Gary and Beth

Reaching Ireland Update

2010-07-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

From our latest newsletter...

"Are You Serious?"

Well, as a matter of fact we are! We're selling our house -- and in the first week on the market we had two showings!

We won't be moving to Ireland next week, but we are taking steps to insure we're ready. As you may know, we also teach music lessons out of our house and to simplify things while the house is on the market (and should we need to move out before our departure) we're going to begin teaching our lessons through the music academy at a church just down the street.

We're pulling up roots and getting ourselves footloose so that there's nothing holding us back from making our move to Ireland. (Yeah- we're just a little excited)
What now?

This is an excellent time for you to hop on board and help us reach Ireland! We only need 48 more people who can partner with us at an average of $75/month. Call us and we'll tell you how you can be a part of seeing this great nation return to it's Christian roots!

You don't even have to send any money right now. If you commit to a monthly amount to begin giving when we leave for Ireland, that counts! We just need to hear from you soon.

However - if you feel that you are to partner with us and can begin now, that money enables us to continue raising more support and also builds our account for all of our relocating costs.

We need to get all our potential Ministry Partners on board right away so that we can go to pre-feild training ASAP. Then, once we get through Molly's wedding in October we can quickly make final preparations and get our feet on the ground in Ireland, doing what we're called to do.

Email us or call us right away and let us know if you're on board!

Have You Seen Our Slide Show?

NO? Why not?

Call or email us and let's get together - in person or on the phone - and we'll show you pictures from Ireland while we tell you about the opportunities and the vision the Lord has given us for this work. No obligation - just watch, listen, ask questions and then pray about how God might use you.

Please Pray!

- For God's vision to come to fruition

- For the sale of our house

- For the Irish people who need Jesus

- For blessings on our Ministry Partners

OUR PROGRESS...
The green guys below represent our current support (the white is what we need). Get your own green guy today!

The Now and the Not Yet - St. Patrick's day musing

2010-03-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

Being children of this age and western culture, most of us have difficulty with the concept of waiting. Fast Food is one of the biggest industries in the world. Precooked, prepackaged, "instant" meals are becoming the norm in many households - including pre-made, store-bought sandwiches and precooked bacon! Time and again I see drivers honking at cars that (heaven forbid) slow down in front of them so that they can safely turn into a parking lot or side street.

When it comes to results - whatever they represent - we want them now, with little investment. "Lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks, with no effort and at this low, low cost!"

Unfortunately, this spills over into our spiritual life as well.

When we set out to develop spiritual discipline with the goal of growing in our faith, we tend to think that we should see results quickly. We think that to attain "maturity" the process has finite parameters, and too often believe we have arrived, when in reality we've only just begun. Along with the "having arrived" mentality, we may also gain a sense of entitlement. We expect that whatever goals we have before us will be easily and quickly reached. We believe that, since God has placed within us a passion, gifting or vision, that all we need do is reach out a take hold of it.

I speak from experience here. I am one who can all too easily "grow weary in well-doing".

What helps me in those times is to look to others who have gone before as examples. Moses, for instance, was given a vision to rescue his people out of slavery and take them to a new homeland. When he finally had the guts to fulfill the vision he had to spend the next 40 years wandering the countryside with those he was leading, before they were allowed to settle in the promised land. Then there's Noah who spent the better part of 100 years building a huge boat nowhere near water because God had told him to do so. Shortly after he finished his little backyard project, God flooded the earth.

Finally, I'd like to tell you about Patrick. As a teenager, he was captured from his home in England and sold into slavery in Ireland, where he remained, tending sheep for several years. During that time, he developed a strong deep faith in God. God gave him a vision to escape by walking 200 miles overland to find a particular boat that would take him away from his captors. Through all that, God placed a love for the people of Ireland deep within Patrick and he found himself with a strong desire to return to the land that was once his prison to share about the freedom found in Jesus Christ. He was granted that opportunity when he was in his mid-40s and began his work, along with many others, to spread the Good News throughout this pagan nation. We don't know how much Patrick was able to enjoy the fruits of his labors, but we do know that within the next couple of generations after Patrick's death, Ireland became known as a Christian nation and remained that way for the next 1400 years or so.

Remember - God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are His ways our ways. (see Isaiah 55:6)

Thus, his timing is not always our timing and his goals our goals.

If we have a vision, a passion, a goal that God has given us, we need to believe that it will happen. And if it takes longer than expected, realize that there are reasons - and they are in large part to benefit us in our growth as his children. It's in the journey that God does his best work in us, not in reaching the goal or attaining the prize.

What's in a Name?

2010-02-09T11:24:00.000-08:00

I had discovered this years ago and every now and then I return to it. This is a great example of God at work throughout the history of mankind. What you are looking at are the names of the men in direct line from Adam to Noah as given in Genesis 5. In parentheses are the meanings of their names. Those meanings are then put together in following sentences...

Adam
(Man)

Seth
(Appointed)

Enosh
(Moral)

Kenan
(Sorrow)

Mahalalel
(The Blessed God)

Jared
(Shall Come Down)

Enoch
(Teaching)

Methuselah
(His Death Shall Bring)

Lamech
(The Despairing)

Noah
(Rest, Comfort)

“Man appointed moral sorrow. The Blessed God shall come down teaching; His death shall bring the despairing rest (and) comfort.”

Incomplete Disciple

2009-11-09T13:13:00.000-08:00

Since I became a follower of Jesus (33 years ago), I have always known that I was imperfect. Yeah, I know. I'm sure you're shocked and disappointed to hear that.

Over the years, my growth as a disciple has ebbed and flowed, waned and waxed. While there has been forward movement, I can't say that I have been completely consistent in my pursuit of the holy life - the one which we are called to live.

And yet, I know that I have grown a tremendous amount since that day I first committed myself to being under Jesus' lordship. Through deep study of and meditation on His Word, and by putting into practice at least a portion of what I've learned, I've become who I am today.

But from time-to-time it becomes glaringly apparent that I am far from complete. "What now?" you ask.

Well, I'm considering a few things that I have had the tendency to ignore previously.

Here's one...

"I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead." (Phil 3:10a NLT) I'm okay with that. I'm excited by that. I really do want that.

But it's the next sentence that gets my goat: "I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death..." Am I okay with that? Does that excite me? Do I really want that? I'm not so sure.

And what about when Paul says, "...and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." (2 Tim 3:12) Have I really experienced that? I mean REALLY? Truth be told, any "persecution" that I may have suffered for being a follower of Jesus amounts to nothing. Only words. Nothing of substance.

Jesus himself tells us, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23 NIV) How prepared am I to deny myself on a daily basis? I'm reticent at best.

So here I am - an incomplete disciple - not having disciplined myself to the fullest extent of Christ's expectations.

Still got a long way to go.

Self examination

2009-09-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

Lately our life has been crazy. I usually work 12-15 hours most days and have to force myself to take time off.

Being so focused on my work, it's all too easy to become inward-focused. I've been asking myself, "What am I doing to reach out to those around me with the love of Jesus? What effect am I having on my neighbors, or the baristas at Starbucks, or the clerk at the grocery store?" Okay, I'm nice. I engage them in pleasant conversation. I try to encourage them in their work. That's all good.

But is there more I can be doing? Do they know that they are loved by the Creator of the universe? Do they know that their lives have meaning beyond the menial, daily tasks of making a living?

I was challenged this morning as I read this in Greater Europe Mission's Vision and Mission Blog:

"We must always remember that as Christians, we carry Jesus’ light wherever we go. When we enter the local grocery store, coffee house, or restaurant, we can take Christ into that situation with us. We can choose to use every simple transaction or conversation to bring a touch of Jesus into others’ lives. Will we keep Him under wraps or will we, in faith, reach out and bring the Kingdom into the establishment?"

Shyness is no longer an excuse. Fear is no longer an excuse. Lack of time is no longer an excuse. Pride is no longer an excuse.

All these things... I must leave home without them.

Living in the South

2009-09-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

Never really intending for things to end up this way, I have now spent more than half of my existence in The South. My mom grew up in Dallas and we kids always enjoyed making fun of our grandparents' accents. I grew up in Kansas, where there really is no accent, unless you're truly country folk. Then there is this kind of western twang.

Upon landing in Nashville, TN in '82, I was struck by the fact that even news anchors and radio personalities had drawls. I must admit that, despite my best efforts (and prideful denial thereof), I was a snob and thought the local broadcasters sounded unprofessional at best. You see, I had grown up equating a southern drawl with a lack of education or refinement. What I didn't think about then was that a few centuries of refinement had gone into developing the twists and turns of the English language that define a Southern accent.

You may be thinking, "But wait - you live in Florida..." This is true. But what you may not realize is that "The South" extends well into Florida. In fact, Tallahassee has one of the most endearing timbres of all the Southern accents.

Another thing that I've come to learn is that the rest of the English-speaking world is fascinated by a good Southern drawl. This is evidenced by northern tourists who, upon being greeting by their waitress insist she repeat whatever comes out of her mouth.

"She said 'y'all!' Say it again!"

While it is rather obnoxious, they mean no disrespect. Come to think of it, I've actually been on the receiving end of this scenario. While in Cork, Ireland, a few young kids, upon hearing my foreign accent, encircled me demanding, "Say 'Ireland'!" When I did so in my best Cork brogue, there was a unison "Aaah" of disappointment.

There are a couple of Southern colloquialisms that I love. For instance, anywhere else we might say "excuse me?" or "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Where we live, the thing to say is, "Do what, now?"

But I think my favorite is when you have something that isn't working properly, it's "done tore up."

Now, apart from linguistics, there are other oddities you may find only in the South. Here are a few examples of actual business names:

Flags and Afghans Galore

Barstool Variety

Le Salon n' Spa

And my favorite:

St. Nick's Christmas and Knives

The South has such an interesting mix of personalities and cultures that can be at once off-putting and endearing. It's rich in tradition, steeped in history.

You gotta love it.

The Aftermath

2009-09-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

I was reliving Sept. 11, 2001 last night, thanks to the help of the History Channel, which was running a real-time account of that morning's events.

THC made it such a human story, utilizing a lot of footage shot at street level that really focused on the people of New York. The thing that struck struck me so strongly was the innocence on the faces of those witnessing events that were beyond their comprehension.

There was no frame of reference. Nothing like this had ever taken place on American soil. With sympathetic reactions to the tragedy unfolding before their eyes, they had no idea what was really happening. Okay, so an airliner flew into the north tower of the World Trade Center. We had seen accidents like this. Rare as it was, it was not unbelievable.

But when the south tower was struck 17 minutes later, whether first-hand or by way of broadcast, every person watching it was snatched out of reality into a surreal landscape that resembled nothing in his or her experience. Suddenly we were in a cinema watching yet another doomsday flick. Right?

But all too soon, we realized that this was reality, strange as it was -- painful as it was A new reality was thrust upon us.

Yet still we had no idea how our world was about to change.

Looking back over the eight years since then -- it really was a different world wasn't it?

That innocence will never be regained.

belief?

2009-09-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

I have this scripture on my desk: "For nothing will be impossible with God." (Luke 1:37)

Do I believe it?

"...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:17)

I'm not sure the Luke passage - although I've read it, thought about it, contemplated it, examined it - has quite sunk in. If it had, I would be living every moment of every day under the conviction that anything is possible and doing all I could to prove it.

I think I need to begin a study of scripture wherein I REALLY test what's there. What better way to build my faith than to act on what I'm reading in scripture? I think my tendency is to think, "Yeah, that's good stuff," and pray that the Lord would help me live it out. Not that it's a bad thing to do, I just don't think it's always making a immediate, tangible difference in my behavior. If it is, it's slow, minute movement. I'm talking about reading it and immediately putting it into effect.

I think I'll call it my "Believe-What-You-Read-And-Test-It-In-Faith" study.

Anybody want to join me?

(I must clarify here that I'm not meaning to promote any theology that puts "us" in control. God is the author of all things and I strive to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in all things. God is not my co-pilot. No, indeed, He is in the driver's seat - when I let Him - ideally.)

Hi.

2009-08-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

Yeah - so I just found out that the last time I blogged was in the ides of March. St. Patrick's Day.

Five-and-a-half months.

Shameful.

Basically I've been sucked into Facebookworld. I'm approaching 1000 friends there and have found it to be a good vehicle for sharing about our work.

Buuut...

I really miss blogging. I feel it's important for me to write on a regular basis. It helps me to work through things that are on my mind and that I think are worth sharing with others. Of course that's what I think. You may have a different opinion.

So I'm setting myself a reminder on my calendar to pop up each week and remind me to blog. I do actually have a lot of ideas of things I'd like to talk about. I just need to develop the discipline to stay with it.

So maybe you'll be hearing from me more often.

To update you on our progress - we are close to 60% in our needed monthly financial support and are hoping that we can finish up our MPD (Ministry Partner Development - a.k.a. fund raising) soon, go to pre-field training and get to Ireland permanently to continue our work full-time.

Keep praying!

The Legacy of Patrick

2009-03-17T05:28:00.001-07:00

When I think about St. Patrick, there are a few things that come to mind.

The first is - Patrick started his ministry in Ireland when he was in his 40's. That's where I'm at, and we're starting our ministry there. That encourages me.

Next - Patrick was used in amazing ways by the Lord, yet never took any credit for himself. He always maintained a spirit of humility, couched with the knowledge that "..all things are possible with God...", which I think was key to his ability to win over those he was evangelizing.

He suffered many hardships in his lifetime, but always looked for the good that would come from such suffering.

Finally, his legacy and those of his contemporaries (monks, priest, nuns) was to pass on knowledge of the Scriptures and train Christian workers to reach the world with the Gospel. In fact, the Irish are responsible for not only saving the Scriptures from disappearing from the face of the earth during the dark ages, but re-evangelizing the mainland of Europe as the Renaissance dawned.

