Seeker of Stars

Kathy and I have collected Christmas books for many years. I haven't counted them, but it takes a couple of boxes to put them away each year when we take down our Christmas decorations. I love re-reading many of the stories each year as we celebrate the coming of the Christ Child. We've already added to our collection this year. I wanted to tell you about one of these books, because you may want to add it to your Christmas reading. The book is titled Seeker of Stars, by Susan Fish. It's a fictional story based on the astronomers that traveled from the east to seek the new King. She tells the story of Melchior, who she describes as coming from a family of rug makers and rug merchants. An unfortunate accident ends Melchior's career as a rug maker and begins his lifelong dream to be an astronomer. 

In chapter 16, titled Wonders, the author tells of the astronomers being guided to a little house by a "moving star" that stops over the humble home. They aren't sure of who or what they are looking for. All they know is that the ancient prophecies foretell a child, a King. As they discover they are in the right place, the author writes, An incredible story poured forth, one that made ours sound commonplace. Angel visitations, virgin fullness, joy and sorrow, dreams and resolutions, promises, panic and pain-a child-squalor and shepherds, glory and - "God," the woman said, forming the sound lovingly, reverently. "God chose me." A giggle escaped her lips, a spring of joy bubbling from a hidden source. "My child is his own." I was confused, (this is Melchior thinking) unsure how this tale of wonders connected with our journey. We were seeking a king, not a carpenter's miracle son. "We are seeking the king of the Jews," I explained. I gestured around me. "Your child-can he be-he cannot be-the king of the Jews?" Joseph looked deeply at me with long-suffering eyes. "Our people have waited a long time for a Savior to come. God acts in ways we cannot understand, but our child is indeed his Son."

Susan Fish writes some things about Mary and Joseph that I have always felt to be true. They knew exactly what was happening to them. They had both had miraculous visitations prior to Mary's pregnancy, and I believe that the presence of God was with them throughout the entire nine months, particularly as they approached the birth of the Christ Child. As you read this book, it will make you stop and think about aspects of the story that you may not have considered before. If you need some inspiration this year to truly engage again with Emmanuel, (God with us), perhaps this very readable story will help. The publisher is David C. Cook. Merry Christmas...

Really Bad Things Happen To Really Good People

Kathy and I are heartsick. On Sunday morning, Kathy saw a news report of damage from tornadoes near Washington, Illinois. Our dear friend, Cheryl Ingham, had moved to Washington in August of this year. Kathy immediately texted Cheryl to make sure she was okay and to check and see if she had any damage. Hey Cheryl. I just saw a report about storms and a posible tornado touching down near Peoria. Everything ok there? To our horror, Kathy received a text a few minutes later. House is gone, but we r safe.

We met Cheryl in Tucson. She was a member of the church that we served for a few months for half of 2012 and early 2013. We already knew about her because her brother and his family were members at the church we served in the Denver area. We loved her brother and his family and we quickly came to enjoy a great friendship with Cheryl when we met her. She and Kathy became close friends fairly quickly. When we moved to Illinois, Kathy was overjoyed to know that Cheryl would be moving to northern Illinois in the summer. Her son was a children's pastor at RockChurch in Washington, IL, and that was about two hours north of where we live in Carlinville. She wanted to be closer to her son, his wife and grandchildren. Soon after moving to Illinois, Cheryl came down and spent a couple of days with us.

If you read my blogs, you know I have never used this forum to solicit anything. This has been a place to share stories, thoughts, inspiration, but now, to share a huge need. Cheryl is a wonderful Christian lady who raised two sons while working as a school teacher. When you think of a "good" person, Cheryl would be near the top of that list. When "bad" things happen to "good" people, you would hope it never touched people like Cheryl. But it has happened. Cheryl's home, that she lived in for just 3 1/2 months, is a total loss. Her car was thrown several hundred feet and is also a total loss. Kathy and I are asking my blog readers to help us, help Cheryl. A website has been set up at www.gofundme.com. Please go to this site and search for Cheryl Ingham. You will be on the right site when you see the picture above. If we all do something to help Cheryl, we can meet the goal. Terrible things like this happen all around the world. When we hear about these things, we are concerned, and in some cases we donate money, but never know anyone personally affected. This is much different. This is our dear friend, who has been wiped out. Thanks in advance for your help. May God richly bless you as you help us bless our friend.

A New Rhythm

If you have been a reader of my blog, you have probably noticed that I have slowed down my writing considerably in the past six months. As many of you know, these past two years have been very different for my family and I. After 37 years of continuous church ministry, I started a transition to what I am doing now. Church ministry has a unique rhythm. My jobs have always broken down into several categories. First, those things that must be done this week because the congregation will expect certain things to happen each week as they attend church services and activities. Second, the things that must happen this month, again, because they impact our congregation each month. Then, those things which are in the planning stages for the immediate future, the distant future, and well down the road. Each of these areas had their urgency, and rhythm. Beginning in January of 2012, I began helping Illinois Assemblies of God churches begin using Shelby Systems software. Shelby is one of the leaders in church management systems. Along with the software, I consulted with various churches on all aspects of church administration. Because this began as a consulting arrangement, and it was not full time, Kathy and I moved to Tucson, AZ, in July of 2012, to take a full time executive pastor position. One that held great promise, but didn't work out. In June of 2013, I again began working with churches in Illinois, this time on a full time basis.

The rhythm of this job is much different. For starters, I have logged a lot of miles driving north and south in Illinois. I am presently working with 30 churches in our District on various levels of church administration. I truly enjoy the interaction with pastors, staff members, and lay leaders. I rarely attend a church service at these churches. My work is behind the scenes and involves computers, contracts, employee policies and many other administrative areas. I basically work Monday through Friday, and support Shelby software for our churches in the evening and weekends when needed. A very different rhythm from working in one church. Working in a single church, Sunday was a full workday for me. Up early to get prepared, early to the church to make sure everything I was responsible was in place, one or two services, education hour, an occasional afternoon meeting and back Sunday night for another service or event. Each workday pointed to the next weekend, with future planning worked into the mix. That was a very full rhythm, but also very enjoyable. Now Kathy and my rhythm on a Sunday is much more relaxed. We are attending a small church in our small community, and enjoying being there. Kathy has gotten involved with the women's group and is providing leadership on that level. A different rhythm for her. 

Now, back to my writing. As I am adjusting to this new rhythm, I am beginning to push important areas of my life back into their proper place on my priority list. One of those is consistently writing my blog. I posted my first blog on February 28, 2008. Today's post is my 323rd. I have told a lot of stories, and shared from my heart and experience. I still have a lot to share. Now, to get my rhythm back again...