I will work this morning and then later on this afternoon Leslie will come by and pick up the three of us to drive over to our campgrounds where Cyndi, Karan, Leslie and I will spend the weekend at the retreat.
You will not hear from me until Sunday evening or Monday.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Another Big Day
Today will be another big day. I will work 8:00 until 11:30 and take off thirty minutes early in order to get out to Windsor and get the agenda and the minutes on the tables before the ministers start coming.
This afternoon I will do the minutes from the meeting and then go out and look for jobs for a couple of hours. I only have two and I need nine resumes' distributed.
Tomorrow after work I will pack for the women's retreat weekend. I will be gone Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. Four of us are going to attend.
Unless something happens to change my mind, I don't think I am going to attend the Peace Colloquy. I don't think Jack and Marilyn are going and I really can't afford it. I will be using my discretionary money to go to this retreat this weekend.
On Tuesday next week I plan to meet Myra for lunch in Bartlesville. And then Thursday I will meet Juanita for lunch. That's all I have on the calendar.
So next week should be less busy.
Dr. Burch's office called this morning to tell me my contacts were in. I was going to have to charge them and pay them out but I got a note from Ron and Joyce Dawbarn this afternoon and Joyce sent me $100 which she said was what she wanted to share with me and she got unexpectedly from the mine in Australia that her sister left to her. I was able to pay for my contacts. Those are the greatest people! I am putting a thank you note in the mail to her and Ron. I used to try to send their check back but they would send it right back to me. I only wish there was something I could do for them.
Last night I learned that Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple computer died. He was only 56. He died of pancreatic cancer. That's a shame. He was very young.
This afternoon I will do the minutes from the meeting and then go out and look for jobs for a couple of hours. I only have two and I need nine resumes' distributed.
Tomorrow after work I will pack for the women's retreat weekend. I will be gone Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. Four of us are going to attend.
Unless something happens to change my mind, I don't think I am going to attend the Peace Colloquy. I don't think Jack and Marilyn are going and I really can't afford it. I will be using my discretionary money to go to this retreat this weekend.
On Tuesday next week I plan to meet Myra for lunch in Bartlesville. And then Thursday I will meet Juanita for lunch. That's all I have on the calendar.
So next week should be less busy.
Dr. Burch's office called this morning to tell me my contacts were in. I was going to have to charge them and pay them out but I got a note from Ron and Joyce Dawbarn this afternoon and Joyce sent me $100 which she said was what she wanted to share with me and she got unexpectedly from the mine in Australia that her sister left to her. I was able to pay for my contacts. Those are the greatest people! I am putting a thank you note in the mail to her and Ron. I used to try to send their check back but they would send it right back to me. I only wish there was something I could do for them.
Last night I learned that Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple computer died. He was only 56. He died of pancreatic cancer. That's a shame. He was very young.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
A Really Wild Day
Yesterday was such a wild day that I never got around to posting.
I cleaned my house and did my laundry yesterday morning and then loaded the cakes into my trunk and at 11:00 picked up Bob. We went to Independence and dropped off the cakes. Leslie came with hers while we were there and I had an opportunity to introduce both of them to Terry, the pastor there at the First Christian Church . He is such a nice guy and one with a real sense of mission.
Then Bob and I went over to Big Cheese and had a mini pizza. And then we came back to Coffeyville and I dropped him off at his house.
I had intended to go out to see Phyliis yesterday at 10:00 but discovered when I started to sweep out my car's trunk that I had not put my sweeper back together correctly and had to take it apart again and put it back together correctly. By then, it was too late to go.
We stopped at the church on the way home and picked up the copier. We will take it to Bartlesville to Staples after I get off work today.
By the time we got back home from Independence, it was 3:00. I sat down to watch some TV and fell asleep. I woke up at 4:30. Leslie called and wanted to meet me at Braums to pick up the part I had found for John's drill press and eat a milk shake. I'm never one to turn down a milk shake. She bought the shakes and also paid me back the money for the part. Then I came home and took my bath and put my pjs on and watched the last episode of "Prohibition" on PBS. It was really a good series. It was also a good lesson in why not to try to legislate morality.
Anyhow, by the time it was finished I could barely keep my eyes open. I went to bed at 9:00.
I cleaned my house and did my laundry yesterday morning and then loaded the cakes into my trunk and at 11:00 picked up Bob. We went to Independence and dropped off the cakes. Leslie came with hers while we were there and I had an opportunity to introduce both of them to Terry, the pastor there at the First Christian Church . He is such a nice guy and one with a real sense of mission.