If each and every one of us who call ourselves Christian would clothe ourselves with the same ethic that Patrick possessed - it would be a whole new world.

You may want to read Patrick's autobiography, his "Confessio". It's a short read and can be found lots of places, including here: http://www.cin.org/patrick.html

I encourage you on this St. Patrick's Day to pray for Ireland. 99.3% of the people of Ireland have no relationships with Jesus. Also, several years ago Patrick organizers of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin decided that Patrick was too religious of a figure and should no longer be allowed to appear in the day's festivities.

We want to see the "days of Patrick" return with a renewed fervor and watch in awe as revival once again spreads across the Emerald Isle!

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

The Shifting Tide

2009-03-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

You know how you're just trucking along in life -- trying to keep a handle on things, stay apprised of what's happening in the world around you, thinking you have a good broad perspective on things and then out of the blue your hit by something that either takes you by surprise, or shows you that your thinking has been way too shallow?

Well that's happening to me right now. I try to keep myself educated about things that are happening in Christendom here and abroad and how that relates to society as a whole, yadda, yadda, yadda...

In the past 4 hours, I have read two articles, brought to my attention by two individuals, that has me refocusing on my perception of the Western church and it's role in the world today.

Rather than go into a long diatribe about the content of these articles and my reactions to them, I think it would be more beneficial to simply provide you with the links to said articles and let you read them.

But before I do (I know, I just can't help myself) I must at least say that, although they both carry with them a fair amount of what appears on the surface to be "bad news", it gets me excited to think about what this really means for the overall health of the world-wide Body of Christ.

The first article is a straight-up news report based upon statistics.

The second is written from the perspective of a servant of Christ who shares his thoughts about coming changes in the evangelical church, based upon his observations, and then ends by giving us the "good news" of what it all could mean for the life of the church.

Thus said, here you go...

Religious Groups in US Losing Ground

The Coming Evangelical Collapse

The calling of a place

2009-02-07T14:01:00.001-08:00

Maybe it's just the fact that we haven't really traveled anywhere within the last year-and-a-half, but I am feeling the urge to be somewhere else. I read a description of a little tavern that's just outside the gate of an historic medieval walled town in Croatia and was immediately enamored. Ready to get on a plane and head there right now. I think Beth nailed it when she said, "You just haven't been anywhere for more than a year. Anyplace would look good to you."

For those of you who like to travel, you understand. It gets in your blood, and after you've been idle in one location for a while it feels like being cooped up in a small cabin all winter - the proverbial "cabin fever".

Well, I've hit that point again. If given the opportunity, I'd be at the airport tonight, or loading up the car for a long road trip. Come on, twist my arm...

Just got a note from a friend who is heading to Ireland in a couple of weeks. Aah!

But aside from discovering new places while traveling (which I love to do), there is something about those places you've been - those that mean something special to you. From time-to-time they will call to you, a veritable siren to your conscience.

There are a few places like that for me, but two in particular that reign.

First there is my home, where I grew up. Kansas. A lot of people have driven through Kansas with the only lasting memory that they couldn't wait for it to end. I can understand that. For hundreds of miles there is nothing but farm crops and ripening prairie grasses.

But for me - I hear music. There is music there that is just waiting to be realized. I have come to know that there is beauty to be found anywhere you are in nature. Sometimes it assaults your senses. Sometimes it chooses to call to you in subtle urgings to look longer, deeper, closer.

Every now and then, my mind will wonder to the Great Plains and get stuck there for a bit.

For those of you who know me, this will come as no surprise, but another place that calls to me in this way is Ireland. Having been there multiple times has enabled us to become familiar with it. That, and the fact that when we are there it seems so much like home, makes it hard to ignore.

In the same way that I feel rooted to the plains, I have a similar connection to the Emerald Isle. But there is something different, as well. My roots in Kansas grew naturally through my years of growing up. They run deep and strong. The roots that have grown for me in Ireland have grown quickly and are still quite shallow, but they're tenacious, nonetheless.

I enjoyed traveling from a young age, but I never had this burning urge to "get outta Dodge" (well, Pratt, actually), as some I have known. No, instead, I simply knew when it was time to go and never regretted the leaving. I look back fondly on my youth, but have no desire to return permanently to that place. Yet it calls still. I hear it call me to never forget, to always remember. It's undemanding, yet persistent.

Ireland, on the other hand, is somewhat more forceful in her approach. Eire (her true name) will often cause me to lose myself in thoughts of being there; driving through the country, exploring ruins, walking down the street, sitting in the park, engaging with people. With Ireland, I get glimpses of what could or will be, not what once was. I think that's why there seems to be more of an urgency when my thoughts are taken there; why it demands more of my mind and heart.

Ireland will be our new home, and has already begun to be so insofar as it has captured my heart. I will always have a divided heart, though. Part will always be in Kansas. A huge, HUGE part will be wherever our daughter Molly is. Part will be where we are.

Regarding Florida -- we have a home here with the people we know and love, and it will be difficult to leave them. But as for the place -- I don't expect it to call to me once we leave. After 20 years I never have felt like a Floridian. I could probably live here the rest of my days and never experience that.

All that to say... "When do we leave?"

Well, I have taken this far beyond what I had planned, and I'm sure you have better things to do, so I believe it's time to close.

Charis and Shalom...

The 3 missing points

2009-02-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

So this morning I gave the message at Coast. It was about David and Goliath and facing the giants in our lives.

We usually have an insert in the handout with scriptures and fill-in-the-blank bullet points and the like, where those present can take notes throughout the sermon.

Well, I got off my notes and ended up skipping three important points (although the things were covered otherwise, the three fill-in-the-blank points made them easy to remember).

So, for those who were present and wondering what the three points were, here you go:

Three things that are instrumental in our victory:

1 - God's Word 2 - God's Ability 3 - Our Faith

Thank you for your attention.

Super Bowl

2009-01-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

Those of you that know me know that I'm not the world's biggest sports fan.

Growing up I participated in the obligatory little league baseball, Pass Punt & Kick, neighborhood football games, Kick the Can, et al. In Jr. High, I "played" basketball and ran track. By the time I got to High School, I realized that I was not an athlete. I remember vividly the call to my dad from the school the day of basketball tryouts telling him that I didn't want to play. He was disappointed, but gracious.

About the only sport I was any good at was golf. That was only because my family belonged to the Country Club. I even have a trophy. Now it would take too much of my time and money for me to get back into it.

Come to think of it, I was a pretty fair skier, too. We used to go to Colorado every winter until I was 18. I would probably kill myself if I tried it now.

So through High School and College, I tried to act like I was into watching sports on TV, but eventually concluded, "What's the point?"

Okay, I will admit that I do enjoy watching the Olympics and the X-Games. But as far as keeping up with ongoing team sports - not so much.

Now if you're ever hanging around me talking sports and I don't have a lot to contribute to the conversation, you'll understand why.

So this weekend is the Super Bowl. I know that because I happened to be talking on the phone with a friend for the first time in 20 years and he mentioned that he and his wife were hosting a party on Sunday. I should have known it was soon, because I've always known it was just after Kansas Day. I know that because we learned about it in grade school. Some things just stick, you know?

Don't ask me who is playing this weekend. Like I said, I don't follow college basketball. Just kidding. I'm sure come game time, I'll know the teams, as I know guys will be talking about it at church Sunday morning.

Part of me thinks I'm un-American for not taking a greater interest. Part of me thinks, "I'm a guy. I'm supposed to be into watching team sports." Part of me is a little embarrassed about it. But the 99% that is the rest of me thinks, "Eh - who cares?"

I must admit though - I'm a little concerned. If you think Americans are fanatic about their sports and their teams, you haven't been to Ireland. I would classify the Irish as rabid about "sport".

Who knows, maybe I'll get caught up in the fervor when we're living there. We'll just have to wait and see...

The heart of controversy

2009-01-22T06:38:00.001-08:00

So regarding this whole uproar about President Obama asking pastor Rick Warren to do the invocation, and his "praying in Jesus' name"...

Here's the way I see it. That there was a controversy doesn't surprise me. It doesn't get me uptight or anything, because basically we know where the world is headed. It will only get worse before it gets better. We can't change that by getting all worked up about how the world perceives Christians. It is what it is.

What was interesting to me was the discussion among the members of the TV and radio press regarding the Bible that was used for the swearing in. There was long discourse about the history of that particular Bible and about the use of the Bible throughout the past two centuries. However, there was no kind of feeling expressed through these discussions regarding the significance of using the Bible at all. No complaints that a "Christian document" was the very thing that nearly every president has sworn upon.

So why the uproar about the prayer and not the Bible?

I can see several possibilities...

Perhaps that the use of the Bible is such a deep tradition it is viewed not as iconic Christiana, but perhaps simply an historic, weighty document that provides a foundation for the ceremony -- a touch point to the founding of our nation. It may be viewed as one of many such documents (including the Koran, Confucius, the Torah and others) that define the human experience as a whole. I don't know. I'm taking a stab in the dark here.

But regarding the uproar over Pastor Rick and praying in Jesus' name, it seems obvious to me that the world's perception of evangelicals is none too favorable. We evangelicals may not be quite lumped in with radical militant religious groups, but in many regards we are in the same general category. Those who are in the "fundamentalist" camp are at once expected to be dogmatic, unloving, intolerant, narrow-minded, exclusive, judgmental... I could go on. Because of such labels, there is a distrust and a perception that we have an agendum when we choose to be faithful to our beliefs.

The long and short of it is that in a pluralistic society, you can't please everybody. There will always be some who feel disenfranchised. Heavens, if you prayed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there would be a certain contingency of Christians who would object.

Just to stir the waters a little more...

Going back to the swearing in, consider the following statement from Jesus:

"But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." (Matt. 5:34-37 NKJV)

I'm thinking that this includes the Holy Scriptures. What do you think? Now I'm not a legalist. I'm not going to declare that we have had no legitimate presidents these 220 years, save those who chose not to swear on the Bible. I just find this all very interesting.

Alright, enough rambling. I know, I know - I haven't really made any strong arguments or profound statements in my little diatribe here. Just kind of random thoughts of someone trying to get a handle on how the world works.

I'll close by saying this.

I applaud President Obama for sticking so far to his promise of striving toward a more unified nation -- a more inclusive administration. No, I don't agree with many of his viewpoints and values. But I will be praying that he will turn to the One through whom all things were made for guidance and wisdom as president -- and the hope of eternal life as a fellow human being.

Oh, and one more thing...

No matter how you feel about the man, this is truly a remarkable era for our nation and world. Centuries of struggle, violence, oppression and turmoil have led us to this point and we should be proud that we have finally arrived here.

The weather ain't the reason

2009-01-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

Rain. Sleet. Snow. Temperatures hovering around freezing. Winds up to 100 mph. Power outages. Hazardous driving. Stranded motorists. Trees and road signs blown down -- on top of cars. 30 ft. waves in a bay. Flooded roads.

This, my friends is Ireland right now.

My word, they are getting slammed with horrible weather! And the kicker is that it's supposed to continue like this for the next week or so.

Now why is it that we want to move to Ireland? Well, I could have told you from the beginning that it wasn't for the weather. Except maybe when it's 99F with 99% humidity here in Gulf Breeze, while it's in the 70s in Dublin.

This picture is us in Ireland in August...

Okay, this was a little too cool for summer in our minds.

Nonetheless - that's where we want to be. That's where we're supposed to be.

May it be sooner rather than later...

2009

2009-01-05T05:08:00.000-08:00

So here we are - starting another year. What will it hold for each of us?

I know that with the economy the way it is at present, many are looking at 2009 with fear and trepidation. We're definitely feeling the crunch ourselves, as music students are having to cut back on lessons, or having to quit altogether. And the little side jobs in carpentry, etc. are all but non-existent.

But we are encouraged.

While certain aspects of our income are suffering, the one thing that is on the increase is the main thing upon which we are focused - our support level for our work in Ireland. I believe we are truly experiencing something miraculous.

God has been teaching us patience and that His timing is perfect. It seems very likely that we will be able to move to Ireland in 2009.

We have a strong support base building, including a number of individuals who have been faithful partners with us for several years. We have seen the fruits of their commitment in the work that we've already been able to accomplish on our short-term trips. At present, their monthly support is enabling us to spend the time needed to raise the remainder that we need so that we can make our permanent move.

We are so excited about continuing our work and fulfilling the vision that God has given us for the church in Ireland.

Here's our vision statement:

To equip and train up worship leaders and musicians in the Irish church to better enable them to move the church forward and reach the Irish people with the Gospel.

Raising up leadership is what it's all about.

Beth and I would love to share with anyone who wants to know more about the work we've been doing, our vision for the work once we are living there and our financial goals for making that happen.

You can let us know if you'd like to learn more by leaving a comment with your email address or phone number. We will NOT publish your information, out of respect for your privacy, but can then contact you with more information.

Here's to 2009!

Profundity

2008-12-24T04:52:00.000-08:00

So I've been working my brain over the past few weeks trying to come up with something profound to say about Christmas this year. The lack of a post up until now is indicative of my lack of inspiration. I think I've been a little overwhelmed by the commercialism for some reason -- more so than in the past. It's also been disheartening to here "it's the worst Christmas shopping season on record" over and over in the media.

Then it dawned on me this morning... The profound is to be discovered in simplicity -- looking once again at the root cause of this season we now celebrate. I've known this. I've known it well. But somehow, I still overlook it.

God, in order to reconnect with people, came to earth as a man. Simple.

Jesus, that man, lived among us, teaching us, showing us the heart of God. Simple.

Because He caused such a stir, the rulers of the time decided it would be better to get rid of Him. Simple.

