Mark 10:13-16
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Why were people bringing their children to Jesus?
Why were the disciples upset?
How are we to become like children?
What do you think it means that Jesus "blessed" the children?
Sunday, December 14, 2008
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Have you been watching the weather for tomorrow (Monday)? COULD be interesting but probably another disappointment for those of us who enjoy snow.
It's going to be WINDY today.
Reminds me of this old joke:
Three old guys are out for walk. The first one says, "Windy, isn't it?"
The second one says, "No, it's Thursday!"
The third one says, "So am I. Let's go get a coke."
The weather is looking interesting...
Here is an interesting article from Christian History magazine:
Why Do We Have Christmas Trees?
There are lots of weird things we do associated with the celebration of Jesus' birth. A lot of them have pagan origins but were later "Christianized."
I don't have a problem with that.
Do you?
What did you think of communion this morning? I really liked it. I was taken a little off-guard by how "chewy" the bread was, but it was good to have to think about eating the bread. The corresponding generous quantity of juice was refreshing.
I unexpectedly became emotional as I watched people come to the table to receive the juice. There was something touching about seeing people moving about. It was neat to see a young girl carrying a cup for her grandmother and herself.
I received a few comments about the experience; all were positive.
Kedra and I did something so unusual on Saturday. The kids were stunned and said "Why?" What did we do? We went to see a movie!
We went to see Australia. I have wanted to see this movie since it came out. I loved it!
The story is good and engaging; the scenery is just beautiful. You really need to see it on a big screen.
Speaking of Australia, I have maintained fairly regular contact with some blokes from Tasmania.
One of them has started a business in Hobart, offering walking tours of the city. To schedule one you can click HERE. It's reasonably priced, but airfare is extra.
Time for popcorn...
Might yak at you tomorrow.
I hope this week is considerably less busy than last week.
What's the weather going to do?
Tonight I experimented with chicken wings. I cut the wing tips off and marinated them all day. I then pre-baked them in the oven for a little while. Then I braved the elements and put them on the grill for a while. Next I bathed them in sauce and put them back in the oven for a couple of minutes.
I have to say they were pretty good. I called Todd and told him. I always share meeting cooking success with him.
I have a few modifications and experimentations with the wings, and then I am going to go public with them, i.e., I will serve them at a party.
We had to cancel our Men's Study this evening. The flu bug invaded Jay's house, so we thought it best that no one else did.
The Men's Study is going well. We are studying how to be wise men (not wise guys) as we look at what James has to say in his little letter. He speaks of wisdom in the latter part of chapter 3.
I've been following closely today Belski's Blog. I love the way he loves snow and reveals all the inner workings of weather forecasting.
He did a live, inactive post this afternoon. It got bogged down with people asking silly questions about school closings and specific details about things that no one can know. He did a nice job of cutting through the stupidity and talking about things he needed to.
Looking at biblical passages about hell this evening...
Last night we talked about heaven, and this coming Sunday night we'll talk about hell.
Jesus talks more about hell than anyone else. That's interesting.
Why is there hell? How can a loving God send people there?
Tomorrow my Capstone Ministries brothers and I are going to watch a Webinar regarding our housing project. This Webinar (sharing of information through the internet in an interactive way) will give us details about the grant that we plan to pursue.
If successful we will purchase 7 houses and rehab them and then rent 5 of them out to people living in poverty; we will leave 2 of them for transitional housing.
We want to become anti-slum lords!
We're pretty excited about this and would appreciate your prayers. I'll share more details when appropriate, but we feel fairly confident that we can secure the grant, thanks to the help of others who have expertise in this area.
We had a really good Honduras meeting last night. It looks we have a team of about 16-18 people. It's a really diverse and neat group. We'll spend the next few months building relationships and forming ourselves into a team.
You can read about the group that we working with by clicking HERE. Older posts reveal details about the kind of work we will do. I read some of it today and got really excited! It sounds so neat, so real.
Today I continued to receive good feedback about our communion yesterday.
Eventually I would like for us to sit at tables and have communion, much like they did the first century. There will be a right time in the future.
