Just some thoughts

He was livid, never had we witnessed such anger coming from him. We neither expected it nor thought it possible. He literally lashed out at everyone carrying on business, for he knew they were swindling the customers, they were not concerned with assisting the people to sacrifice. They were only concerned with making a profit. So he upset their business tables and freed the sacrifices they were selling, there was mayhem in the Father's house. Not even the authorities had the nerve, oh they had the physical power to attempt to perhaps, but none dared to challenge him - this was divine authority at work. As we replay this event of Jesus in the Temple on Holy Week we are reminded Jesus said, 'His Father's place was a house of prayer!' As I grow older and look again, and again, at this scene I've come to realize there is a very significant, secondary, symbolic action taking place here by Jesus. Once a year the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies to make intercession for the people's sins. Before this happened the Temple would be scrubbed from top to bottom, no nook/cranny missed, it was quite an awesome task. Then the clothes of the High Priest would be cleansed, there could be no stains, no spots. Jesus, our High Priest, was to be offered in intercession for us that week, on a splinter covered cross he would enter the Holy of Holies. The curtain would be rent from top to bottom ... it was necessary that everything be cleansed. In overturning the money changers, Jesus was cleansing the Temple. Holy Week calls us to a time of cleansing, only its not a cleansing we can perform, only Christ can, but we need to give him permission, and then be available.

This past week I completed reading two books: 'Sin Boldly:A Field Guide for Grace' by Cathleen Falsani and 'The Cross Gardener' by Jason Wright. I enjoyed Cathleen's book, and agree with the author that 'Grace makes no sense to our human minds,' for it occures at the most unexpected times and places, and through the most unusual people. Perhaps because we have our own expectations of what grace should look like we are so often surprised by it. I appreciate the author's illustrations of it, even though there are times when I question her theology. It would serve all of us well to perhaps reflect more on the grace that dominates our living and help us to be more appreciative not only of God but those who allow Him to exercise that grace through their lives toward us. The new book by Jason Wright, 'The Cross Gardener,' [He also wrote Christmas Jars and The Wednesday Letters] is a book that has a surprise ending that even Sherlock Holmes would have trouble anticipating. Its a wonderful book that talks about God's presence with us all of our lives, especially at that time when we depart this world and enter eternity. It also deals with how necessary it is to get on with our lives as soon as possible after the tragic death of a loved one, so that we can help those who, like us, are survivors. I also enjoyed Jason's prior book 'The Wednesday Letters.' It seems that in both books the author is dealing with issues that are common to all of us, yet the answers are so often hard to come by. Perhaps its that personal flavor that captivates us?

My most FAVORITE week of the year!

This week, without question or doubt, is my most favorite week. Theologians have named it Holy Week as we celebrate our Risen Lord! NOTHING can even begin to compare with it. On Good Friday, ever wondered why we call the day of Christ's death - Good Friday?
Its the day he took my sin and yours upon himself, and by that act we can be free forever! This Friday night we will be showing Mel Gibson's movie 'The Passion of the Christ,' asking people to enter the auditorium reverently and leaving silently also. Every time I see this movie I learn something new. Then on Easter morning we will be having our Annual Sunrise Worship; I wonder how those women felt that cool morning traveling to the tomb to finish anointing Jesus body? Would the stone still block the entrance? Would the temple guards move it for them to enter and anoint his body? was this a futile exercise of love? Would the smell of death be too much for them to complete their task? .... what faith! Still I wonder, inspite of the fact they watched him die on the cross, could it be? was there a faint ray of hope? I'm afraid that there are times when my faith is not as strong as theirs, so its good that again I visit this everlasting story, may my faith be restored, refreshed and renewed.

Searching for Family Roots.

This journey that I am one to find family roots is becoming an obsession as I was warned it might; but it is also beginning to give me a much better and deeper sense of who I am. I would like to record a couple of stories that are adding meaning to this journey. First, I am far far more fortunate than a good number of people that are on a similar journey. For it seems like I am gathering information quicker than I ever dreamed possible. Last week my grandma [my mother's mom] found a 300+ page book that she had forgotten she had that went into her mother's ancestory in great depth; and in visiting her she's let me have the book so I can copy it! Then I happen to email someone I found on the internet who had a same relative; she lives in Seattle WA. and is a distant cousin. Now she and her husband are going to be taking a trip this year out to MASS. where our ancestors came from, and I am excited about that because she's said she will keep me informed. We had a common ancestor that is given credit as a co-founder of Concord, MA., and a later grandson that founded Tweksbury, MA. Then on my father's side of the family I emailed a gentleman that whose 2nd cousin in Illinois is my 6th cousin, and I had been in contact with him when we lived in Champaign, Il. HOw's that for a coincidence? In further conversation I found out that this cousin had a mother who was from the very town I now live in, and two Yoder's cousins who used to run a gas station in this town until about 15years ago. He even had a client in this town at one time. His ancestors, from the Yoder family, came from Lancaster, PA. where some of mine came from; and I used to live an hour from Lancaster[and we loved to visit Lancaster for family outings], our family just had a family reunion in Lancaster a couple years ago, and I didn't know about my ancestors from there at the time. There are so many neat things happening on this journey ............ I'm keeping every single email and hope that one day my experiences will be an addition to the family record. My mother reminded me that maybe no one will be interested, yet there may be a grandchild or great grandchild who takes an interest?...