Because He is God, the grave couldn't hold Him. Simple.

The simplicity of the account has been a stumbling point for many over the years. It doesn't jive with the thinking of many who continue to look for the Messiah, one who they think should be a mighty military/governmental figure in the tradition of man.

No, to look at the story of Jesus as the Messiah, one quickly realizes that it's much simpler than we would make it.

The complexity is then found behind the physical evidence. To look at the surface elements, it seems a straightforward plot. But what was His real reason for becoming one of us?

The story stretches back to the creation of man and woman. From the time sin entered the world, there was need of a Saviour. Thousands of years were spent making sacrifices, attempting to wipe away guilt. But that only carried us so far.

The one sacrifice that would suffice was that of God providing Himself as the sacrifice. This one, simple, profound act changed the course of history. Nay, eternity.

May your Christmas be filled with the simple and the profound.

O Come...

You never write, you never call...

2008-11-20T06:40:00.000-08:00

To those of you who keep up with us via this blog - my apologies. The past couple of months have been so slam-packed with stuff, that to be quite honest, I didn't even really think about blogging.

A couple of months ago, I (Gary) finally got myself on Facebook. It's a remarkable world. I've connected with people from High School, college and adult life, who I never thought I would find. It's kind of easy to get sucked in to the Facebook vortex, so I have to pace myself and dedicate only small bits of time here and there to perusing, finding old friends and new, and catching up with what's happening in their worlds.

Just to let you know what's been happening lately:

- Our support level is still on the increase

- Our car died, so we had to replace it

- Molly turned 21!

- We made a trip to Columbus, GA to visit one of our supporting churches, Calvary Chapel Columbus. Had a great time visiting with Pastor Mark and his family, leading worship, reconnecting with old friends and gaining some new friends.

We're gearing up for Christmas, planning for Thanksgiving with our family and friends, working on our church's website and raising support.

Keep us in your prayers and let us know how we may be praying for you!

Success in the face of adversity

2008-10-31T05:53:00.000-07:00

One of my mantras over the years to encourage people has been, "Don't focus on your circumstances; focus on the Lord." I must admit that it has always been far easier to say than to do. We want to feel in control, don't we?

We have been at this support raising thing for some time now. For those of you just joining us, we have been somewhat in maintenance mode for a couple of years, taking trips to Ireland to get our ministry started.

So right about the time we decide it's time to focus our efforts on raising the remainder of our monthly financial support to enable us to move to Ireland and continue our work full-time, the economy sinks to an all-time low. "Consumer confidence" is suffering, previously elastic products and services (those that are in demand, no matter the price, such as cable TV, etc.) are suddenly being considered luxuries, charitable giving is down by up to 25%. Everyone is holding their breath to see what the results of and reaction to the upcoming election will be.

Here's the kicker. We've seen a greater increase in our support level in the past three months than we have seen since we started the process. This tells us a couple of things...

1 - There are still people who place their confidence in the Lord over confidence in their circumstances.

2 - God must be in it. This must be His timing.

I believe in miracles and I believe we are witnessing one right before our eyes!

The truth hurts...

2008-10-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

I have to thank our good friend and colleague, Phil Kingsley for this quote from comedian / satirist, Mort Sahl, which seems sooo apropos right now:

"There were four million people in the American Colonies and we had Jefferson and Franklin.

Now we have over 200 million and the two top guys are Clinton and Dole. What can you draw from this?

Darwin was wrong!"

This should be interesting...

2008-10-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

You know how it is returning to a former school or place of work and the mix of emotions it stirs? You tend to become nostalgic, yet it often seems like you are seeing this once familiar place through someone else's eyes.

I resigned from Calvary Chapel Gulf Breeze 4 years ago. It doesn't seem it's been that long and at the same time it seems an eternity. So much has happened in the ensuing years and now we find ourselves preparing to move overseas for the next chapter in our lives.

This weekend marks 25 years of ministry for Calvary Chapel. We were there 15 of those years. Beth and I were invited by Pastor John to join in a homecoming celebration Sunday morning and share a song with the congregation. We are having a hard time deciding which of two songs we should do. May have to flip a coin.

I'm really looking forward to it, although I know it will also be rather strange. Pastor John is a gifted teacher and it will be good to hear him again. It will be great to see old friends and to lead them in a worship song. At the same time there will be a large percentage of the congregation who will have no idea who we are.

Should be a really good experience overall, but it is going to be quite interesting...

Sticker Shock

2008-10-09T19:17:00.001-07:00

Imagine our surprise when, as we were driving to band rehearsal this evening, we noticed that gas was at $3.17. Woo Hoo!

Then on the drive home, we were shocked to see that it had gone to $3.11! Crazy!

However, I remember 3 1/2 years ago seeing the price jump to $3.20. We were totally in shock and thought it was the end of the world as we knew it.

Last time we were in Ireland we were paying around €1.40 per liter. Doesn't seem too bad until you start to do the math and realize that's almost $8 per gallon!

Interesting what a little perspective can do for your outlook.

Wow - scary...

2008-10-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

There is a segment of our society who look to the European Union as an example of how government should be run, and I've heard that there are those within our government that would like to see us move toward such a model in the US.

For those of us who cherish our religious freedom, the following is a little scary (understatement).

Here are a couple of excerpts from Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe Resolution 1580 (2007), which outlines the Dangers of Creationism in Education:

“2. For some people the Creation, as a matter of religious belief, gives a meaning to life. Nevertheless, the Parliamentary Assembly is worried about the possible ill-effects of the spread of creationist ideas within our education systems and about the consequences for our democracies. If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights, which are a key concern of the Council of Europe.”

“18. Investigation of the creationists’ growing influence shows that the arguments between creationism and evolution go well beyond intellectual debate. If we are not careful, the values that are the very essence of the Council of Europe will be under direct threat from creationist fundamentalists. It is part of the role of the Council of Europe’s parliamentarians to react before it is too late.”

Text adopted in assembly debate on 4 October 2007 (35th Sitting)
(see Doc. 11375, report of the Committee on Culture, Science and
Education, rapporteur: Mrs Brasseur).

The resolution in its entirety can be found here:
http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/AdoptedText/ta07/ERES1580.htm

In general, there is this prevailing attitude in Europe that anything to do with anything that might be construed as "evangelical" must be considered dangerous to society.

For those who would like to adopt the EU model -- let's not and say we didn't...

A dog's life

2008-09-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

15 years ago Beth and Molly came home from the Humane Association with Rosie. We think she is a Sheltie mix. When Rosie was 4 we got Snicker, a beagle mix, who was 2 at the time.

Rosie is now nearly completely deaf, has arthritis, kidney disease and is senile as the day is long. Other than that, she has always looked younger than Snicker.

Snicker, at 13 has been as ornery as ever (never mean, just getting into the trash or the pantry and trying to run away). I have always said, "It's a good thing she's cute." Aside from a degenerative disc that hasn't really bothered her for several years, and allergies, we felt she would go on forever.

Over the past couple of weeks, Snicker's breathing has become difficult, as she had apparent nasal congestion. We figured it was due to her allergies and treated it as such. Last week, her cheek swelled up so we took her to the vet. Figuring she has an infected tooth (Snicker wouldn't let them look at it), they put her on antibiotics and hoped it would clear up not only the tooth problem, but her breathing as well.

Sunday, I reached down to pet Snicker as I usually do and she yelped as I touched her face. Upon closer examination, I saw that her eye was looking really weepy, almost conjunctive. She also had swelling over her nose. She looked miserable.

Today, the vet looked at her briefly and diagnosed a tumor in her face. The options were few and not very promising. He told us that prednisone might help alleviate her discomfort for a week or two. Other than that there really wasn't much they could do to save her.

So we brought her home since we hadn't given Molly a chance to say good-bye if she wanted to. Snicker slept hard when we got home - absolutely worn out. I spoke with Molly this evening to tell her.

By the end of the week, I'll make that journey I dread. You wanna know the truth? One of the biggest reasons I dread it is what condition I will be in as I lead her into the vet's office for the last time. It's the right thing to do. I won't regret it. It will just be hard.

Despite her orneriness, she's a sweet dog. A good companion. And still really cute.

We'll miss her.

I am so over it...

2008-09-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

So I go to weather.com today to see what it's going to be doing over the next week or so, and within certain days they include these little links to tips for dealing with certain weather conditions, right? Now, it's end of September. It's officially fall now. And what tips do they have for us here in sunny Florida?

"Top 10 ways to beat the heat"
and
"Tips for exercising in high heat"

Give me a break! I was over the summer heat in June.

But I shouldn't be surprised. It's always like this here. We usually get a little taste of fall about mid September, but we know now that if we get too excited, we'll only get our hearts broken.

Oh well. It can't last. October is the best month of the year here and we're almost there.

And who knows...

Maybe this will be the last Florida summer up with which we'll have to put. (grammatical bow to Winston Churchill)

We can hope and pray that we'll be in Ireland by June. We'll see what the Lord has in mind...

Uphill can be exciting

2008-09-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

Lately, we've been working hard, implementing a new approach to Ministry Partner Development (MPD) (a.k.a. Fundraising; a.k.a. Friendraising; a.k.a. Deputation; a.k.a. Whatever) and it's working!

We've had a few exciting weeks and we are seeing our support level on the increase.

Yes, it's still an uphill climb, but it's been actually fun and fulfilling. The joy comes from not viewing it so much as raising support, but sharing the vision that God has given us for Ireland. It's a big vision and I love it when, as we are sharing with friends about our work, you see the light bulb go on and you know that they "get it". Then they, too get excited about it and begin asking all the right questions.

Had an email from a colleague in Ireland who is about to have 6 months in the States. He was offering us the use of their house if we were going to be moving there before they returned next spring. Aah! If only...

I don't think that's going to happen (I know - "ye of little faith").

We don't know the Lord's timing on this thing yet, but we keep plugging away at it and hope to be there soon.

Hey there, Cowboy!

2008-09-11T10:51:00.001-07:00

Went to Baton Rouge on Tuesday with a group from our church. We took along water, MRE's, tarps and gas cans and spent the day doing some relief work.

Hooking up with Healing Place Church, we were each assigned to a crew to go out work. Some of us were on chainsaw detail, taking care of downed trees and branches. Others headed out with tarps to patch damaged and leaking roofs. The rest went into one of the hardest hit areas in Greater Baton Rouge to help serve hot meals to the residents there.

Beth and I were with two local guys, Rob and Trice on a tarp crew. The first house we went to was the home of miss Stacie, who had her 5-year-old grandson, Jason with her. As she stepped out to greet us, Jason slipped past her, came up to me, grabbed my hand and said, "Hey there, Cowboy! Can I be your partner?" (Notice my chapeau in the picture) Looked and sounded like Opie from Andy Griffith. He latched onto Beth and I and wouldn't leave our side.

After installing tarps on 4 roofs we made our way back to the church to join up with the others from Coast, clean up a bit and head home. It may seem silly -- 10 hours of driving for 4 hours' work. But it was so worth it. We don't feel like we did much, but the locals were so very appreciative.

I sometimes think that if I can't give a large amount of time in an important effort such as this, that it's not worth giving any. It was very clear to me Tuesday how wrong I have been in that mindset.

Sitting out the storm

2008-09-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

Tropical cyclones are at the same time exciting, frightening and boring. If you could only see Beth and I right now. We've been sitting around glued to CNN and The Weather Channel, as well as our local news channel, watching as Gustav bears down on Louisiana. From 4 am to 9 am, we were under constant tornado warnings. We've seen gusts up to 45 mph here and a couple of inches of rain.

Yesterday evening we drove out to the beach and took a walk on the pier. I wish I'd had my video camera. The clouds were amazing. The surf was big -- not huge -- but building and the wind picked up quite a bit as we stood with dozens of others watching dolphins play. We also saw some really cool jellyfish, a ray and a huge sea turtle.

The cool thing about a hurricane or tropical storm is how it brings a community together. The parking lot at the beach was quite full and as we walked over the boardwalk to the beach we were struck by the number of people standing at the water's edge, talking with one another, sharing stories, sharing lives.

Before the storm, wherever you go, whether the supermarket, a restaurant, a hardware store, it's what people are talking about. "Be safe," is a common replacement for "goodbye." You find people helping others in making preparations to their homes.

After the storm, you find rampant acts of kindness and neighborliness. It's really rather remarkable.

But I'm bored at the moment. There's that whole mix of wanting to see something dramatic happen on the TV coverage of the storm, but not wanting the dramatic thing to happen because you know it directly affects another person's life in a negative way. Does that happen to you?

Guess I'll go eat lunch now.

And watch some more Anderson Cooper and Jim Cantore.

How not to wake up

2008-08-26T06:16:00.001-07:00

So Beth is already up and I'm lounging in bed, not ready to leave it when Beth comes in and says, "We have no water."

Oy.

So of course, being the man that I am, I have to see for myself. Dang it if she isn't right.

What now? Well, of course, we have to get dressed and go to Starbucks. Duh...

(You know, there are things that have to be taken care of first thing in the morning)

We walk into Starbucks and there are signs on the restrooms stating, "Out of Order. We have no water."

Oy. OY!!

We ask if they know anything and they said that there is a water main that ruptured. I grab a tall brew and we head home again. Just for the heck of it, Beth turns on the kitchen faucet. Voila!! Water!! Thank you, water people!!!

We're happy again.

Goodbye Fay, hello Gustav

2008-08-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

This should be interesting...

It's an interesting perspective to live at the target end of a shooting gallery.

So Fay was pretty much a non-event for us, although I know that there are many for whom is has been and still is a major problem. We were expecting Sunday morning to be crazy stormy, but we awoke to blue skies and clear air. Early Monday morning was when we got the tail whip of stormy weather, but that lasted only a couple of hours really.

