Mission Trip Day Three!

Hey!  We’re finally able to update you all with what has been going on with our mission trip to South Chicagoland.  For the first few days we have had internet issues, but starting now you should be able to be updated each morning of the trip.  Here’s a rundown of what has happened so far…

 

Sunday

After traveling we started our trip with authentic Chicago style pizza just to get in the “head” of a typical chicagoan.  Not only did it help us, but it tasted great too.  Then we arrived at First Baptist Church Tinley Park and met our host for the week Pastor Dale Thompson, his wife Rebecca, and their 11 month old son, Toby.  We got unpacked and began to prepare for Monday’s VBS kickoff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday

We spent monday morning working out the details for VBS and at 11:30 our first child arrived!  We had taken flyers to some of the surrounding neighborhoods and a grandmother who had received one on her doorstep decided to bring her granddaughter to VBS.  The numbers were not as high as we had hoped, but the kids were enthusiastic and excited about the day.  After eating a wonderful meal prepared by our crack team of cooks, we headed off for our first shower of the trip.  (and boy did we need it!)  We are showering at LA Fitness.  We had to joke and say that many of us do not look like the well sculpted clientele they are used to, but it is a great facility that works really well for getting us all in out out very quickly.  After late night popcorn we headed off to catch a few hours of sleep before it all began again.

Tuesday

Our VBS numbers increased by 80% today!  One class grew by 50% another by 100%!  God is so Good!  Once again we spent the morning taking flyers to new neighborhoods and then had VBS in the afternoon.  We were supposed to serve at an outdoor soup kitchen but because of weather we were forced to change plans.  Instead, we ate in downtown chicago and then spent a little time sightseeing along the miracle mile.  We ended the night with Culver’s Frozen Custard. (don’t come on mission expecting to lose weight)

Here are a few pictures from the week so far…

Tomorrow we begin our construction projects so please pray for safety.

Have a Great Day!

Good, not Great

Recently I was taking my son, Caleb, to preschool and we had a great conversation.

ME:  Hey Caleb are you ready for school?

Caleb:  Yep, we get to ride our bikes at school today.

ME:  How are you doing this morning?

Caleb:  Good.

ME:  Just good, not great?

Caleb:  I’m not old enough to be great.

(Now let me pause here long enough to say that sometimes asking a 5 year old to explain himself can get you in lots of trouble, but it was just the two of us in the car so I thought I’d risk it.)

ME:  What do you mean you’re not old enough to be great?

Caleb:  You know, like Great-Grandma, you’ve gotta be older before you can be great.

 

It made absolute sense to him that he was not allowed to be great simply because of chronological age.  He had reasoned out in his head that since he calls both of my grandmothers Great-Grandma, that to be great meant you had to have a few years under your belt.  While that logic seems flawed to us, in his mind it made perfect sense.  I often wonder what God thinks about our reasoning for not being “Great”.  I can just hear the rationalizations that we give:

“Our town isn’t big enough for a really great church”

“We don’t have enough money for that”

“I don’t have enough education to make something out of myself”

“We’ve never done it that way before”

We often use our own reasoning to explain away what God can and cannot do in our lives, in our families, and in our church.  The picture that the bible paints is quite different than that.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phillippians 4:13

“…I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance”  John 10:10

God desires great things for our lives, I think that when we give our reasons for why things can’t be, God chuckles to Himself the same way I did when Caleb said he wasn’t old enough to be great.  He sees so much more clearly that we ever could, and He reminds us that He doesn’t want us to be good, He wants us to be Great!

Resurrection Sunday

Easter sunday is such a time of hope and life!  We have the celebration of the Resurrection, the fellowship of the church, and the prospect of “new life” in those who have not yet heard the incredible news of Christ’s sacrifice for us.  This morning our Worship Pastor, Dale Jones, really knocked it out of the ball park.  From the moment the service began until the moment he passed the baton to me for the message, he had us totally focused on Christ.  (of course, he’s not responsible for my many mistakes after he passed me the baton…lol)  It’s such a joy and honor to serve alongside a brother in Christ who truly desires to lead us in Worship.  

Wonderful Wednesday

I used to think that the busiest day to be a pastor was sunday.  In fact my typical sunday schedule is pretty crazy:

• 5am – arrive at church
• 7am – Trustees Meeting
• 8am – Early Worship
• 9:30am – Sunday School
• 10:45 – Late Worship
• 3:30pm – Church Council
• 5pm – Discipleship Period 1
• 6pm – Discipleship Period 2
• 7:15pm – Choir Rehearsal
• 8:45pm – GO HOME!!!!!!!

