled to write on Saturdays. What a beautiful day it is here in Goshen Indiana. I'm anxious to get back to working on my "To Do List" love letter from my wife. (nearly as long as the Bible).
So here is the Thing...
The new Indiana Jones movie came out yesterday or two days ago, maybe three days ago???
Okay I'm not sure when it came out but it's out in theaters now. (I confess I've yet to see any of the previous ones from beginning to end). The other day I watched a movie that kind of tied in with the theme of Indiana Jones. The movie is called National Treasure 2, a sequel to ... you guessed it National Treasure. (Very good movie by the way) In both these movies someone is chasing after a "treasure" regardless of what that may be, it's valuable enough to the main characters that they risk their lives to obtain it.
Isn't it amazing that we have a 66 book treasure right at our finger tips. We don't even have to risk our lives chasing after this love letter. The Bible is filled with priceless information. Directions on how to treat others, live better lives, and how to walk closer to Christ.
In the movie National Treasure 2 the main characters are in search for a .....(I'll be vague to avoid spoiling the flick) special place. Of course they end up finding this place and the sight of it is breath taking.
We should have the same feeling when we hold onto the word of God. When we read about the actions and teachings of Christ, our breath should be taken away. Do you treasure the treasure? Does the Bible and all it's truths take your breath away? Praise God we don't have to swing from vines or fight off snakes to hold this treasure. All we have to do is walk over to the coffee table or bookshelf and pick it up.
An eternal treasure at our fingertips.....such a pity it's so often covered in dust.

posted by Joe

Grey Haired Friends on Wheels

I don’t think I’ve mentioned on here before that I preach every other week at a nearby nursing home.
Well, today was a Friday that Carson (my 11month old son) and I went to preach to our grey haired friends on wheels. We got off to a late start because a good number of them were stuck in a physical therapy session that was running long. We typically have an attendance of right around 30 people! The lady who organizes events said our Bible study ranks up there with Bingo for best attended activity. The delayed start allowed Carson and I to visit with a man who regularly attends but has missed the last couple weeks because of an illness. Boy O’ boy I wish you could have seen this man’s face light up when he saw Carson had come to visit him. We spoke with him for a bit and then prayed together before I had to go and preach to the others.
The message only lasts for about ten to fifteen minutes and a good seventy five percent of them actually stay awake the entire time now.
After the sermon they must always close the service singing their favorite hymn Amazing Grace. During this hymn I weave through them with Carson in my arms so that they can all get a chance to ask for one on one prayer or just so they can hold or play with the baby. Today a gentleman had on a Cubs hat (woo hoo, Go Cubbies!, sorry it just comes out) and a shirt that read …
Jesus, please keep one hand on my shoulder…and the other over my mouth. Hahaha
I got a kick out of that shirt, actually I get a kick out of the entire service. That hour every other Friday morning is probably my favorite part of daily ministry. And that’s my reason for sharing this with you today. You don’t have to be a pastor to spend some time with the elderly. Not only do they put a smile on your face but you almost instantly will see one on theirs. We as a younger generation of believers allow far too many of God’s elderly children to disappear inside the walls of an institution. Nursing homes are a great place to share the Good News of Jesus Christ! You’ll be amazed when you sit and listen to them talk and you’ll discover how much different the view is on the way out, than it is on the way in.
If anyone in the area wants to make some visits but would also like help getting in the door and used to the surroundings, please contact me. We can go together and I’ll introduce you to some of my grey haired friends on wheels.

Psalm 92:13 and 14 says, "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing."

posted by Joe

Youth-ness

"Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth ,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"-
Ecclesiastes 12:1

Although Solomon wrote a pretty bleak book (Ecclesiastes) here, these are some good words. It reminds me a lot about the kids I've been working with this year, and specifically last night with the kids at Bridgeway. It's amazing when you're in high school how big and important everything seems, but when you're out of it, you look back and think, "Well, that wasn't that big of a deal." It's also true that the troubles during the days of our youth probably seem minimal compared to the troubles that we have now...which is why it's good to have a healthy relationship with God during our youth so that we can develop a healthy reliance on Him through all of our problems.

Last night was my final time at Bridgeway Community Church with helping with the youth. We had an amazing last night, complete with an obstacle course, and then beef tongue volleyball. That's right, I brought a beef tongue from work, and we played volleyball with it. I've never seen so many people fight over a tongue before! It was pretty hilarious (sorry Angi) playing with it, and the youth were either completely grossed out by it, or completely wanting to get a piece of the action. I remembered and realized once more though, that youth have tons of energy. They are full of energy! You should have seen them running around!

I know that we all still have energy as well. Last night, I talked with the youth about not taking the summer off from God...We need to remain dedicated to Him, reading His word, and praying during the summer, even when we don't have Wednesday nights together. What's on my mind this morning though is being dedicated to God, not only during our youth, and if we weren't when we were youth, to be dedicated to Him now. We're not getting any younger, and it's time for us to put some (better all!) of our energy into Him. As I see the energy of the youth, I can only hope that I can put an ounce of that kind of energy for Christ. If we give Him some of our energy, imagine the work that can be done for His kingdom!

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...and here's some JACK!!!


"Sometimes you have to be careful when selecting a new nickname for yourself. For instance, let's say you have chosen the nickname 'Fly Head.' Normally, you would think that 'Fly Head' would mean a person who had beautiful swept-back features, as if flying through the air. But think again. Couldn't it also mean 'having a head like a fly'? I'm afraid some people might actually think that."
--Jack Handey



Posted by Ben ><>