Gustav? Anybody's guess for now...

August! What happened to the rest of the year?

2008-08-05T18:56:00.001-07:00

Can you believe that school is about to start back -- that the summer, for all intents and purposes, is over?

BTW - I don't have in my possession the 4th-of-July-in-KS pictures I promised -- yet.

Right after returning from our trip I got slammed with an upper respiratory infection that laid me out for a full week. I had a cough that felt like the end of the world. I'm still on my second round of antibiotics.

Then I lost my voice. Then I strained it, so I chose not to speak for about 4 days and I've been struggling to get it back since. It's been rather difficult for me. I mean -- I'm a singer for cryin' out loud! I also teach voice. There is something disheartening about a vocal coach who can barely croak his way through a conversation, much less actually sing and demonstrate technique. Oy!

Sunday mornings have been brutal leading worship. I've made it through, but barely.

And now I'm back at raising support which means I'm on the phone hour-after-hour.

And waaa, waaa, waa. And waaa, wa waaaa.

Pray for me.

We had a good weekend attending a training seminar for missionaries raising support. It was, on the one hand, brutal and tiring -- 2 days, 10 hours each, sitting on standard church folding chairs -- as well as intense (we spent 26 hours in preparation for the weekend). But on the other hand, it was encouraging, motivating and informative and we came away with some good tools.

That's about it for now.

Peace out...

Good trip, good times

2008-07-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

We landed in Tulsa at 2 pm on Wednesday last week. It was somewhere near 100˚, but it was a dry heat, so we hardly felt it. Yeah, right. Last year, when we flew into Wichita we made our way to a local mall and, while I got the best massage of my life from one of the guys set up in the middle of the mall, Beth got a pedicure. These are indulgences we enjoy maybe once a year, so as we arrived in Tulsa, we thought, "Why not?"

We didn't want to go far out of our way, so we looked on a city map and found a mall that would suffice. I started to get a funny feeling when, as we came closer to the location of the mall, there were fewer and fewer new, or even open businesses, especially things like restaurants.

Coming up over a hill, I said, "There it is."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, the name's not quite the same, but maybe they've changed it."

It looked all but abandoned. We had to give up on our dream of self-indulgence. Oh well.

So we drove to my sister Dianne's house on Tonkawa, about an hour and a half away.

After having dinner (delicious grilled chicken prepared by our nephew Mark) Dianne, Beth and I made our way to Tonkawa Methodist to meet with the missions committee and share about our mission work in Ireland. The meeting went really well and we should hear back from them in the near future as to whether they will be able to become a Ministry Partner.

Thursday we drove to Elm Mills in southern Kansas. It's about 15 miles south of Pratt, the town I grew up in. (Wow, double preposition at the end of a sentence -- call the grammar police!)

Here's a list of the cast:

Beth - my wife
Molly - my daughter
Me - me
Dianne - my sister
Ken - her husband
Mark - her son (18)
Stephen - her other son (16)
Dennis - my brother
Judit - his significant other

It was a great weekend. Time to spend with family and reconnect with old friends. Photos and videos will follow.

Sunday morning, Beth and I got up early and drove into Pratt. We spoke at three services and a Sunday school class. We came home with a few donations and contact info for a bunch of individuals. We also had a good number of giving envelopes disappear (pray for those!). We originally were only going to be able to speak at the first and third services, as there wouldn't be time at the second one. However, Beth and I were praying (unbeknown to one another) that we would be able to speak at that service, as well. Right after we arrived, Pastor Dan said, "Good news! Well, kind of. At least for you it is. The guy that does our Children's Sermon second service has to perform surgery this morning, so now we will have time to let you speak."

Many familiar faces. Not quite as many names came to mind as faces I recognized.

Monday we drove back to Tulsa and stayed overnight with my college roommate Chris Theis. Tuesday morning we were up at 4 am to catch a 6:20 flight. Tuesday afternoon, we both taught lessons.

Today, we're tired.

And...

2008-06-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

While we're in Kansas and Oklahoma this coming week, we will be visiting two churches in hopes of gaining more Ministry Partners.

Pray for us!

Heading home

2008-06-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

Growing up, the 4th of July was bigger than Christmas in my family.

Early in the 20th century, in the midst of a gentle valley in southern Kansas, a man-made lake was created and a group of several dozen cabins built around and near it. It was developed by the Elm Mills Corporation -- the old Elm Mill which once ground the grains that were grown in the area had been defunct for some time.

My grandfather bought one of these cabins in the 50's and our family tradition of spending the 4th at "The Mill" began. There are fireworks galore, sack races, three-legged races, row boat races, scavenger hunts, turtle races (you have to catch your own) along with many more activities and a lot of eating. It's Americana in its highest glory.

The cabin was passed to my dad and now is owned by my brother -- yeah, the one who lives in Budapest. My sister and her husband now own the cabin next door. To get a good picture in your mind, think "On Golden Pond" with a smaller pond.

The last time I was "home" for the 4th was, I think, 2000. This year (this week!) we will be back -- myself, Beth and Molly. My sister Dianne will be there with her family and my brother Dennis with Judit, his significant other.

Just thinking about it warms my heart. I feel like a kid waiting for... well, Christmas.

Expect many pictures!

Audacity

2008-06-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

This morning at Coast, we continued in our series "One Prayer" with a message from Stephen Furtick. His one prayer, and the focus of his message was "Lord, make us audacious."

It really hit home with me. How audacious is it for us to not just believe that "all things are possible" with God, but to begin to live that way? I know I've blogged about this before, but I must admit that it still hasn't sunk in completely. How about you?

But here's the deal...

God has given us this vision for Ireland, placed us with a wonderful sending organization and allowed us to begin our ministry through short-term trips, which made it possible for us to be sure that Molly was ready for us to go.

The time of the short-term, part-time ministry is now behind us and we press on toward the goal of making our permanent move to Ireland.

Furtick honed in on one word which sat in the midst of what is otherwise an heroic story of Jonathan and his armor bearer going to (just the two of them) face a powerful army. In verse 6 of 1 Samuel 14, as they prepare to go out, Jonathan says, "Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf." Perhaps? Perhaps!?!

It rang in my ears -- this doubtful word. Have I allowed this word or its implications to make its way into my thinking? Oy!

So here's my prayer:

Lord -- give us the audacity to believe that your promise of our full-time ministry in Ireland is not only true, but inevitable -- even imminent! Give us the audacity to believe that everything we do in our work of MPD (Ministry Partner Development) will bring us closer to that goal. Give us the audacity to believe that the monthly support we need is there -- we just need to unearth it. Finally, give us the audacity to believe that You will show us where to dig and when we dig, that we will find Your reward.

Do you have something that has had a big PERHAPS hanging over it?

Pray for the audacity to believe...

A good visit

2008-06-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

Last week we played host to a friend of ours from Belfast, Northern Ireland. David Porter is working on a doctorate from The Robert Webber Institute for Worship Studies in Jacksonville. Having begun in January, he is required to be on campus for a week very 6 months while working on his degree and decided to come a few days early to spend them with us.

We met David last April in the Czech Republic when we were there for the Europe Worship Link Conference. Then, in September we spent the weekend with his family in Belfast and joined him singing in the choir for New Irish Arts' Ireland in Praise.

It was really good having him here and we had many engaging discussions about Ireland and what's happening there, as well as what the Lord is doing in each of our lives.

Last Sunday morning (the 8th) the three of us sang Be Thou My Vision and David played his tin whistle, which gave everyone goosebumps. People loved it. There is just something so close to the soul about Irish instruments.

David then shared a bit about the state of the church in Ireland and why the ministry that we are doing is so important. We had some who have heard all about it from us tell us that they finally get the vision and realize that we really need to be there.

I'm ready.

New Car Names

2008-05-29T06:12:00.000-07:00

Jeep Laredo

Kia Sonoma

Hyundai Santa Fe & Tucson

Chrysler Aspen

Dodge Durango

The list goes on and on. Vehicles that are named for cities or towns. VW even has the Tuareg, named after a tribe in Africa.

So I thought it would be fun to come up with a few of my own:

Kia Kankakee (IL)

Saab Walla Walla (WA)

Toyota Two Egg (FL)

Chrysler Crappo (MD)

Pontiac Paradox (CO)

Buick Boring (MD & OR)

Dodge Dead Horse (AK)

Honda Hazard (KY)

Pontiac Poopoo (HI)

Ford Fart (VA)

Hummer Yonkers (NY)

Subaru Bucksnort (TN)

Got any of your own?

Where have you been?

2008-05-22T06:37:00.000-07:00

I mean, seriously, how long has it been since you checked in here?

Okay, okay. I guess it does follow that if there is no new content, what's the point? You're right. Sorry.

How 'bout that David Cook? Woo hoo! Definitely one of my favorite American Idols. Not that I condone idolatry. I don't. I wouldn't, couldn't do that. It's bad.

Maybe we can call it idolism. I don't think that's in the Bible. Or how about idolocity? Idoloidalidity?

This past month has been a blur. Crazy busy and just a lot of stuff going on. Hopefully we'll be able to get refocused for the next little bit. We are excited to see what God has in store for us.

Stay tuned...

A Father's Advice

2008-05-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

Like a sour sponge

2008-04-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

Don't you hate it when you pick up a sponge to wipe down the counter, or do some other cleaning and after you're done you realize your hands smell sour? There's hardly any way to get all of that smell off your hands! It's especially bad when you don't notice the smell until you pick up something to eat and as you bring it to your mouth -- well you get the picture...

Today at staff meeting at Coast we were reading and discussing Philippians 2. We talked a little bit about Paul's description of being "poured out as a drink offering".

It was then I remembered the first sermon I ever preached, back in high school, lo these many years ago (almost 30!). In that message, I used the illustration of the sour sponge. Goes something like this:

We are like a sponge. If we choose to simply sit and soak in all that God pours into us, we will eventually become like said sponge -- dank, smelly and basically unusable.

However, should we choose to pour ourselves out "as a drink offering", benefiting those around us with what God has been pouring into us, we will remain pliable, fresh and continually usable.

So now I have to ask myself, "What have I done today in the way of pouring out to the benefit of those in my little world?"

Mail from Ireland

2008-04-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Very odd to get snail mail from Ireland, especially something in a window envelope with our name and address printed as if by a computer. I had no idea what it could be.

So I opened it.

Duh. It's a bank statement. I mean who doesn't get bank statements from overseas on a regular basis?

No, here's the deal. During our latest trip to Ireland, after jumping through many proverbial hoops to prove that we weren't money launderers, we opened an account in Dublin. It will make it much easier to deal with our expenses while we're there, should we happen to be there anytime before we actually move. Plus, when we do move, that will be one less thing we'll have to deal with while getting settled.

It was really remarkable experience getting this account opened. Last April we stopped by AIB (Allied Irish Bank) to see about opening an account. We were helped by a young man by the name of Stewart. He was very friendly and helpful, giving us a list of the documentation we needed to get from our bank in Florida, as well as proof of our US residency.

When we returned in September, 5 months later, he remembered us and our situation right away and spent the next few weeks helping us work through the red tape. He then contacted us after we were back in the US to let us know that our account had, in fact, been approves and opened.

I have no idea why we haven't received any statements before now, but I guess that's not important. I mean there isn't any money in the account right now anyway...

Since we're kind of stuck here for now (until we get more funds raised), it does our hearts good to receive little serendipitous reminders of Ireland like this.

Molly's recital

2008-04-19T18:51:00.001-07:00

Molly and another student are doing a joint recital this coming Tuesday. Now, you need to understand -- this isn't a requirement. They just wanted to do it.

If you want to come, send me a message with your email address and I'll give you the particulars.

Here's a sample of Molly playing, along with her friend and harpist, Stephanie:

Back home

2008-04-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I didn't let you know that we were going out of town.

Sorry.

Can we still be friends?

Just got back this evening from Birminghamhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif, AL where we attended "All Access 2008", a conference by (Association of Related Churches).

We were there with 6 others from Coast. Coast is a member of ARC, a remarkable group of churches from all across the US from numerous denominations as well as independent non-denoms who are dedicated to church planting.

We were very encouraged and challenged personally, gathered a lot of inspiration for the future of Coast, and gained new motivation for our work in Ireland.

I'm really tired right now, and I think I'm fighting off a cold, so I'll say more about all this later.

Nighty night.

I'm so happy

2008-04-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

One of our all-time favorite restaurants went out of business a couple of years ago.

But now there is a new sign up at a local strip: "Niki's Restaurant". In the window is a hand-written sign: "Opening Soon".

Woo hoo -- it's coming back! This is a great little Greek place that has the best gyro meat, roasted on a spit and then sliced off fresh and grilled until it has crispy edges. Man, oh man, is it good!

I can't wait for the grand re-opening.

Okay, I guess I'll have to...

Warp Speed

2008-04-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

So, say you could actually travel faster than the speed of light without the use of any vehicle...

Set up a super powerful telescope on earth that can focus on you standing on the moon. Stand there, on the moon, for a few moments. Then speed back to earth (faster than the speed of light), look through the telescope and you'll see yourself standing on the moon.

In this next exercise, you can utilize a warp-capable spaceship. If you are traveling just over the speed of light and then slow to just under the speed of light, you can look in your rear-view mirror and see yourself coming up on your tail.

Have fun!

Through Walls

2008-04-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

You've all seen 'em. Superheroes or ghosts or other life forms that can walk through walls.

I remember a particular scene on Star Trek: The Next Generation, where two persons, chasing one another through Enterprise were out of phase with the rest of the crew and because of this, they could walk (or run) through the walls.

Now think about it. The walls aren't solid to them and allow them to pass right through, but the floors are still solid.

