The Saga Of The Simple Garden Shed!

 

It began a few years ago as an idea for which I started accumulating the various parts and pieces to bring to fruition. The final touch came this past spring when they did city wide cleanup day. Someone threw out a huge solid wood door buried in multiple coats of paint, the last being purple. I now had everything necessary to make my wife's dream come true! A place where she could compel seeds to explode from the dirt inside small plastic and clay pots in relative comfort and peace. The plan has now been altered several times and the final rendition is standing behind the barn, lacking, of course, the scene you see above. Now if I can just locate that place and get some measurements plus a few more supplies.
In addition to pounding the streets seeking lost souls today I had an opportunity to converse with families that have some very real needs. Basic things like an end table are needed to make life more livable. How far we remove ourselves from the needs of others in our lives when we pursue our own dreams and goals is directly proportionate to how wide our eyes are open to the folks around us. Quickly we respond when disaster strikes somewhere in our country, and the outpourings never seem to be enough, but we keep trying. Jesus spoke to us and informed us that the "poor will always be with us," that has never changed. What I'm suggesting tonight is that each one of us look around in our own "backyards" for those who are in need and find new ways to help others. Here on the Great American Desert we are facing a harsh reality of winter that will be upon us soon. Heating costs are going to eat people alive! Resources are going to be stretched to the max, and there is no end in sight. South Dakota is already well over budget for heat assistance to those who qualify. More government aid is being requested and will probably be gotten. There are other answers! Let us open wide our eyes each day and see those in our midst who are in need and find a way to do a "thing." Jesus spoke with Peter and told him to "feed His sheep." This can be taken a lot of ways, but for this moment let's consider feeding a family one night this week. Pizza Hut, my favorite, the Pizza Ranch, Burger King or MacDonalds(you'd really be surprised at how many folks never eat any kind of takeout because it is just not in their budget. I'm running with a thought and asking you to enter into it with me. Consider dropping off a value meal to a shutin. Invite someone to your home or out to dine. They may be suspicious of your motives, but what the hey, if they're well fed they'll forgive you, I'm sure. We live in a city(burg)of 20,000 here in Brookings, SD. There is enough food thrown away because it can't be sold each day to feed hundreds. It must be the same everywhere! Maybe there is nothing you think you can do, or maybe you believe you've already done your part. We haven't, though! In the greatest nation on earth if any child goes to bed hungry you and I are at fault and we need to challenge ourselves to make a difference in someone's life. This is a big ball, but if we get it rolling others will help us keep it rolling. I'll get the garden shed done this week, and it will never resemble that picture, but there are pictures we can conjure up in our minds that are attainable. An elderly person's thankful smile for that truly "Happy Meal," or how about watching a kid just go nuts enjoying a sundae. Yeah, there is something every one of us can do. The rewards will far outweigh the cost. Here I go, idealizing again, but maybe, just maybe if we put all the pieces together in the right way everyone's lives will be better for it tomorrow. God bless, Preacher. 

Photo Addendum

 
This one was deserving of a better post pic production. Preacher. 

Frog Infestation!