Then Bob and I went over to Big Cheese and had a mini pizza. And then we came back to Coffeyville and I dropped him off at his house.
I had intended to go out to see Phyliis yesterday at 10:00 but discovered when I started to sweep out my car's trunk that I had not put my sweeper back together correctly and had to take it apart again and put it back together correctly. By then, it was too late to go.
We stopped at the church on the way home and picked up the copier. We will take it to Bartlesville to Staples after I get off work today.
By the time we got back home from Independence, it was 3:00. I sat down to watch some TV and fell asleep. I woke up at 4:30. Leslie called and wanted to meet me at Braums to pick up the part I had found for John's drill press and eat a milk shake. I'm never one to turn down a milk shake. She bought the shakes and also paid me back the money for the part. Then I came home and took my bath and put my pjs on and watched the last episode of "Prohibition" on PBS. It was really a good series. It was also a good lesson in why not to try to legislate morality.
Anyhow, by the time it was finished I could barely keep my eyes open. I went to bed at 9:00.
Monday, October 3, 2011
A Wild Week
This will be another wild week. Today I will clean Leslie's house. Perhaps I will have lunch with her afterward. Then this afternoon I will need to bake two cakes for the desserts project for the free meal that is held at the First Christian Church in Independence. This evening I want to wash my hair and then watch the second segment of "Prohibition" on PBS.
Tomorrow at 11:00 I want to leave to take the cakes to Independence. Before we leave, I will need to call in lunch reservations for Coffeyville Ministerial Alliance. Those who are baking the cakes are supposed to bring them to me by 11:00. Bob will help me take them in. Then we may have lunch in Independence while we're there. In the afternoon, I need to clean and do my laundry.
Wednesday after work, Bob and I will take the church's copier to Bartlesville to Staples to have a new roller installed in it. It is jamming from time to time.
Then Thursday I will leave work a little early to distribute the agenda and minutes on the tables at Windsor in preparation for the ministerial alliance meeting at noon. That evening I will need to pack for the women's retreat this weekend.
Friday right after 3:30, Karan, Cyndi and I will leave with Leslie for the retreat. We will be gone all weekend and come back home Sunday afternoon.
Bob will feed my animals while I am gone.
I also need to get a nice birthday card for Juanita to send off this week. Her 90th birthday is on the 11th. Her party will be held on Saturday and I will be gone and cannot attend. That's a shame but I do constantly have conflicts on my schedule.
Tomorrow at 11:00 I want to leave to take the cakes to Independence. Before we leave, I will need to call in lunch reservations for Coffeyville Ministerial Alliance. Those who are baking the cakes are supposed to bring them to me by 11:00. Bob will help me take them in. Then we may have lunch in Independence while we're there. In the afternoon, I need to clean and do my laundry.
Wednesday after work, Bob and I will take the church's copier to Bartlesville to Staples to have a new roller installed in it. It is jamming from time to time.
Then Thursday I will leave work a little early to distribute the agenda and minutes on the tables at Windsor in preparation for the ministerial alliance meeting at noon. That evening I will need to pack for the women's retreat this weekend.
Friday right after 3:30, Karan, Cyndi and I will leave with Leslie for the retreat. We will be gone all weekend and come back home Sunday afternoon.
Bob will feed my animals while I am gone.
I also need to get a nice birthday card for Juanita to send off this week. Her 90th birthday is on the 11th. Her party will be held on Saturday and I will be gone and cannot attend. That's a shame but I do constantly have conflicts on my schedule.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Communion Sunday
It's Sunday again and I have the message at church again. In our denomination we only serve the sacrament of communion once a month..on the first Sunday of each month. It's tradition. In the beginning of our church, we served it each Sunday but sometime in our history, that was changed. Usually the communion message is a challenge for personal change. And it's usually a short message. There are other elements in the service so that's one reason it's a short message. Here is mine:
This light that the writer of John speaks of is available to us today as well. It is illustrated here this morning as symbol…with these candles. Symbol often helps us to understand a principle that may not be clear to us any other way. The sacrament is symbol too. This church does not believe the bread and the wine are the actual body and blood of Jesus but they symbolize his death and the continuing light of his message.
God’s light is that still small voice within each of us…...the light that lights our way when we have a difficult decision to make; when we are about to do something that is perhaps against our very nature…something with which we are struggling. Sometimes that light is apparent when we have done something to hurt another and often when we have done or said something that hurts so badly that it damages a relationship. God’s light is there for us…if we recognize it. It will entice us to make it right…to do the right thing. It will try to persuade us but will not coerce us.