What's up with that?

sign o' the times

2008-04-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

Just read this headline:

"Americans prefer energy fix to cancer cure: poll"

The article goes on to detail the results of a survey of "nearly 700 people", suggesting that "Americans would prefer more money be invested in technology to solve the nation's energy ailments than to cure cancer or other diseases."*

If this isn't a sign of the times, I don't know what is.

Definitely a symptom of the "need" so pervasive in today's society wherein the immediate holds more sway in our decision making than the eventual.

The majority of the population today has grown up with an ever-increasing ability to have their desires met at a moment's notice. And I dare say that this mindset has infiltrated the church, making it difficult for those of us who sometimes find ourselves in the role of "counselor" to offer guidance that will be heeded. Most significant change that occurs in the life of a believer comes through perseverance over time and not in the form of a vending machine. But few are willing to stick with it.

Consider this: "...we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Rom 5:3-5)

Thanks for listening.

*Reuters

American Idol Gospel Night!

2008-04-03T05:21:00.000-07:00

So, I wasn't surprised to see Ramiele go home. I think it was definitely her time. I hated seeing Brooke in the bottom three. She'll probably end up with a good career, but I don't see her winning AI.

I appreciated the feature they did on past non-winners who have made a good career.

BTW -- Loved David Cook again this week. I had been interested in seeing him do an original arrangement.

But the highlight for me was getting to see the Clark Brothers again. I don't know of anyone else who could take "This Little Light of Mine" and do that with it! We loved these guys on The Next Great American Band last summer. Full-on Christians, who made an obvious positive impact in the lives of others on TNGAB.

Then Dolly steps out there and testifies! I'm afraid her voice is lacking these days, but she still has the spunk.

However, to hear two songs on AI in one night that basically say "Put your faith in Jesus", was pretty astounding.

Loved it.

hmmm

2008-04-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

We have a local exotic bird shop called:

Bird House of Montague

So I thought it might be cool to open a shop next door called:

Cat House of Capulet

Then reason overtook me and I realized that "Cat House" might be misconstrued.

I would also fear that a lack of general knowledge of things Shakespearian might cause the irony to be lost on most people.

Crazy times

2008-03-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I was in Panama City, FL (about 2 hours east of Gulf Breeze) to install an art display in a furniture store. Because of a mix-up in communication, I was unable to finish the job, so now I've got to go back to finish.

I worked until the store closed at 6 PM and then headed home, knowing I needed to stop to get some supper. My first choice was to stop for a quick meal at Zoey's Kitchen in Destin. I then think about the Spring Break crowds that will make parking difficult and the fact that what I would be eating would give me really bad breath with which to greet Beth.

About that time, I was passing Cheeseburger In Paradise, so I stopped to see if there was a wait. They were a bit busy, but I was assured that I can be seated in 5 to 10 minutes.

I would guess it was about 45 minutes later that I was escorted to my table.

I arrived home around 9:30 PM, exhausted.

Today, I spent the entire day until 4:30 this afternoon working on the computer to finish editing and rendering 6 videos that are to be played tomorrow for Coast's 10th Anniversary service.

We left to go to a party for church leaders, after which we went to the church to load the video files into Media Shout, the presentation software we use, but the files failed to load. Back home, I'm now in the process of saving the files so that they will play on my iPod, which can then be played through the system tomorrow morning.

Monday... my day off!!!!

Ireland?

2008-03-23T19:32:00.001-07:00

So what's happening regarding Ireland? Glad you asked.

We are still madly working to raise support, and we're seeing things pick up!

Here's what we know -- the money's out there. God knows and is in control. We just continue to pray that He will lead us to those who He has ordained to become Ministry Partners with us.

We just got an interesting email from a GEM colleague of ours in Ireland, Durand Robinson. He heads up a ministry called Creative Works. Recently, a grant has become available to GEM Ireland to set up a fully equipped audio and video production facility in the Dublin area.

Durand is asking us if we would be interested in using this facility as a base of operations for our ministry where we could do training and recording. We would also be utilizing our skills for composing music and hopefully scoring for ministry video projects. He is also asking us about equipment that we would want in the studio.

Are we excited by this? Duh!

This could open up a whole other area of ministry that could dovetail with what we're currently doing over there. But we've got to get there.

Durand says, "Get your little selves over here yesterday! We can't wait."

We're ready! Bring it on, Lord!

Eeeeeaster

2008-03-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Had a great Easter morning at Coast. A full house, an electric atmosphere, exciting time of worship, great message.

The choir sang. What a blessing! For those of you who don't go to Coast -- our choir is more of an ensemble, but with a BIG sound. I was blown away by them. Got people to their feet.

The band -- wow.

Hope you had a great Easter weekend as well.

Cáisc Shona Duit!

St. Patrick - Final Post

2008-03-17T06:20:00.000-07:00

“I arise today
with God’s strength to pilot my course,
with God’s power to uphold me,
with God’s wisdom to guide me,
with God’s eye to give me seeing,
with God’s ear for my hearing,
with God’s word for me to speak,
with God’s hand to guard me,
with God’s path to become my road..."

When you begin to take a close look at the life of Patrick, you quickly see that he traveled quite a lot.

- Taken captive in England and enslaved in Ireland
- Escapes Ireland and travels who-knows-where
- Is taken captive again for 2 months
- Escapes once again and eventually finds his way back to his family in England
- Finally makes his way back to Ireland, where he is constantly on the move

At the end of his life, Patrick writes this in his confession:

"And I went about among you, and everywhere for your sake, in danger, and as far as the outermost regions beyond which no one lived, and where no one had ever penetrated before, to baptize or to ordain clergy or to confirm people. Conscientiously and gladly I did all this work by God's gift for your salvation."

In our own lives, whether in physical travels or simply life's journey, the best path to follow is God's. How is it that we know the way of God?

We first depend upon His power, strength and wisdom for direction and guidance. We rely upon his vision and urgings to find our way. We trust His hand to guard us.

Finally, we rest on His Word to light the way.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path." (Ps. 119:105)

Patrick has left us a great legacy. Would that any one of us could accomplish half what he did in his lifetime. And he didn't even start his ministry in Ireland until he was in his mid-40's!

Arise today - and walk with God.

Beannachtaí Lá Fhéile Pádraig

St. Patrick - Pt. 8

2008-03-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

“I arise today
with God’s strength to pilot my course,
with God’s power to uphold me,
with God’s wisdom to guide me,
with God’s eye to give me seeing,
with God’s ear for my hearing,
with God’s word for me to speak,
with God’s hand to guard me..."

Patrick didn't have an easy life. He went through many perilous times, found himself in many dangerous situations, and met with much persecution from the time he was young to the end of his life. But knowing that the Lord was with him, he never allowed his circumstances to slow him down.

In the midst of a particularly trying period, Patrick states, "I was mightily upset, and might have fallen here and for ever; but the Lord generously spared me, a convert, and an alien, for his name's sake, and he came powerfully to my assistance in that state of being trampled down."

Too often we, in our struggles, look to God to pull us out of our circumstances. Somehow we think that is how God delivers us and protects us. But more often than not, God has a purpose in our going through difficult times and circumstances. He wants us to turn to Him, not to take us out of the situation, but by His strength, make it possible for us to endure and emerge victorious.

Consider Job. Everyone around him thought they were offering the best advice as he dealt with numerous devastating events. But he knew that God's hand was on him no matter what was going on around him.

We will all experience difficulties. While he may not deliver us out of those circumstances, God will guard us and strengthen us in the midst of whatever it is we are dealing with.

"Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Ps 73:25-26)

St. Patrick - Pt. 7

2008-03-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

“I arise today
with God’s strength to pilot my course,
with God’s power to uphold me,
with God’s wisdom to guide me,
with God’s eye to give me seeing,
with God’s ear for my hearing,
with God’s word for me to speak..."

Patrick never held back. Whenever he was given an opportunity to speak the truth, he would do it. In fact, when he was confronted by the starving sailors with whom he found himself traveling, his encouragement to them was the Word of God, molded and imparted in just the right way, at just the right time: "Be converted by faith with all your heart to my Lord God, because nothing is impossible for him, so that today he will send food for you on your road, until you be sated, because everywhere he abounds."

God placed within him timely creativity which is exemplified in Patrick's explanation of the Trinity to the high king of Ireland, in which he used the shamrock, which is three leaves in one. That simple act is commemorated even today, as we see the image of the shamrock nearly anywhere there is anything Irish.

If we are to be remembered for anything we say, is there anything better than the truth of God's Word?

Paul's request to those to whom he was writing in Colosse was that while he was in prison they might pray, "...that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains..." (Col. 4:3)

It is my prayer that more and more followers of Christ might follow the example of the first century Christians, about which it is written: "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31)

St. Patrick - Pt. 6

2008-03-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

“I arise today
with God’s strength to pilot my course,
with God’s power to uphold me,
with God’s wisdom to guide me,
with God’s eye to give me seeing,
with God’s ear for my hearing..."

There were many times in his life when Patrick would hear a voice giving him directions. The first time he mentions is in regard to his escaping his captivity. The Spirit told him to get ready -- that he would be "going to his home country." Then, "Behold, your ship is ready." At a later time, Patrick had a group of men who were bringing charges against him, based upon sinful activity in his youth, before he had become a believer. In the midst of this, God's voice comforted him, and assured him, "He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye."

When we hear the voice of the Lord, we may hear an audible voice. But more often than not, it will be the Lord speaking to us through inklings and urges. It may come in the form of Scripture echoing in our mind.

God will direct our steps, actions, thoughts and words, if we allow Him to. Isaiah puts it this way:

"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
'This is the way, walk in it,'
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left." (30:21)

It would behoove us to learn to hear the voice of the Lord.

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Eph 5:15-17)

St. Patrick - Pt. 5

2008-03-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

“I arise today
with God’s strength to pilot my course,
with God’s power to uphold me,
with God’s wisdom to guide me,
with God’s eye to give me seeing..."

Once Patrick had returned home to Britain after his harrowing travels subsequent to his escape, he was given a vision one night wherein a man handed him a letter with the title The Voice of the Irish. As he read, he heard the cries of those in a particular region of Ireland. The voices were saying, "We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us."

After this, and several more visions, Patrick began to realize that God had work for him in the very nation where he had once been kept as a slave.

I would dare say that most of us would not claim to have had visions like this, although I know for a fact that they are actually quite commonplace. Oftentimes visions are given in the manner that we see here -- in a dream. Sometimes they may come in what seems to be a more "supernatural" way, such as Saul experienced on the road to Damascus. Other times they are much less spectacular -- glimpses and insights through images that may flash across our consciousness. I'm afraid we too often ignore many of these God-given inklings.

For instance, there are the times that I have driven past a stranded motorist and have the impression that I should stop to help them, and in the process exemplify Christ's love for them. At that point, I begin to reason with the Holy Spirit that I have somewhere I need to be and important things to do and surely someone else will stop to help them -- if indeed they even need help.

But I believe that one of the most common ways that God gives us vision, is simply by changing our world view. Seeing those around us as Christ sees them. Being aware of opportunities that God lays before us everyday to be His hands and feet.

With His eyes to guide us, Christ says, "he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do..." (John 14:12)

Without God's vision, we miss out on so much.

St. Patrick, Pt. 4

2008-03-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

“I arise today
with God’s strength to pilot my course,
with God’s power to uphold me,
with God’s wisdom to guide me..."

In his confession, Patrick describes himself thus:

"I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many..."

"...today I feel ashamed and I am mightily afraid to expose my ignorance, because, [I am not] eloquent, with a small vocabulary..."

But he didn't allow that to keep him from doing that to which God had called him:

"Therefore be amazed, you great and small who fear God, and you men of God, eloquent speakers, listen and contemplate. Who was it summoned me, a fool, from the midst of those who appear wise and learned in the law and powerful in rhetoric and in all things? Me, truly wretched in this world, he inspired before others that I could be-- if I would-- such a one who, with fear and reverence, and faithfully, without complaint, would come to the people to whom the love of Christ brought me and gave me in my lifetime, if I should be worthy, to serve them truly and with humility."

This is a great example of what Paul wrote: "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."(1 Cor. 1:27)

I don't know about you, but this gives me great hope! I am often astounded at my own foolishness. Yet I have seen God do amazing things in me and through me -- things that are so far outside of my own abilities that I can only attribute them to Him.

Always remember that, if we are seeking God, no matter our level of learning or worldly wisdom, His wisdom will guide us.

Oddly enough

2008-03-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

Check out this headline:

Cemetery Full, Mayor Tells Locals Not To Die

Click for article

St. Patrick - Pt. 3

2008-03-05T19:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the late posting...

"I arise today
with God’s strength to pilot my course,
with God’s power to uphold me..."

After having sailed from his enslavement in Ireland with the crew of a ship, whom he described as "barbarian", he was at sea for three days. When they landed, the men traveled together overland through wilderness where they encountered no other humans for 4 weeks. Their food ran out and they became desperate to satisfy their hunger.

In their frustration, the others turned to Patrick with this indictment: "Why is it, Christian? You say your God is great and all-powerful; then why can you not pray for us? For we may perish of hunger; it is unlikely indeed that we shall ever see another human being." Patrick encouraged them to seek out the Lord for themselves and said, "because nothing is impossible for him, so that today he will send food for you on your road, until you be sated." That day, God sent a herd of wild pigs to them and saved the lot.

Patrick knew of the power of God and was bold to proclaim it. He knew that God had a plan and would exercise His will to draw these men to himself -- which, by the way, was the result.

How do we receive this power in our own lives? Acts 1:8 states, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..."