I've made some really big mistakes in my life! One of them was mentioning to members of my extended family my interest in frogs. I showed them the two that have been with me for years, one life size originally painted to look just like a frog(Gift from g'ma when I was about 6), and one that is just a huge frog shaped cast iron piece that legend has it was once a cannon ball during the Civil War. The operative word was "cast iron," and I looked for them wherever I traveled and found very few made of this not so precious metal. One sister in law found a procelain frog which I accepted at Christmas time amidst great smiles and laughter, silly me! It caught on and the resulting deluge of frogs through the past ten years is more than sufficient for turning even the hardest of Pharao's hearts. (I don't think the Egyption's would appreciate my spelling, but you know who I mean.)The collage I snapped tonight is just the tip of the iceburg which extends to all points of our home. There are crystal frogs, glass frogs(hard to tell the difference but the little sticker is a dead giveaway), rock frogs, plastic and rubber, clay and some sort of new space age material. The outdoor ones look heavy, but they're not. The tiny Sterling one that is made for a charm bracelet, but I've not used as yet(maybe a frog earring). There's one guitar playing frog, and another on the piano. A virtual choir of singing frogs, and the squeeze doggie type toy frog. Then we come to the stuffed frogs. Kermit is present, without a doubt, along with a host of other frog friends. Several years ago while touring on the big Harley my wife and I had a Harley Bear stolen from the top of our touring trunk. I replaced it with a touring frog dressed like a biker. Wouldn't you know it, nobody wanted a "biker frog." He's back in my cave now resting on a saddlebag. There are times I wish I were a frog, then the kiss of some maiden could turn me into a prince and we'd all live happily ever after. Pardon those last shots with the digital, they were an afterthought and I just ran through the house quick and took them without touching up the pics. I see I got the one with clowns in the hall bath sideways. Oh well, such is life! Where I'm going with this is about prayer. When I told people about my frog collection(all two of them)I mentioned "cast iron," but not loudly enough to be interpreted correctly. Prayer is like that for us. There are times we pray so generally that when we're through we aren't even sure if we prayed for anything specific. God calls us in our faith to specify what it is we need from Him. You've probably heard, "be careful what you pray for." And another one, "God answers prayer but not always the way we expect." I would submit to the prayer warriors out there that praying is a serious task(you already know this or you would not be warriors), and one that when entered into fully will bring you to sweats, tears, and vocalization of intonation that some have referred to as the "deep groanings" of the spirit. Add to this the gentle "breath prayer," a phrase coined by Richard Foster author of the 'Celebration of'(fill in the blank)books, and you have a force that is going to make a difference in every day. Prayer has certainly been my guide through this day, and will continue on into the next! Ever heard the saying, "pray up a storm?" I wonder if they included frogs in that one? In Christ's Love, Preacher.

What You See Is Not Always What You Get!

I've been having fun with the little phone-sized camera. It does some interesting things besides being a camera, but the one thing I really like about it is that it is always right there on my belt bag. I think of my belt bag as an extension of me much in the same manner that a "medicine pouch" was utilized by indians long ago. Some of us still carry the pouch, but it contains modern day magic. My "pocket cam," as I have dubbed it inside the computers, is a multi-purpose tool for digital recording. It does photos, video, mp3, voice messages(mostly for me, it beats carrying around a note pad and does the melodies of inspiration at a moment's notice)and to top it off it's a web cam(I have yet to explore that function). Lately I've been giving it a shot at low light situations. Since it is the season of Halloween decor there are some outdoor pics in the above collage taken in "next-to-no" light circumstances and some evening shots at the lake. Oh, and there is one taken through a store window of a piece of artwork. That image you see behind the image is me taking the photo. All in all the testing is going well, and I'm learning what the wee beast can do. The most important thing I've picked up thus far is that no matter what the light one must hold very, very still while taking the photo. Hence, tonight's title. Our eyes are often misleading, as can be our hearts. Getting into the mode of making sure of whatever it is that happens to be in your immediate focus is as important as holding still for the shot. The world has always been a veritable oyster for those who would perpetrate deception on unsuspecting travelers. In our journey toward a better grasp of God in our lives we can be caught up in the latest craze, and unknowingly led far afield from the true destination we seek. Lately, it seems, I have been running into many people searching for the "right" way to get in tune with God in their lives. They come looking for a quick answer that will reveal the treasure for which they hunger. My Savior often encountered folks like this during the course of His ministry. More often than not the people didn't care too much for the answers He provided to their questions. Today they still don't care too much for those answers, but they are the same as they were 2000 years ago, and long before that, as well! Truth will always stand to the test of time. Deceptions will come and go, fading one after another into memory as we go about our lives searching. And therein is the answer to Alice's question. In "Through The Looking Glass" Alice asked the rabbit which way she should go. The wise rabbit asked her where she wanted to go(or something to that effect), to which Alice replied that she didn't know. The rabbit then told her(I just love this), "Then it really doesn't matter which way you go, does it?" But it does matter, and you and I are on the path of life making this incredible journey and we "want" to know what is at the end. I believe I already know, and you, also, can live in this assurance of what the end of one brief journey has in store for you. It's all there, in the Bible, just as it has always been. Watch the signs carefully, and look for the one true light that can be trusted to never guide you in the wrong direction. Christ is that light! It is to His light that I bear witness. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

The Water Was Warm, The Air Crisp, And The Fellowship In The Spirit Amazed Me! 