Flying sweet potato cornbread

Last night a good friend of mine dropped off a freshly killed, and cleaned pheasant. It was still on the bone, best way to cook one. So this evening I cut it up and barbequed it in the oven. Then I fixed a sweet-potato cornbread recipe I found in a very old cookbook someone gave a couple weeks ago ............ it beat by miles any cornbread I have ever had, so below is the recipe
1 large sweet potato [I just got a big can of cut sweet potatoes]
1/4 pound [1 stick] of butter
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon each salt and cinnamon
1 cup yogurt [I used a cup of sour cream]
2 cups finely ground white cornmeal
optional: 1/2 cup raisins and/or pecans
Cut up and puree the sweet potato. Mix together butter and
pureed pulp. Beat eggs w/sugar, soda, cinnamon and salt, and
add to puree. Beat in yogurt, cornmeal and raisins/nuts.
Pour into a battered 9x9 baking pan and bake at 350 until
browned [45-60]...... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Also I got a couple of frozen corn on cob at grocery store. Let it thaw;
then, plaster with peanut butter, wrap in tin foil and place in the oven
for 25 minutes ........... bring everything out at the same time.
This is a treat.

The continuing saga begins to reveal.....

Yesterday was a banner day in family history! First, my grandma [Mom's side, who is 96] went searching for family info since she too is excited about my efforts and found,
BELIEVE THIS, a book from her mom, giving family lineage details in over 300 pgs.Now I alredy have almost 8 generations from that line recorded but it will be good to confirm those names and maybe find some others on the McLain side. I do know they go back to Ireland and England; and they are fighters. Relatives on that family branch fought in the Ten Years Indian War, The French-Indian War, The Revolutionary War, and many fought in the Civil War. [This is all on my mothers side]

My father's side was Amish-Mennonite [both grandpa and grandma] and originated with the Anabaptists in Switzerland. They eventually came to settle in France and migrate to the U.S.. Now Amish-Mennonite's are pacifists, and as far as I know [back at the very least, 6 generations] my father is the only member to have served in the Military. Although there are appearing hints that some stray ancient members may have served in French Army under Napoleon, even though the roots are German. Go figure. Anyway back to my story of the AM-MEN being pacifists. They migrated to the United States around the early 1830's and so far NO evidence has appeared that any of them fought in the civil war - they were conscientous objectors. So what is beginning to appear on the horizons is a great story of pro-war verses anti-war forces in my roots .... for someone who can write a good story, I think this might be one. So last night I was vigorously looking for some family history that I knew existed somewhere, even a copy of an original shipping manifest with my ancestors names, and with God's help I'm sure, I happened to think of the good wife and my family Bible ............ and there it was!

More FAmily Genealogy

Yesterday I had a great time in Ohio with Mom and Grandma. Grandma was able to set me straight on a couple family ancestors and told me stories for over an hour about relatives I didn't even know we had. She has even started me on a new line of ancestry; she was really into talking about family history. If anyone has any advice on how I can pursue family history through any kinds of records, I'm open to them.

Who Framed Jesus? - God, maybe!

This past Sunday night, while at a convention, before I went to sleep I decided to watch a little of the Discovery channel program, 'Who Framed Jesus?' Now I will admit I got so frustrated in the 20-30minutes I watched it, that some of my complaints may have been addressed and I didn't know it. All these Ivy League theologians spoke about the possibilities of Judas, and Pilate, Caiaphas, etc. framing Jesus so he was crucified. They were so adamant about their positions I began to wonder if they had really read the gospels. What part about Jesus declaring to Pilate, [Jn.18:11] 'You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above....'did they just not understand? I became so frustrated I found myself yelling at the tv - Jesus didn't need to be framed, it was part of the plan! Then I began to realize it wasn't about who framed Jesus, it was about the fact that Jesus wasn't perceived as divine. Then I began to realize that I was getting all stressed up needlessly, yet I agonize for those who may have watched the program and believed what they were hearing. The bottom line is that Jesus was in total control at every step of the way. Of course to find a scape goat would be helpful, then everyone could point their finger at him and feel free of guilt. Lent is doing a job on me this year.

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Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby

This past Saturday, the Cub Scouts who use our church facilities, invited me to be one of the judges of their pinewood cars. I really enjoyed myself. We had to vote for categories such as: most unusual car, fastest looking car, best block of wood, best use of color, best use of props on car, best driver in the car, best use of imagination and overall best of show. All the cars were set on tracks labeled with their 'pack name.' It was easy to see that the two youngest packs, the tigers and bears, had the youngest boys. Their cars were colored somewhat outside the lines, and not as racy looking; and I was tempted to just chose cars from these two classes because I knew the boys had done most of the work. In the older packs, the wolfes and webelos [for the life of me I don't know what a webelos is, if there is such an animal] you could see the more detailed cars, the smoother edges and better racing designs - the dads were progressing in their racing models, yet the boys get to race them. Before the voting, I talked with a good number of the dads and almost everyone of them admitted to doing more work on the cars than their sons, but most of also said that their sons worked with them, they of course couldn't let their sons run the ban saws, etc.. After speaking with these fathers, my prejudices began to be tempered, and I thought even though I hated to see some of that childhood originality disappear it was replaced with father - son working together, and that's a good thing. I suppose I still tended to vote a little prejudicially, but thank goodness there were two other, more experienced judges, that put me in my place! It was a great experience for me, and they even gave a ribbon and medal for judging.