We must rely upon the strength of God, experienced by the presence of the Holy Spirit within us and not on our own power, to sustain us in the extremes of life. We are frail beings, made to depend upon the power of our creator. We who know Him, know this power is there, but too often forget that it is available to us.

It simply takes faith.

I Arise Today - Pt. 2

2008-03-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

"I arise today
with God's strength to pilot my course..."

At the age of 16, Patrick, not yet having knowledge of the one true God, was taken captive from his home in England and sold into slavery in Ireland. It was during this time of captivity that He became aware of God and began his journey toward becoming a believer.

In his own words: "And he watched over me before I knew him, and before I learned sense or even distinguished between good and evil, and he protected me, and consoled me as a father would his son."

As his faith grew, he began to sense the leading of God in all areas of his life, including a 200-mile trek, on foot, across Ireland, led by the Holy Spirit, to a particular ship which would take him away from this land and his captors.

When Moses and the people of Israel had escaped the pursuit of the Egyptians, they sang a song of celebration. One of the lines says:

“In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling." (Ex. 15:13)

They knew that God had led them out of their captivity by His power and that they could rely upon that strength and guidance to see them through the remainder of their days.

Even though we know these things about God and how He works, it's good to be reminded of them on a daily basis, isn't it? This is where Patrick is coming from when he writes this.

Let us "not forget all His benefits." (Ps. 103:2b)

I Arise Today - pt. 1

2008-03-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

Today I begin a series of posts based upon a poem of St. Patrick’s. We will look at one line each day adding to the previous lines as we go, leading up to St. Patrick's Day on the 17th of this month.

Here's how it begins...

"I arise today…"

When you read his confessional and look at the work that Patrick did throughout the nation of Ireland; when you consider the fact that he was working in a society built upon paganism with but a few pockets of Christianity; when you realize that he was in his 40's when this work began and by the time he passed away Christianity was "running rampant" across the island -- this phrase, "I arise today..." takes on new meaning.

The Lord had work for him -- a lot of work. I would imagine that he made every day count and knew that as he arose each morning there were divine appointments awaiting his attention.

May we look to this example, provided by David:

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
Awake, my glory!
Awake, lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn. (Psalm 57:7-8)

Our day should always begin with this exuberant desire to worship our creator and be the "steadfast" person that he desires us to be -- ready to arise and see to the work He has for us.

On St. Patrick

2008-02-28T05:05:00.000-08:00

With St. Patrick's day coming up on March 17, I thought I would do something a little different over the couple of weeks leading up to it.

I found a quote from Patrick that is somewhat of a creed. I would like to break it down, line-by-line, introducing a line a day until it's completion on the 17th. It will actually read like a devotional, with the passage from Pat, scripture relating to the passage and then a short commentary about it.

I hope you'll follow along with me and hopefully gain, not only some insights into the life of an incredible man of faith, but maybe some practical applications for your own life.

Join me beginning March 3. And don't forget to leave comments. I'd love for this to lead to some good dialogs.

And I thought the guys were a let down...

2008-02-28T04:56:00.000-08:00

Watching Idol last night, I was so disappointed with the girls. It was the night of the bad song selection. Standouts for me were Carly Smithson (the Irish girl - duh!) and Brooke White, with her Carly Simon cover. Both chose songs that really fit them, IMHO.

Carly made me nervous when I heard the intro to "Crazy on You" by Heart, but she tore it up. Brooke had a few low notes that were a bit of a problem, but otherwise the song flowed from her quite naturally.

It's still way up in the air, but I think David Archuleta has a really good chance of winding up on top.

We'll see...

I am a blessed father

2008-02-26T12:17:00.000-08:00

My daughter is amazing.

(I know -- I've bragged about her before, but I can't help myself)

I'll never forget when, at the age of about 1 year (before she could talk), Molly would sing along with familiar melodies on the radio, matching pitch perfectly. Then within the next couple of years, she was writing her own songs on the piano.

At 8 years, we asked her if there was an instrument that she would like to learn to play. She quickly responded, "The violin!" A short time later, we just happened to stop at a yard sale where they had two "her-sized" violins for sale. That was the best $75 dollars we ever spent.

She is now a second-year violin performance major at University of West Florida. She has aspirations of getting her Masters and most likely a doctorate. But in the mean time:

- She is a member of the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra (NSFO)
- She is a provisional member of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra (PSO)
- She is the volunteer director of the strings program for inner-city kids at the Belmont Arts Center in Pensacola
- She is making a living (no, really) with her orchestra gigs (including the Pensacola Opera), playing for weddings, corporate events, etc. and teaching private violin lessons.

We got to see her play with the NSFO on Friday night. Wonderful.

Saturday night, Molly and I went out for dinner and then spent some time at Starbuck's. That's the first time we've been able to spend time together, just the two of us since I-don't-know-when. It was great. We mostly talked and theorized about "Lost".

Beth and I prayed for it, and now we're witnessing the fact that she is going to be ready (at least from a practical sense) for us to move away. It won't be easy, but knowing that she is becoming a gracious and responsible young woman makes it tolerable.

Love you, Molly. We're proud to be known as "Molly's parents".

From Empty Nester to AARP

2008-02-26T12:10:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! It finally arrived! My AARP card!

It was bad enough when at 38 I realized I needed reading glasses. I'm now 46, our daughter is out living on her own, so we've had an empty nest for about 6 months.

I'm okay with all that. But today I received in the mail a true, honest-to-goodness AARP membership card with application. AARP is for citizens aged 50 and older. Please -- let me have my 4 years! I plan to be on top of the hill at least that long.

But you know, there are some pretty good benefits...

Hmmm...

U23D

2008-02-26T05:45:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a great show.

We went to see it last night with our pastor and his wife. Those guys (U2) are amazing (so are you, Robert and Vicki). If you are any kind of a U2 fan - go!

Good Morning

2008-02-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

Not, "Good morning", but rather -- it was a good morning. We are really blessed to be working with a group of musicians that are sold out to the Lord and truly desire to provide a comfortable atmosphere for worship. Everyone in the band stepped it up today. What a blast!

Things are happening at Coast. There is an excitement in the air. God is getting ready to do something great.

The importance of worship

2008-02-21T06:02:00.000-08:00

In our work, it is always a thrill to find those worship leaders and pastors that have a firm grasp on the role that worship plays in the life of the believer.

But so often we encounter believers (not just in Ireland) who, while they love worship times and "the song service", haven't quite grasped its relevance to their daily lives. It's simply something that happens when we gather with other believers once or twice a week. I can't count the number of times I've heard this referred to as their chance to "recharge their batteries".

A few months back I gave a sermon on the importance of worship in the life of the individual. The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it this way: "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever." In this quote, when it uses the term "end", it's not referring to our final, ultimate state, but instead the reason for which we exist; our purpose.

We were created to worship. Not only that, we were created to be worshipers. Think about it. When given the opportunity, people will worship anything that they consider greater than themselves. Consider that every culture in the world has its idols or objects of worship, whether that be false gods, personalities, government systems or what have you.

The nature of the worshiper is dictated by that which they worship. Psalm 115:8 puts it this way: "Those who make [idols] will be like them, and so will all who trust in them." We are called upon throughout the New Testament to be imitators of Christ and how else are we to accomplish this than to spend quality time with Him. As we worship Him and maintain that spiritual connection with Him, He places His Spirit within us. "We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit." (1 John 4:13)

God seeks worshipers, not just worship. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman in John 4:23, "...true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." He knows how it benefits us to stay by His side. It reminds me of the protective mom who hangs on tightly to her toddler's hand as they navigate a busy parking lot.

Worship brings victory in our lives. When Judah was confronted with the imminent attack by a massive enemy, they were instructed to go out against them with the singers leading the army, singing praise to the Lord. They were focused upon the Lord, not their circumstances and the Lord routed the enemy before them. (2 Chronicles 20)

Consider this. What would happen if every believer took their role as a worshiper to heart and made a commitment to worship God in private every day and not just when the body gathers once or twice a week? What would our corporate gatherings look like? How exciting would that be?

You and I were created to be worshipers. It's in our DNA. Let's live it!

Prayer Warriors

2008-02-18T15:29:00.001-08:00

It happens from time-to-time, in our meeting with people to share with them about our ministry and invite them to partner with us financially, that the meeting turns out entirely different than expected.

Such is the case with two appointments we had in the past week.

Both meetings ended without gaining any monthly financial support. But that's obviously not what the Lord had in mind at all.

One meeting gave us the opportunity to reconnect with old friends. Not only that, they felt compelled that they should be praying for us very specifically and very fervently. They took detailed notes as to how they should be praying for us and promised to intercede on our behalf.

The other meeting gave us the opportunity to minister to and pray for some very specific things going on in their lives. They also have a desire to partner with us in prayer, and if things turn around for them financially, they want to join with us in that way as well.

But for now we have a few more prayer warriors. We love that, as prayer is the foundation of our ministry.

I heard this analogy once: When someone joins with a missionary or other Christian worker to pray for them and the success of their ministry, they are like the archers in ancient warfare. As those on the front line move forward to take ground and engage the enemy, the archers, behind the front line, fire their arrows over their compatriots to soften the defense of the enemy and make a way for a successful campaign. In the same way, the prayers of the prayer warriors precede the ones for whom they are praying to give them greater success in their work.

Let us know if you want to join forces with us in prayer as we continue to do the work He has called us to. Just drop us an email (garyandbeth@gmail.com).

Some days...

2008-02-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

You know how you have a day planned and then from the get go, it takes on a life of its own and you live a day you didn't expect at all? That was today for us.

I was planning to work on some furniture repairs and do some ministry work and end up with a meal out with friends.

At 7:30 am I get a call from Molly who tells me that her car won't start. She lives on the north side of Pensacola and had class at 9:00 -- we live south of Pensacola, across the bay in Gulf Breeze. She describes the problem to me and I tell her I'll swing by Walmart to get her a new battery and then come to get her on her way. I had figured that the problem was with her battery or her starter.

Beth and I throw on some clothes and set out.

We arrive at Molly's apartment about 8:15, plenty of time to change out the battery, give Molly a hug and get her to class, right? Ha...

I test the battery. It's fine. But upon inspection of the connections, I quickly realize that the battery cable clamp has cracked where it attaches to the battery. I make a few calls and find out that I'll have to order a new cable (it's proprietary) for 80 bucks and wait 2-3 days for it to arrive. So I decide that I can fix it. Ha...

6 hours later, after several failed methods, I have effected repair of the battery cable successfully, but the car still won't start. Oy! So not only was there a problem with the battery cable, it now appears that her starter is dead.

After finding a garage that can repair it reasonably (that term is so relative, isn't it?), we call AAA.

Beth, who by this time has gone home, returns with a change of clothes and I take a quick shower. We then have 45 minutes to go to All Pro Sound to buy something that I need in the morning and make it to Chili's to meet our friends.

After such a day, it was nice to sit, relax and share together over a meal.

Now it's nice to put on our PJ's and go to sleep in our bed.

Good night.

Speaking of Hymns...

2008-02-04T06:27:00.000-08:00

One of the things that is often overlooked by those involved in contemporary worship these days is the rich tradition of music left to us through the history of the church. This fact came back to me full force over the Christmas season, when I was reminded how many of the old standards in Christmas hymnody are unknown by the majority of today's non-denominational churchgoers -- especially the younger ones.

A friend sent me the words to this old hymn, which are a great example of the artistry found within many of the songs which have been left behind:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

One problem is that most of us aren't used to language such as this anymore. It requires a lot of brain cells to think through the imagery and get to the heart of the message in the midst of engaging in worship.

Is there some way to practically and effectively bring back some of the depth and riches that may have been left behind?

Hmmm...

Times, they are a'changin'

2008-02-04T05:39:00.000-08:00

Got this from Rick Muchow -- worship leader at Saddleback...

Top Reasons For Opposing the New Music Trend

1.It is too new, like an unknown language.
2.It is not as melodious as the more established style.
3.There are so many songs that it is impossible to learn them all.
4.It creates disturbances and causes people to act in an indecent and disorderly manner.
5.It places too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than on godly lyrics.
6.The lyrics are often worldly, even blasphemous.
7.It is not needed, since preceding generations have gone to heaven without it.
8.It monopolizes the Christian’s time and encourages then to stay out late.
9.These new musicians are young upstarts, and some of them are lewd and loose persons.

Adapted from a statement directed against the use of hymns, in 1723!

Some things never change, huh?

What's up?

2008-01-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

Okay - four full weeks with nary a peep.

Sorry.

My life is so ridiculous right now. I never know what I'm going to be doing from day-to-day and so many little things are slipping through the cracks.

Hopefully that's about to change. There is a big job looming that may make it possible for me to have a set weekly schedule for the next several months. Please, Lord let it be! Then I can have specific times set aside for specific tasks and the cracks (through which diminutive paraphernalia evanesce) should then decrease in breadth and I'll have a little more control over things.

Personally, we're doing well. Without any physical evidence or reasoning, we are looking up.

The Psalmist writes: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord."

You see, we could look to the hills, the circumstances or the the hopes we have in others for what we feel we need. But we are choosing to look higher -- to the Lord -- for that which we truly need. He will do it!

"My soul finds rest in God alone;

my salvation comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken." Psa 62:1&2

Interested?

2008-01-28T16:46:00.000-08:00

On my gmail account there are always special messages -- marketing, news, etc. -- that appear at the top of the page. Here's the latest:

Nairobi Flights from $746 - www.BT-STORE.com - Discounted Flights to Kenya. Book Now and Save Big

Yeah, I bet...

A New Year...

2008-01-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

Last night it was Beth and I and good friends Keith and Jen King enjoying our annual New Year's Eve junk food buffet. We were joined for a while by Molly and her boyfriend William.