But I have decided that Wednesdays are worse.  I think it’s just the mentality of working all day and then participating in all the church activities that evening.  I have to wonder…for those of you in ministry as well as those who are not, what do you do to get yourself prepared and “fresh” for Wednesday nights? 

Is Easter too scary for kids?

I took part in a very interesting discussion yesterday that I would love to get everyone’s opinion on.  Our church is going to see a dramatic presentation of “The Promise” this evening.  It is a portrayal of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  Some wondered if we should not take children to see it because of the graphic nature of Christ’s death on the cross.  What do you think?  Is it ever too young for a child to understand the sacrifice that Christ made?  Is there a difference between seeing pictures in a children’s bible and seeing it portrayed by people?  I’d love to hear your thoughts! 

Not Goodbye

This past weekend I lost a friend and co-laborer.  John Raffety was an encouragement to me in many ways.  He always had a smile and a good word.  He loved to go on mission trips and share his talents with others.  He loved to sing the praises of the One who gave His life for him.  Thursday morning we will lay his body to rest, but it will not be goodbye, for he has gone to the place that has been prepared for him.  And I will see him again, some day.

Sickness Round Two

Man, this bug that’s going around is a nasty one!  I got sick again this past wednesday and Rachel picked it up yesterday afternoon.  Thankfully the kids have yet to succumb to it’s attack.  I have learned a few things while laying around trying to keep my insides on the inside, here are my observations:

1.  TV really does stink these days.  Not only is the content less than desirable, but they just repeat everything over, and over, and over, and over, and over…get the idea? 

 

2.  Never accidentally mix Gatorade and Diet Coke.

 

3.  Having your son run across the room and jump up on you for a hug is really great when you feel well, and really scary when you’re trying to keep your lunch down.

 

4.  It’s easy to lose weight when nothing stays in your system for more than 15 minutes.  I’m thinking of coughing on a bunch of sugar pills and then reselling them as “the new diet miracle drug”.

 

5.  It’s amazing how fast you can run up a flight of stairs when the only open bathroom is located on the second floor.

 

6.  Laundry doesn’t go on vacation just because you’re sick. 

 

7.  Friends DO go on vacation just because you’re sick.  (Or they at least wear gas masks within 50 feet of you).

 

8.  The lack of anything good on TV does make it easier to get sermons written.

 

9.  Hugs from your kids DO make you feel better.

 

10.  Are you still reading this?  I figured you’d be bored with it by now.  What do you know…now if I could only get my kids to pay this much attention. 

Monday Miracle

This happened to one of my church members yesterday and I just had to share it with everyone. A woman from our church really felt led by God to participate in our mission trip this summer.  The problem was that she did not have vacation available until August and our trip is in July.  She went in to her boss and explained the situation, hoping that she could simply have the week off unpaid.  (quite a sacrifice in itself for a mother of four)  But instead her boss replied that she was simply too valuable to the office for them to get by without her that week…so HE CLOSED THE OFFICE THAT WEEK!  He decided that he would just go ahead and take his vacation that week so that the office would not have to be open.  God is SO good!   I love how He works things out so much better than we could have ever hoped for.

Arnie, what a guy.

I spent time this afternoon watching the Champions Tour Skins Game.  Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller, Jay Haas, Peter Jacobson, and Loren Roberts were providing great entertainment not only with their golf skills, but also through their commentary on the golf course.  The last player to round out the group was Arnold Palmer.  What a guy.  His golf game has deteriorated far more than the other players.  Several of the men could still compete on the PGA tour, all the others can still compete at a high level on the Champions Tour, Arnie couldn’t compete on the local high school tour.  But he was still the most pivotal charachter of the afternoon.  His ability to continue to be an ambassador for the game is amazing.  It reminded me that it’s not always about the performance, it’s about the person behind the performance.  It’s my hope that God would use me in such a way that it would not be about the performance, but about the God who is behind every good thing that comes from my life.  I may not ever light up the leaderboard, but I hope that His light will shine through me.

What A Week!

Sorry I haven’t been blogging this past week.  I was in the south Chicago suburbs on a mission trip.  What a Week!  We had the opportunity to minister in several different ways.  Our construction team totally renovated a hispanic church in Joliet.  Our VBS team facilitated two schools, one in Joliet and the other in Tinley Park.  Our new start team did pre-planting work in the towns of Peotone, Monee, and Mokena.  Our support team spent the week feeding the group, and everyone came together in the evenings to lead times of worship in Tinley Park, Bourbonnais, and Carlinville.  It’s amazing what can happen when we get out of our comfort zones and rely on God.  I’m in the process of catching up on the sleep I missed and will be blogging reguarly this week.  What’s God been doing in your lives lately?