Yes, Brent, I am talking to myself. And I have lots to say, evidently. ha ha
We went to a Garrison Keillor concert last summer at the State Fair and he was talking about a favorite aunt of his who always welcomed them with open arms. He went on to say (and I think this is close) Children have no skin. Everything that happens to them goes straight to their hearts and that children need those in their lives who will just openly take them in their arms and love them unconditionally. I thought that was so beautiful. Jesus wants us to be as children. To have an open heart that feels that which is around them. We get hardended to the world by experience in dealing with people but he wants us to be open as a child, trusting completely, willing to give love unconditionally. Children will love those who are unkind to them, they trust everything they are told, the give without reservation their love and acceptance. What a blessing they are to remind us of how He wants us to be. Sherron
Sherron, that is beautiful.
You may hear it again on Sunday!
I'll blog more later this evening; been an interesting day. Good.
The Webinar went well this morning. It was kinda boring really. The funds we are pursuing are a little more restricted than we had hoped for. Only houses in foreclosure are eligble for purchase; we were hoping to be able to purchase houses that had been on the market and empty for a while. It just limits us a little on what we can buy, but there are a lot houses in foreclosure.
After the Webinar I went for a 4 mile run in the wind, snow, and sleet. I know; I know. But I really enjoyed it. I ran on the new Hamilton Blvd, out by Lehigh; nice road.
This afternoon I worked in the food pantry. It was a busy and interesting day.
One guy came into the food pantry with only a light coat. I know this guy from previous contact/encounters; I like him.
I ask him where his heavy coat was. He said that he had to pawn it to get some money. [I was wondering how much money you can get from pawning a coat; I am pretty ignorant of the whole pawn shop process.]
I asked Rose if we had any adult coats left over from the coat drive; we did. I called the man back to the room where the coats are. He found one and seemed very happy. He thanked us all and left, sporting a nice warm coat.
I felt warm inside.
It wasn't long until a young woman came in without any kind of coat. In fact she was in short sleeves. I asked her if she needed coat, and she said that she didn't; said she had a coat but just didn't wear it.
Her friend disagreed and said that she really didn't have a coat. The friend and I persuaded her to go to the "coat room" to have a look. After a while she came out wearing a coat and seemed to be quite happy to do so. Her friend was really pleased and very thankful.
Later another lady got a coat. We had a few pick up some coats for kids.
It was a good day to give away coats.
Later in the afternoon some folks came in with a little boy. I know this family fairly well. I asked the lady (grandmother) if they were going to have a good Christmas. She whispered, "We're not having Christmas this year." I looked at her, wanting to know more. She then added, "We just don't have any money."
I felt so sad. I told her about the toys at ReGen. "Cheap," I said, describing the prices. She whispered, "We don't have any money." I left her and called Penny down at the store, asking if we still had any toys. Penny said to send them down and she would take care of them.
I went back and told the lady. She was slightly miffed at me for talking to Penny. "I didn't tell you that for you to do something." I said, "I know that, but I/we want to help."
While they were waiting for their food I asked Melissa if there were any toys left from the mommies' toy sale; there were. I hope the mommies don't mind, because I went and found 3 little toys for the boy, boxed them up, and gave them to the surprised grandmother. She was very grateful.
Later another couple came looking for some toys. We were able to help them a little also.
What happened to all those places that used to give toys to kids at Christmas? Seems like there used to be lots of them. I haven't heard much this year.
A friend sent me a great article this afternoon about Christians, especially Christian leaders, and alcohol.
Reflections from a Bartender’s Son
What do you think?
OK, that's enough for today. I started this day before 5 a.m. for some reason.
Time for some popcorn and root beer. Yes, Mike, I will eat a little extra for you.
[Mike gives me a hard time about running and popcorn consumption, not necessarily in that order. Since he does such an amazing job of working with our food pantry folks, I let most of it slide. ha ha]
No school today???
Not sure I understand that decision, but I've made a few bad ones over the years myself. ha ha.