We all watched a blockbuster that I gave Molly for Christmas. It doesn't get any better than "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians". A couple of my favorite lines:

Voldar (the bad martian): "All this trouble for a little fat man in a red suit."

and

Santa: "Oh, feedle-ee-dee and balderdash Billy boy."

So looking ahead...

I don't do resolutions. Not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent.

Instead, I have been really imagining what I would like to see happen in 2008. For one thing -- I don't want to spend next Christmas and New Year's in the U.S. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get to Ireland by then.

And I know that with God all things are possible.

So, God willing, we will be moved in 2008. BUT -- we have a huge hill to climb to reach our goal of monthly donations needed to make that happen.

We are feeling such a need to get to Ireland to conduct our ministry full-time. You see, we firmly believe that revival is coming to Ireland. Revival the likes of which hasn't been seen since the days of St. Patrick. One of the greatest needs right now in the Irish church is the training of leadership that needs to be in place when significant growth begins to happen and our ministry is all about that.

On our last trip to Ireland we had a national church leader tell us, "You don't know how important your ministry is" regarding this preparation. Needless to say, we are ready to be there doing our part in preparing for the coming revival.

Do you want to help us get there? Click here and you can find out how to make a donation or join us as a monthly Ministry Partner ("How can I be a part...?").

I don't generally use this forum to solicit support, but I just felt that I should on this occasion.

God is doing great things this year. Hang on for an exciting ride!

Please pray about supporting us. Then, no matter how God leads you, please keep praying for us, for Ireland and for its church leaders and missionaries.

I'm not cheap -- I'm just drawn that way

2007-12-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

So I finally went to buy a Christmas tree tonight. We had been waiting for no particular reason except that we've been so stinkin' busy lately and wouldn't have had a chance to decorate before now anyway.

Beth was out and about today and checked out the stores to see what was left. She called me to let me know that Lowe's had all their trees 50% off. Woo hoo! Nothing like saving a little dough. So once I quit my work for the day, I made my way to pick one up.

However, when I go there, the trees were no longer half price. No, in fact, the sign read, "All live trees $10."

That's what I'm talkin' about! A beautiful 7' balsam fir for 10 bucks!

Tomorrow night our gorgeous daughter Molly will be here to help us trim the tree and decorate the house.

That'll be nice.

a poem

2007-12-12T18:26:00.000-08:00

inspired by a drive across the bay...

fluid glass
shardless breaks
as deltoid appendage
arches skyward
with natural grace
with wet spray
slips below again
as band strikes
and familiar words are heard...

"They call him Flipper, Flipper..."

hehe

Small successes

2007-12-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

Last night, our church sponsored a benefit dinner and concert for us and our work in Ireland. Tables were set up and huge amounts of spaghetti, garlic bread and salad were prepared.

As we were planning for this event, the thought crossed my mind that we were getting a bit close to Christmas and our attendance could be affected. Well, it was.

But here's the deal: Although the crowd was small, it was such a sweet evening. After dinner, Beth and I did a mini concert, then we shared about our ministry followed by Q&A. We then finished up the evening with a time of worship.

The whole evening was a win in my mind. It was like sitting around with family and having a good time together. There was a common spirit there and God remained the focus of the night.

For as small as the crowd was we were amazed at the response we received in financial support. Not only did we have a healthy amount raised from the event itself, we also have been able to add several Ministry Partners (monthly supporters) to our list.

If you weren't able to make it, we will have another event in a few month's time.

"You're not Superman..."

2007-12-09T05:25:00.000-08:00

You know what? She's right.

I got up early yesterday for my quiet time and quickly realized that I was going to be fighting off drowsiness the whole time (does that ever happen to you? Probably not.) so I decided to go for a prayer walk.

As I got dressed, I thought that I should grab some candy on my way out to carry with me (I'm a diabetic). All the while, I'm trying not to wake Beth. I write her a note, knowing that she'll most likely wake up before I return and quietly head out the door.

It's a beautiful morning -- warm and foggy -- and it feels good to be out walking along with the Lord at my side. The circuit I'm taking will end up being close to three miles. Nearly a mile in, I realize that I'm going to need to find a toilet. Then I remember that about a block ahead is the construction site of a new house. Whew! Viva la port-a-potties!

I continue on and the skies begin to darken. Before long the clouds release their bounty and I find myself walking in a downpour. I'm about two-thirds on. About that same time I feel as if my blood sugar level is dropping, so I reach into my pocket for the candy that is still sitting on the kitchen counter. Oy!

At this point I'm listening to my body with great intensity, trying to determine if I can make it home before I bottom out, or if I need to call Beth to come rescue me. You see, (if you don't know this) when an insulin-dependent diabetic like myself experiences low blood sugar, it quickly becomes a matter of life and death.

I pass a friend's house and think, "Sure would be nice if they happened to come out of the their front door right now and I could ask for some juice or something." But it's 7:15 Saturday morning. What are the chances? Maybe knock? Nah.

So I slog on. When I reach the next intersection, I realize that I need to call Beth to come with candy to get me. "Bring a towel, too."

As I'm waiting, my friend, whose house I just passed, drives past. He doesn't see me. Oh well.

A minute later, Beth pulls up and I lean in to arrange the towel so that I don't soak the seat. As she turns the car around and heads back towards our house, she asks me what I was thinking, not having eaten before my walk and not having brought any candy with me. At that point she reminds me of the lack of similarities I possess compared to said superhero.

Next time I'll keep in mind the motto of the Boy Scouts: Be Prepared.

Our Thyme in Rosemary

2007-12-04T19:01:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, Beth and I drove to Rosemary Beach, which is about 2 hours (depending upon traffic) to the east of us here on the panhandle.

It's one of those communities that was nonexistent 10 years ago. The land was purchased, plans were made, building was begun and before you knew it -- poof! -- there was a new town. It's really a cool place. Cooler still is the fact that there is a new (a year-and-a-half) church that meets in the town hall.

We were invited to come there and lead worship, as well as to share with the church body about our ministry in Ireland.

Just after Thanksgiving, I had a bad cold and stayed home to rest for two days straight. Doing so I was able to knock it out and by a week ago I was feeling much better. Then Beth got it (it's nice to share) and we were afraid that she might lose her voice just in time to lead worship at Rosemary Beach. We activated our prayer team and she made it through fine.

Really enjoyed our time with the pastor and his family, as well as some of the members of the body and look forward to a long friendship with them.

What the...

2007-12-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

Did you ever have anything happen to you that was completely out-of-the-blue, absolutely unexpected,leaving you to query, "Why me?"

Okay -- you have to first realize that I went all the way through my adolescence with nary a hint of acne.

Now, less than a week from the 46th anniversary of my birth, I have no less than 7, count 'em -- SEVEN -- pimples. PIMPLES! Zits. Pustules, blebs, carbuncles... Call 'em what you may, I have 'em.

So if you happen to see me soon, please don't stare.

After Thanksgiving Special

2007-11-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon I was miserable. Everyone at our house was just sitting around groaning. One of the best Thanksgiving meals ever.

It was a wonderful day with family and friends. Yes, I'm very thankful for all of them. There is soooo much that we have to be thankful for. I don't know where to begin and wouldn't know where to end.

Then again -- it all begins and ends with God. The Bible says that all good gifts come from God. That succinctly describes our life -- non-stop good gifts.

Sure, there are those things that at the moment we think aren't a good thing. In fact, today the sore throat that I've had the past few days has evolved into a full-on head cold.

But then we remember that "all thing happen for the good of those who love the Lord." I've been needing a day off and God made it so that I had to. Yes Lord, I hear you.

What will it take?

2007-11-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

There is a theme that is taking hold throughout Greater Europe Mission these days.

"Whatever it takes..." is ringing out as a rallying cry for the work that we are doing across the continent.

Europe is one of the most unevangelized, unreached societies in the world. Even with thousands of missionaries working for years, still less than 1% of the population are what would be considered Bible-believing Christians.

It's long, hard work. It's frustrating at times. It's going to take a lot more effort, a lot more support, a lot more workers.

What else will it take? Well, in addition to all the work that is currently being done, GEM has a new initiative that begins today. We're taking it back to the basics -- the foundation.

Prayer.

Today begins "50 Days with God" -- a time for all GEM missionaries to really engage with God in a fresh way on a daily and weekly basis; to reignite the flame within and empower us to effectively continue our work. It's all in preparation for "The Day of Prayer for Europe", which is January 8.

Yes, it's for GEM missionaries, but if you have a heart for the peoples of Europe and desire to see God's work break forth across the continent as never before, I would invite you to join with us in this effort.

It's only 7 weeks. Heavens, I've felt the effects of the flu that long before.

Let me know if you will stand with us for the sake of the missionaries as well as the expansion of God's Kingdom in Europe.

Super Salad

2007-11-18T15:12:00.000-08:00

We've joked about it for years. Now we've actually heard it in real life...

Eating out recently, we overheard someone at the table next to us ask the waitress, "Now, what is a Super Salad?" To which the waitress responded, "That's Soup or Salad."

Then we were expected to sit there straight-faced as if we didn't overhear.

To everything, turn, turn, turn...

2007-11-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

We feel the season changing. Okay, yeah the air is cooler. We're having those gorgeous autumn sunsets. The bay is often glassy.

But that's not what I'm talking about. We've been in a season of waiting. Sure, we've been able to travel quite a bit to Europe to get our ministry off the ground. But we have a goal -- to move to Ireland full-time so that we can conduct our work in the way it deserves. This goal has seemed somewhat elusive. For one thing, we've been working to raise our support for more than 2 years now. For another thing, the exchange rate between the dollar and the euro has kept us at the same percentage of needed support for a while even though we've taken on more pledges.

God's timing has been perfect from the beginning of this process, and we know that up to this point we wouldn't have been ready. God had some work to do to prepare us and our daughter Molly for our relocation. Molly is in her second year as a violin performance major at the University of West Florida and actually living out on her own now!

We are so proud of her -- her resourcefulness, her levelheadedness. She is much more focused than I would have imagined a child of mine would be. Just look at her parents. We weren't anything like this in college. She must have got it from my dad.

Yep, we're a little proud.

So... the change of seasons...

We are starting to sense that things are about to begin moving ahead for us. Nothing concrete -- just small indicators and inklings really. It's like the wind is shifting and a new season is underway.

We are so stoked (is that so 90's, or what?) about getting to Ireland full-time and have a lot of people in Ireland rooting for us. Just gotta keep our nose to the grindstone and get the rest of our support raised.

We'll do our part and then stand back and watch God do His thing. It's His baby, after all. We're just along for the ride.

God's grace

2007-10-31T22:30:00.000-07:00

Everyday is a lesson on God's grace. I often miss it. I'll let a day go by without really cluing into how His grace shaped my day. And then every so often something big comes along and suddenly I'm awakened once again to how gracious He really is.

We're at a point now where we need to hold off on any more trips to Ireland until we get more money raised. At first, when we were faced with it, I was pretty bummed. Ireland is where we are supposed to be and every time we go the connection grows stronger, so the thought of staying away for a longer time than usual pained us.

But here's the thing. What is really needed is for us to get moved to Ireland full time. In order to do that we need to have a certain amount coming in every month and have a certain sum in our account to cover all the costs of relocating. So God's grace has come through by helping us to focus our attention more acutely on that goal.

And His grace will see us through as we continue the climb up Mt. Fundraising. We shall reach the summit and what a view it will be!

There and Back Again

2007-10-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

We've now been back in the States for a couple of weeks. We are sooo ready to actually be in Ireland full time. This backing and forthing is growing tiring.

So one thing I'm really bummed about is the fact that we have very few photos from our events from this, our most recent trip. With the best intentions I always had my camera with me, ready to hand it off to someone who could snap a few images during the workshop. Or if we were meeting with someone, to set up my little tripod and get some shots.

However, my intentions seldom played out and I would remember about the time we were packing up.

Oy.

Internet!

2007-10-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry again for being incommunicado over the last while.

I find that as these trips progress, and especially if we are traveling (as we were last week) it gets harder and harder to keep up with all that we're doing. Since we didn't have reliable access to the Internet for about a week while we were "down country", I didn't get any blogging done and then, as with other trips, by the time we're back to Dublin, there is so much to tell that it is overwhelming to try and recap it all.

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

We finished up in Cork in good order, having met with contacts, old and new, as well as conducting our workshop at Grace, which went very well. Michael O'Donovan, the Worship Pastor has asked us to come back again and do an intensive with their key worship leaders.

Our new contacts made in County Kerry were very worthwhile. We met with the key leader of Listowel Christian Fellowship and an American missionary who works with him. It seems that they are at a crucial point in their church's development wherein they need some help in the area of worship. We plan to return on our next trip to see what we can do in that endeavor. We also met with another leader from that same fellowship who in full-time ministry. He divides his time between several concerns, including, among other things, Focus-on-the-Family, Evangelical Alliance Ireland (EAI) and the church in Listowel. I think he will pan out to be a strategic contact to have.

We returned to Dublin on Friday. Since then we led worship at City Gates Church and have had "bits and pieces" of business and personal things that demanded our attention.

Today we drove up to Dundalk (about half-way to Belfast) to meet David Porter, who we were with the first weekend here, to discuss ongoing issues being faced in the area of worship at his church.

We have meetings the next couple of days and then a rather comprehensive workshop with worship team members from the three Trinity congregations in Dublin.

Then it's back to Florida (and the heat - yuck) on Monday.

I'll be sharing some of my impressions, reflections, ruminations, etc. over the next while, so stay tuned...

Wow, a whole week and nary a word

2007-09-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of keeping up. It's been a really busy week and unfortunately I don't have a lot of time right now to fill in all the details or post any images.