We are often torn in many directions. Society today says some practices are perfectly acceptable, yet, we, as Christians, are often unsure. To conform to the mores’ of society may make our witness suffer, but worse yet, it may go against the very teachings we have depended on as an anchor all our lives.
To grow spiritually, we have to live with ourselves and be able to respect ourselves. We often make enough poor choices on our own without the additional pressures of the society in which we live.
Right living comes through knowing how Jesus lived and what he taught and observing and practicing his teachings. This does not take place through observing laws and traditions but by practicing discipleship and taking the time to pray and ask ourselves if our personal decisions are acceptable Christian behavior and if they are acceptable to our own conscience. That’s what God’s light illuminates for us.
Luke 4 teaches us the mission of Jesus and, as disciples, that mission is also ours. We are God's hands in the world. "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed."
The Lord’s Supper gives us an opportunity to examine ourselves in this light, and repent of those actions and issues that we need to put aside to best move forward in our journey as a Christian. It gives us an opportunity to make necessary changes in our lives. It is a time of forgiveness and reconciliation. It is a time to put away old hurts and issues in order to focus on what is really important ahead in our journey of discipleship.
I don’t believe we need forgiveness from God for our poor decisions and sins. God has long forgiven us. Recognizing the light of God though, we must be willing to take responsibility for our own mistakes and reconcile with others we may have hurt or who have hurt us and then…... move on. Only when we decide to learn from our bad experiences and are we able to forgive ourselves and begin to grow spiritually again. God’s hope for us is that we become all that we can become in a lifetime of lessons…..to fully realize our true potential. We do that with the help of God’s light.
Repentance isn’t something we can accomplish in a short time or even a lifetime. We continually have to be sure the decisions we make are the best not only for us, but also for the family and the community of the church as well.
As Paul said, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me in Christ Jesus.”
This light that the writer of John speaks of is available to us today as well. It is illustrated here this morning as symbol…with these candles. Symbol often helps us to understand a principle that may not be clear to us any other way. The sacrament is symbol too. This church does not believe the bread and the wine are the actual body and blood of Jesus but they symbolize his death and the continuing light of his message.
God’s light is that still small voice within each of us…...the light that lights our way when we have a difficult decision to make; when we are about to do something that is perhaps against our very nature…something with which we are struggling. Sometimes that light is apparent when we have done something to hurt another and often when we have done or said something that hurts so badly that it damages a relationship. God’s light is there for us…if we recognize it. It will entice us to make it right…to do the right thing. It will try to persuade us but will not coerce us.
We are often torn in many directions. Society today says some practices are perfectly acceptable, yet, we, as Christians, are often unsure. To conform to the mores’ of society may make our witness suffer, but worse yet, it may go against the very teachings we have depended on as an anchor all our lives.
To grow spiritually, we have to live with ourselves and be able to respect ourselves. We often make enough poor choices on our own without the additional pressures of the society in which we live.
Right living comes through knowing how Jesus lived and what he taught and observing and practicing his teachings. This does not take place through observing laws and traditions but by practicing discipleship and taking the time to pray and ask ourselves if our personal decisions are acceptable Christian behavior and if they are acceptable to our own conscience. That’s what God’s light illuminates for us.
Luke 4 teaches us the mission of Jesus and, as disciples, that mission is also ours. We are God's hands in the world. "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed."
The Lord’s Supper gives us an opportunity to examine ourselves in this light, and repent of those actions and issues that we need to put aside to best move forward in our journey as a Christian. It gives us an opportunity to make necessary changes in our lives. It is a time of forgiveness and reconciliation. It is a time to put away old hurts and issues in order to focus on what is really important ahead in our journey of discipleship.
I don’t believe we need forgiveness from God for our poor decisions and sins. God has long forgiven us. Recognizing the light of God though, we must be willing to take responsibility for our own mistakes and reconcile with others we may have hurt or who have hurt us and then…... move on. Only when we decide to learn from our bad experiences and are we able to forgive ourselves and begin to grow spiritually again. God’s hope for us is that we become all that we can become in a lifetime of lessons…..to fully realize our true potential. We do that with the help of God’s light.
Repentance isn’t something we can accomplish in a short time or even a lifetime. We continually have to be sure the decisions we make are the best not only for us, but also for the family and the community of the church as well.
As Paul said, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me in Christ Jesus.”
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