That is a great article (the Bartenders Son) on a tough issue. The writer seeks to be very honest in his thoughts. Thanks Allen, Pat
I, too, am surprised at "no school," today and questioned the school sec. when she called to tell me. "Some roads are worse than others, " she said. "Stay home and bake cookies." she advised. Think I will.
What about church tonight? Still on?
Re: communion--
I kinda missed sharing a loaf. Are we gonna switch to buying communion wafers? That might be less work than having folks make them, and there are some decent quality ones that can be purchased.
Donna
Did you see where some parents named their little boy Adolph Hitler? His sister is named Aryan Nation.
I'm not making this up!
You can read about it HERE.
Another interesting day...
Met with the Mayor of Mitchell for a while this morning. We told him about our housing plans. He is excited and very supportive.
I really think he is trying hard to do the right things. It's a tough job.
Went to see a couple from the food pantry today. I was talking to the man yesterday, and he was telling me that his wife was unable to get out, due to health issues. I asked him if he would like for me to come by. He said, "That'd be great."
I went late this morning. We had a good visit even though it was interrupted a few times by visitors and phone calls. We are going to begin studying the Bible together next week. He identified a less hectic meeting time.
Luke comes home this evening! I am looking forward to having him around for about a month.
About time for class...
I did a few more chicken wings last night. I think I have a plan now, and I am going to try it out Friday night when we have the elders and deacons over to our house.
Here it is:
1. Prepare 7-8 pounds of wings by clipping off the wing tips and separating the remaining two pieces at the joint.
2. Put them all in a large aluminum roasting pan; put the whole pan in the smoker for a couple of hours. I’m thinking hickory is the right wood for this.
3. Take them out and warm them up a little more in the oven for about 10 minutes.
4. Put them on the grill on high heat for about 10 minutes to harden up the skin etc. Gotta watch for grease fires at this point; trust me I know (from Monday's experiment).
5. Bathe them in sauce and put them back in the oven for about 5 minutes to harden the sauce. I am going to use Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy sauce.
6. Serve them on a pre-heated pizza stone.
I saw something this morning that I've been pondering ever since. Could this be a way to make some extra money?
Here's an excerpt from the article that got me thinking:
STILL can't think what to get him for Christmas? Socks don't seem to cut it any more? Fret no longer because Burger King is here to help.
The mass purveyor of grilled meat is offering, for a limited time only, something even better than its usual piles of beef patties. This week, American men were given the chance to smell like their favourite meat snack with the launch of Flame, Burger King's contribution to the perfume market. The company describes Flame as "the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat".
I'm saying this humbly of course, but the smoke that comes from my smoker smells a lot better than BK's. I figure I can scrape some of the suet off the sides, mix it with a little water, bottle it, and then sell it.
Just place a little dab behind each ear and watch it!
Whatcha think? Any suggestions?
We had a good class last night. We talked a lot about kids and the Kingdom.
There are so many things to consider when you think about the passage we are looking at this week:
The desire of Jesus to have children come to him.
His indignation at the disciples for their attempt to stop it.
The statement of Jesus that we must become like children.
And did you notice the touching involved?
And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
I read a good book this week.
What Every Church Member Should Know about Poverty
I found it helpful in several ways, especially as we are making some strong moves toward truly helping people. I am working on several things that I guess would fall under the category of Accountability. Specifically we going to develop some ways to give people the opportunity to be more responsible.
I am most excited about some material that I am working on that will present Jesus, giving people an opportunity to come to know him better.
The book really helped me with issues related to langauge and the mindset of men living in poverty. It's very interesting stuff.
I'm getting ready to read a couple more of Ruby Payne's books.
OK. That's enough for now.
Am I talking/posting too much?
Sorry about the following; a friend sent it to me.
A Blonde is watching the news with her husband when the newscaster says 'Two Brazilian men die in a skydiving accident.'
The blonde starts crying to her husband, sobbing 'That's horrible!!! So many men dying that way!'
Confused, he says, 'Yes dear, it is sad, but they were skydiving, and there is always that risk involved.'
After a few minutes, the blonde, still sobbing, says, 'How many is a Brazilian?'
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