We are now in Blarney, which is near Cork. We've a had a few meetings here so far and went to church at Grace Fellowship this morning. We'll be at Grace again tomorrow night conducting our second workshop for their worship team, the first being in January.

We have another meeting Tuesday with a new contact in Cork before we head out west to County Kerry where we'll be meeting with a couple of other new contacts. Yea! We have been hoping that tings would open up for us in that part of the country and now it seems they have.

Yesterday was really our first true day off since we've been in Ireland so we took advantage of it and did a little sight-seeing.

More details and pics to come soon!

Seem like old friends

2007-09-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Two-and-a-half years ago we made a trip to Dublin. It was our first ministry trip.

While in Ireland, we met a fellow GEM missionary (and former GEM Ireland team member), Durand Robinson, who had come over from Germany. We really hit it off with him and found many common experiences and interests.

This past March, Durand and his wife Ruth were in the US and stayed with us overnight. Once again, we really hit it off with Ruth as we had with Durand two years previous.

In the mean time, they have moved back to Ireland.

So now, in the past week we have been to Durand and Ruth's house twice and it just feels like we've known them forever.

Just another way that God is knitting our hearts to Ireland.

One down, a bunch to go

2007-09-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Today was our first workshop of the trip at Swords Baptist. This is our third workshop that we've done for Rory McDonald and his worship team members. We focused on the role of the Holy Spirit in worship leading, both in the planning and "in the moment".

It's interesting that there was slim turnout, but it seemed that the Lord hand-picked who should be there. I think that given the subject matter, having the key people in the worship ministry (which is who showed up) was perfect, as we dealt mainly with the subject from the perspective of the one "in charge".

Rory and his wife Mindy have been such gracious hosts (did I already say this?) and we have been so blessed by their hospitality to put us up all this week and on through this coming Friday.

Yesterday we had a GEM Ireland meeting. It was good to see everyone again and get caught up with what's been going on and where things are heading. The surprise was that Tim Garrett was there. Who is Tim Garrett? He and his family lived in Greensburg, KS, (which is located 30 miles from my hometown, Pratt) when it was flattened by a Cat. 5 Tornado in May. We have been in contact with him and tried to work out meeting them when we were there in July. But instead we meet in Ireland. Weird.

We then had to drive to Laragh, out in the Wicklow mountains a ways south of the city, to set up our sound system for a symposium sponsored by the Evangelical Alliance Ireland. It was a nice drive. There we happened to meet a guy from out west that we had been in contact with and had been trying to get together with since January. We'll be having lunch with him and his wife in a fortnight (two weeks) in Adare, Co. Limerick.

Last night we watched our first Rugby match (on TV). Unfortunately France trounced Ireland in the run for the World Cup. Neither of us are big sports people, but I rather enjoyed it and realize also that to survive in Ireland, I've got to keep up with not only rugby, but football (soccer) and Gaelic Football as well. So last night was a good start.

Tomorrow we're off to Clondalkin on the west side of Dublin to New Life Christian Community Church. It should be a good day as we attend church in the morning, have lunch with the Carrolls (Michael and his wife Trish oversee the worship ministry) and then spend the afternoon with their daughter Rebecca who is leading worship for the second time tomorrow.

This week we have a whole slew of meetings slated, so it should prove to keep us busy.

On the philosophical side of things...

So far this trip has been about encouragement, both for us and through us. While we have had our share of unexpected... uh... surprises, shall we say... we have also been greatly encouraged by so many that we've met with. God is doing something and it's exciting to be a part of it. At the same time, we've been given many opportunities to be the encouragers.

Quite fun and challenging.

Good day, bad cold

2007-09-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

Our meetings today went really well. It was All-American day. We left out this morning to take the train into the city and met with Rebecca Pfortmiller who is an American who was hired 7 months ago to as worship leader at St. Marks, a very Irish church in Dublin.

Then later we met with Jim and Laura Pettit, a couple from Chattanooga who are over exploring the possibility of becoming missionaries in Ireland. They are considering a couple of different organizations to hok up with. He is a musician and she an artist, looking to work in the arts should it work out for them to come. Through them there are possible connections for our work as well.

Both meetings were encouraging and we look forward to possibility of working with either or both. In fact, we may be helping Rebecca with St. Marks' sound system while we're here.

Then we had a new experience -- the Dublin bus. Fortunately we were able to take one bus from the City Centre to within two short blocks of where we're staying in Swords. We sat in the front (well, second row) on the top level of the double-decker. Rather thrilling at times -- especially when the bus appeared to swallow a bike rider, then a small car!

The only bummer today is that I have a cold coming on strong. Been consuming the vitamins and trying to stay hydrated.

Okay, one other bummer. We're trying to open a bank account here and expected to have it accomplished today after beginning the process in April, but we never heard back from the bank and we may not be able to get it done tomorrow as we probably won't have a chance to get into the City Centre.

Maybe Monday.

Back South

2007-09-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight we're back in Swords with our friends Rory and Mindy McDonald. Yeah, we were supposed to have stayed with the Gasons, but here's the funny thing...

Once we planned to stay with the Gasons, I called the landlord of a house that we were going to rent for the week to cancel our arrangements with him. He had mentioned to me that the house was available for the time we needed and then they were going to do some minor renovation work on the property. So I looked on my computer (I use Skype to call overseas) looking back through my call history for his phone number, calculating what time and how long I would have talked to him and dialed the number.

When he answered, (I was calling from our computer in the airport) he was on a busy street and we had a hard time hearing each other, but I was sure that he had understood that we wouldn't be staying with them after all. He seemed okay that we had pulled out. In fact he said that he could then have family who were going to help do the renovating come early and start. No worries.

So today I called the Gasons and left a voice mail to tell them when they should expect us. Alex called a short time later and said, "Now, I'm really confused. I got a call a few days ago from a guy who said he was Gary Hodges and that he and his wife wouldn't be staying with us as planned. I thought it was kind of strange how you acted like you didn't know me, but then..."

So, come to find out, I hadn't called the landlord, but instead had been talking to Alex. So they now have their house torn up doing renovations. Yes -- both the landlord and the Gasons were planning to have renovations done after our stay with them. What are the chances?

So we're back staying in Rory and Mindy's "prophet room". They have been more than gracious and have given us a key and the freedom to stay with them whenever we like or need while we're in Dublin. Gotta love these guys.

We took a scenic route back here to Dublin and had a nice day together recovering from a busy weekend. We did, though, have a wonderful Sunday afternoon with the Porters in Belfast, taking a walk around a nearby lake and exploring an old fort and church.

Our time in the North seems to have opened up a few potential churches to work with. We may, in fact, before we leave next month, take another jaunt up to Belfast to meet with our new contacts there. We also didn't meet with William Olphert in Ballymena this morning. He just returned from Hong Kong yesterday and we wouldn't have had a lot of time at our disposal, so we decided to try and meet up later in our trip.

The next few days will find us connecting with a lot of people, setting up meetings, going to meetings and finishing plans for our workshops.

Check back shortly for pictures...

Nice Weekend

2007-09-16T10:01:00.001-07:00

Well, we made it through all our rehearsals and the concert last night with New Irish Arts. We really never felt jet-lagged as we got a good night's rest Friday night.

It was quite an experience for us on several different levels. First, Beth and I hadn't sung with a formal choir for some time. Second, it had been at least as long since I had to sight read vocal music, so I was a bit rusty. Third, just singing with a group of 130 or so people and being the only non-Irish in the group was exciting. Fourth, I had much empathy for the director, as the whole event reminded me of the many times I was in charge of a large group of performers, coordinating them for dress rehearsal, with all of the challenges that holds.

The best part of the evening wasn't when we were singing fully with the orchestra and band, but instead it came at the end when the director told the "audience" (following a standing ovation) that we weren't there to "put on a good show", but to lift up the Name of the Lord. He then had all stand and we sang "Holy, Holy, Holy" a capella (without instruments). The place erupted in such wonderful 28-part harmony that it would have given me chills had it not been so stifling on the choir risers. I did have to stop singing a couple of times as my emotions welled up within.

We're having a wonderful time with our friends David and Pearl Porter and their kids Joshua, Jeremy and Carys. We met David in the Czech Republic in April at the Europe Worship Link Conference and it was he who invited us to come up to Belfast and join in the NIA choir for the day. We're very glad he did.

Tomorrow, we are hoping to meet up with William and Rebecca Olphert, who we met in January on our way through Balymena, just a bit north of Belfast. They are Calvary Chapel people with a church plant that they started.

Then it's back to Dublin to stay with our good friends Alex and Linda Gason for a few days and get some planning, meetings and phone calls done.

Arriving...

2007-09-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

We're now in Dublin, ready to sleep. It was kind of rough getting here, as usual. It is so difficult to get good sleep in coach. We looked into redeeming Skymiles to upgrade to business/elite class, but it wasn't worth it. We can hang onto those miles to help fly Molly over for a visit once we actually move.

Tomorrow -- Belfast. Should be a very interesting day. We will be participating in the choir of New Irish Arts' "Ireland in Praise" tomorrow evening after rehearsing throughout the day. Looking forward to seeing what God has up His big sleeve for us.

One thing I love about the Atlanta airport: On Concourse E (international flights) they have a grand piano in the food court area, often manned by a pianist providing a nice atmosphere for weary and frazzled travellers.

I'll quit rambling and let you... no wait... let me get to bed.

Good night.

Three... Two... One...

2007-09-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Just a bit more than a week now before we set out on our next journey to Ireland. A year ago when we were preparing for our departure, we had what we refer to as "The Big Scary List". On that were things like: Pay for Molly's School, Buy Molly a Car, Buy new luggage, etc.

This time it's: Buy Shampoo, Download some TV shows and movies, etc.

Not nearly as daunting a list. But we're still going to be gone for almost 5 weeks!

So what's going to happen in that 5 weeks? Not much, really aside from:

Sept. 13-14 travel to Dublin, rent car
Sept. 14 drive to Belfast, stay with friends
Sept. 15 Go to all day rehearsal with New Irish Arts and sing in choir for that evening's "Ireland in Praise" worship concert
Sept. 16 go to church with friends
Sept. 17 meet with pastor and wife in Ballymena, north of Belfast, drive back to Dublin
Sept. 18-20 various meetings with friends and colleagues
Sept. 21 drive to Laragh (south of Dublin) to set up sound system for conference
Sept. 22 drive to Swords (north of Dublin) to conduct Worship Workshop at Swords Baptist Church
Sept. 23 go to church at New Life Community Church in west Dublin, have lunch and do workshop with band that afternoon
Sept. 24 breathe
Sept 25-27 various meetings with friends and colleagues, scope out potential areas of residence (for when we move)
Sept. 26 take train to Bray (south of Dublin) to meet with 2 new contacts
Sept. 28 drive to Cork
Sept. 29-30 various meetings with friends, colleagues and new contacts in and around Cork
Sept. 30 attend church somewhere
Oct. 1 do Worship Workshop at Grace Fellowship, Cork
Oct. 2 breathe
Oct. 3-4 Travel through Co. Kerry, meeting with several new contacts, ending up in Shannon
Oct. 4 do evening Worship Workshop with Jamzone youth band, Shannon
Oct. 5 do Worship Workshop at Abundant Life Church, Limerick
Oct. 6 do all-day, area-wide Worship Conference hosted by Abundant Life
Oct. 7 die... then breathe... then go to church in Ennis (maybe)
Oct. 8 drive back to Dublin
Oct. 9-12 various meetings with friends and colleagues
Oct. 13 do Worship Workshop at Trinity Church, Dublin
Oct. 14 go to church, prepare for journey back to US
Oct. 15 Fly back to FL

Boring, I know, but there you have it...

Weird

2007-09-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so in the last 24 hours I've heard the iconic disco intrumental "A Fifth of Beethoven" twice.

What's up with that?

Roadside Memorial

2007-08-31T23:42:00.000-07:00

For some reason, as I drove past the cyclist who was waiting to cross the street, I was reminded of her. Something about the serenity on this lady's face brought back the feelings of warmth and security that came from being with her.

But one thing struck me. You would never see her on a bicycle. She was too much of a lady for that. In fact, you would never find her in pants or slacks of any kind. She always wore a dress or skirt. And practical shoes. She took great care to always carry herself with propriety and to live a quiet, upright life.

She was maybe the most beautiful woman I have ever known. I never knew her to be unkind, rude or in any way offensive. She exemplifies what a Christian should look like.

She always took time for us kids; and when she was with us, she was with us. For some odd reason, I don’t remember it ever being a drag to go spend time with her at her house. Going there after school, she would play the hostess and serve us our favorite snack, Sugar Brot (white bread, spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar) with a glass of cold whole milk. This was providing that there were none of her amazing sugar cookies in the shiny chrome cookie container embossed with penguins.

I can smell her house even now – a house that was well-kept, yet not so sterile that it lacked coziness.

I remember the way she smelled of Dove soap as I sat in her lap and she gently ran her fingernails across my back. I remember what it sounded like to hear her voice through her chest as I lay my head there, pretending to be asleep while the adults carried on their conversation after Sunday Dinner (of course, not until after everything had been cleaned and put away).

When I was older, there were cutthroat games of Scrabble with her and Aunt Esther.

I’ll never forget her laugh, her smile, her humility, her love.

I’ll never forget the last time I saw her. I sat at her bedside and we talked about life; about my upcoming move away from Kansas; about old times and fond memories. I wanted to stay longer. I knew this would be the last time I would see her “on this side”. As I stood to go, I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. I noticed, for the last time, the velvety surface of her hand as I squeezed it and released it back to her. I stopped at the door and looked back. “Keep the faith,” she said. It was the last thing I ever heard her say, and those three simple words still ring in my ears.

She was my grandma.

Bertha King Hodges
1894-1982