Bringing Bits And Pieces Together

This is how our backyard looked late this Sunday afternoon. You see, I've been gathering up bits and pieces from everywhere in anticipation of the construction of a garden shed for my wife. I was going to get started last spring, but there was always something else that needed to be done. Cheryl, my wife, snapped these pictures so we wouldn't forget how it looks when a project is under way. I know, it faintly resembles the scenes you've been watching on the news from down south. Disaster, natural or manmade has the same appearance. We were called away early this evening or I might have finished the south wall(might is an operative term, and one to be taken very lightly when it comes to the time I make available for "personal" projects)had there not been a phone call requesting both of us for an unknown emrgency. Everything was okay, that's the good news. In the backyard everything is about the way you see it in the picture. The door does swing on it's hinges, and that is a plus. I have this thing about doors and windows, when they look just fine to me they don't work quite the way they were intended. Oh, they open and close very well, depending on how you hold your mouth and utter the magic words. Sometimes I think God has this enormous sense of humor as we go about the tasks of working our little piece of the anthill. If you happened to read the previous entry on my blog you would enjoy knowing that the alarm failed this morning and I was walking into the church at 10:25. Just in the nick of time! Another person I spoke with today got there around 11 and didn't come in because she realized she was running late and didn't want to; well you know. Did everyone have a day like that or just this corner of the world? All in all I must admit the day has been good. Sitting here tonight I would also admit that it wasn't what I expected, and that too is good! I'll see if I can get it all together tomorrow and make the pieces of the disaster come together in a shape more befitting a "garden shed" for the wife. I envision a place of quiet repose where she can pot plants and look out the window at the things she is creating with God's help(I could use some of that when it comes to building). Happy Sunday, and I pray your week coming up is a joy in every way! God bless, Preacher.

Expecting Someone?

This is by far one of the cutest pics I've run across in ages! It says so much about how we live our lives. The picture(this is for me, I have no clue what others may see)shows anticipation, homecoming, curiosity, wonder, and companionship in the shared observance. I've raised a lot of dogs. In the files of pictures I have of them some come close to this(for me some are better but in a different light and not black and white)element of surprise I felt and then after studying it I saw more. Tomorrow is Sunday! Some of us wait patiently for the hour of worship to arrive. Others will bustle about preparing for the journey to "church" amidst a mixture of emotions. There was a time in my preaching career where everything on Sunday morning was about me, and my wife had to get the children(five at that time)all ready to go. We were on separate schedules. These days there are no little ones around except for the occasional grand and they're usually ready before I am. I try to get to the church at least half an hour before it begins, but most Sundays I don't get there until 10 after 10. That seems to be the appointed time no matter how I try to change it. Maybe that is just God's time and I'm more or less flowing within it's confines.
Would it not be great if we could have the anticipation that these two have looking out the window when we get to our place in the morning's worship? Perhaps it's been awhile and you're not entirely comfortable. Perhpas the kids were not cooperating as they should and you came close to calling off the morning sojourn to the services. It really makes no difference what your reason for not attending on Sunday might be, the truth is if we aren't there we aren't able to share in the mystery of faith that our hearts long for so deeply. It could be just another day in your life, or it could mark the beginning of a beautiful relationship that we all truly need. I think of the child's companion at the window watching, waiting, or just plain curious. I wonder which of those will be my emotional bent in the morning. I look forward to being in the midst of the Body of Christ as everyone prepares their own hearts for the time spent of offering ourselves to God, receiving His sustaining Word, and seeing the expressions on the faces of folks I know so well as the hour unfolds. In faith we worship each day the living Savior! Sunday is an opportunity to share it with friends and family. I pray your Sunday is a "good one!" In Christ's Love, Preacher.