passing of the years

My friend Kim D turned 40 today. She's had a full day of being celebrated by many of her friends here in the SC, and there's more to come. Kim and I are taking her out for din-din tonight, which should be fun. The food at the Tavern (a State College landmark) is fabuloso.

40 years--that's a lot of living. It's not too far off in my distant future, either.

I always wondered if I'd be a youth pastor at 40. There seems to be a lot of speculation about that--how long can a person relate to middle and high school students.

I'll admit to stressing over that call. There are lots of days when I can't imagine anything better than ministry with students. I think that years add perspective and experience that a kid fresh out of college simply can't have--even one armed with the super-powerful BA in youth ministry.

I am praying for KD today, and for others like us, close to the mid-point in life.

May we have the wisdom we need, the ears to hear the Spirit's voice, the courage to follow Jesus boldly, and the compassion for others that Jesus displayed. May our lives be guided by the Spirit of God. May our hands and feet--all our resources--be used to build up others. May we live humbly, simply, and fearlessly. May our lives be marked by an unwavering love of God and others.

little time for blogging

These past weeks have gotten a little full. I've been preparing to preach (last week, this week) on top of my normal responsibilities. That results in little time for blogging.

Not that anyone is really reading this.

Oh well.

The Spikes won tonight in Hudson Valley. I am enjoying being their Baseball Chapel leader, and Turner Ward is a blessing to me.

I'm preaching on Barnabas this weekend in our second installment of Heroes Wanted at Calvary.

I think I need a life coach, and some inner healing. I continue to struggle with anger, indecisiveness, and frustration. There's got to be a way for the Fruit of the Spirit to grow in my life.

God bless the Austrians

Do you know any Austrians? I met a few yesterday. Dave Speers took me to Herwig's Austrian Bistro, which was delish, by the way. I don't normally eat sauerkraut, but Herwig himself stopped by the table to threaten us into cleaning our plates. Dave had to eat my potato salad...

Until yesterday, my interaction with the Austrians had been pretty limited. I know only one family from Austria--the Von Trapp family singers. You may have heard of them. They used to be pretty famous. I know that the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne (Franz Ferdinand, but not that Franz Ferdinand) was assassinated, which led to the start of WW1. That's about it.

But yesterday I received a two-fold gift from Austria: a great Bratwurstplatte, and a tummy ache that had me doing the Green Apple Quickstep until after midnight.

Thank you, Austria. You are far too giving.

courage and fear

I've heard it said that God says "Be not afraid" something like 365 times in the Bible--one for everyday. I don't know if that's true or not. I'm not even sure that it matters how many times it appears. It's undeniable, though, that God expresses that thought all throughout the pages of his word.

Why? Why does that idea--No Fear--show up all over the course of God's interaction with humanity?

We are a fearful people. Our fears range from the silly (luposlipophobia-An abnormal, persistent fear of of being pursued by timber wolves around a kitchen table while wearing socks on a newly waxed floor) to the debilitating (click here for a list). We struggle to overcome fear in our daily lives in many forms. Some of us are better at coping or hiding our fears. Some say that that number 1 fear is public speaking, and the #2 is death. That means that some people would rather die than speak in public.

Fear can be a helpful tool in navigating this life. Our reaction to danger is driven by fear, and that can keep us alive. The fear of punishment can prevent us from crossing the lines of inappropriate or harmful behavior. But our fears can stop us from experiencing the fullness of life that God created us for, and that's not good.

God consistently reminds us that he is with us. One of the names of Jesus is Immanuel, which literally means God with us. His presence is supposed to bring us comfort, hope, and freedom from fear. God describes himself as LOVE, and we believe that perfect love drives out fear.

I know that I have fears of my own, and I am working through the process of overcoming. I don't want fear to stop me from being who God has planned for me to become. I want to live in the freedom that God's love gives, to experience life to the fullest, and to be fearless.

Courage--according to Wikipedia--is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. I want to live courageously, not flaunting myself in the face of my fears, but in the confidence of who I am in Christ, and his power at work in me.

Besides, when was the last time you saw a timberwolf in your kitchen?

how can it really be July?

One of the things that I had envisioned for me/us this summer is spending time outdoors. I wanted to sleep out under the stars at least once a month, and thought that we'd do something oudoorsy each week.

Not happening.

It's July 6th. Happy 6th of July.

Zero nights under stars, zero outdoorsy things.

I gotta get this summer headed in the right direction!

Hike. Kayak. Climb. Cave. Creekwalk. Campfire.

I can't believe that the summer is going this quickly. But it's not gone, and there's still some long days to play. I need to start prioritizing this and make a plan.

fireworks, even in the rain

To quote my Paw Paw, "A good time was had by all."

We had a great time celebrating our country's independence yesterday. The day started with Kim and I finishing up a lot of the little things that needed attention--some yardwork for me, and cleaning up some clutter inside for her. We had no idea how many people would show up--why don't people RSVP when they're invited to a cookout? What if we didn't get enough food? But no worries--we had plenty!

I got a call around 8:30 from one of the Spikes. Turns out Brandon Williams, one of the pitchers who attends chapel, got the call to move up to pitch for AA Altoona. He's only supposed to be there for this week, but who knows? Lou Gehrig was only supposed to replace Wally Pipp for one game. 14 years later, he had played in 2130 consecutive games.

We went to the ballpark to watch the Spikes take on the Williamsport Crosscutters. It took 10 innings, but the Spikes pulled off a come-from-behind victory in a light rain, as the 'Cutters' pitcher hit Michael Ambrose with the bases loaded, sending the winning run home.

The rain continued to fall off and on, but our spirits were never dampened. This yearly cookout and fireworks celebration is always a great chance to meet new people, and we always have a few new faces in attendance. The fireworks show was superb, even in the rain.

Good times, indeed.

Freedom. I love it. I thank God for the country I live in, and for the freedoms that I have as a citizen, and as a follower of Jesus.

getting ready for some fireworks

Today was my day off, which means that I spent the day working in the yard. I got up early to catch a little baseball to start the day off right! I had a blast watching a local 13-14 year old team play in a tourney.

I spent some time Saturday digging the broken posts of the swingset out of the ground, which was a tougher job than I thought! It turns out that our yard is about 2 feet of soil, followed by a layer of rock. Today I cut some notches in the 4x4 posts to set the 4x6 cross piece in place. Treated lumber is harder to cut with a handsaw that I expected. And have you ever tried to balance 2 treated 4x4's and a 4x6 while standing on a ladder, attempting to bolt it all together? I thought I was going to fall several times! But I got it done with a little help from Kim D, and poured the cement around the posts just in time to get cleaned up for the Spikes game tonight.

The State College Spikes have become our summer pass time. I don't think we've missed a home game. They've started to play some good baseball, winning their last 7 games and climbing into a tie for first place in their division. I am enjoying my time as the Spikes' chaplain. We're having good attendance, and the guys seem to enjoy our time together.

We are having our annual 4th of July party at the Sublett house Wednesday. We invite all the families of our middle and high school students over for burgers and dogs, and cap the night off with an excellent view of the State College fireworks show. It should be a good time.