A Little Chapel on the River - just an opinion

Little Chapel on the River. [A pub, a town and search for what matters most] by Gwendolyn Bounds; N.Y,New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 2005
I'm not sure if its the surreal small town setting or the ordinariness of its characters, but something from the very start of this story reaches out and grabs you. From the beginning the author initiates this tugging. There is something more than small town charm that begins to stake a claim on her soul, and eventually persuades her to purchase a home in their community. As she is drawn into the center of their lives the same mystical force begins to reel us in. I think Wendy [thats the authors name] does this effectively because she challenges us to remember events in our past, that though they are not exactly the same and sometimes not even similar, still echo those times in our life that never lose meaning. However, never once does the author elaborate, hardly even giving us a hint, except perhaps in the short personal notes at the end of every chapter, as to what the link is in her past that causes this story to be so captivating in her life to cause her to write a book about it. Perhaps its a sacred connection as alluded to in the title, 'little chapel,' for rarely do we equate, or link, a bar or pub in the same context as a church. The author doesn't romanticize her story and skip over conflicts, rather she integrates them as not only a part of their story but stresses them a necessary part of all of our lives. There are also those magical moments when a grumpy neighbor is transformed into a dear and helpful mentor and friend; moments when a stranger unknowningly invites a secret from a regular patron to be revealed and offers peace and compassion to the painful disclosure; moments when true friendship chooses to focus on loving caring acts rather than on human faults. Though it is a story about certain lifestyles I don't share, and in most cases ever promote, I did often connect with the illustrations of human character both positive and negative.

I spent this past Monday evening and Tuesday back home visiting my mom. In the wee hours of TuesdayAM I was awakened by the sound of a train going through town. My hometown used to be a major railroad hub for Wabash Railroad between St.Louis and Detroit. We had a roundhouse and usually there were at least a half dozen trains waiting in town; and my mom's dad worked on the trains as a conductor and often took family members for train rides. The sound of trains became so second nature to us that we got to where we didn't even hear them. That morning almost immediately after I heard that train I fell back asleep enriched bause of the memories it brought me, rather than feeling I'd been disturbed. At breakfast I asked my mom if she had heard the train [actually there had been two]and she said, 'no.' I hope that the sound of those train [and train sounds everywhere] never lose their 'magic' in my life, maybe in a way they are my 'chapel on the rails' ... for they take with them a part of my past that I hope never dims. So I feel it safe to suppose that a major reason for my enjoying this story is that I also was drawn into it by a force that has staked a claim on my soul!

Superswarm

Last night [Sunday] while relaxing after a rather full day of worship, I turned to the Discovery Channel and there was a program called 'Superswarms' in progress. It was about anything that swims, flys or runs and lives as a swarm. Some of them are harmful in that they devour crops, and certain ones can cause great pain and even death. Many of them make it exceptionally difficult for predators, and usually its only the dying and diseased that get eaten, and provide a plentiful crop of mates so that the species can survive. The narrator also talked about the 'intelligence' of swarms where the combined wisdom exceeds the sum of the parts, and how simple touch directs individuals directions. So I've made a few elementary inquiries into the subject. I know I'm years behind in this field but it intrigues me, especially what we as a human culture, particularly Christians, can learn from swarm behavior. In my beginning to more deeply learn about swarm theory I came across an article entitled: 'The Weak Can Lead the Strong,' that title grabbed my attention. Another article: 'Swarm Theory/Modern Human Communities and the Power of Influence' was also interesting, and I would like to quote a paragraph from it by Chuck Brymer: 'Make no mistake about it, the rising digital swarm combined with high levels of trust in family and friends is changing the nature of what we as marketers do to build brands and sell products because human swarms, our modern day communities are formed out of common interest and shared demographics, will not be told what to do. They seek out long-term conversations in engaged relationships, and they shrink from anything that smacks of intruSion.' [www.contagiousmagazine.com] In this high tech, information age I love the whole concept of 'building high levels of trust in family and friends.' .......... its about relationships!

Take Me Back to Egypt Moses!

Reuters news has published an article that talks about Russians, largely elderly people who remember WWII. In a recent russian tv poll Stalin was considered the third most important historical figure in Russian history .. he certainly is one of its most controversial. There are those who see him as the great liberator, who kept Hitler from conquering Russia, and putting the first spacecraft in space and keeping the peace; however on the other side are those who suffered greatly from his iron-fisted rule and those who remember 27million Soviet citizens died because of him. Let me say that this article reminded me of Exodus 16:3 'The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.' It is sometimes easier to remember the 'good old days,' [for we are prone to romanticize them and forget the struggles] than it is to have faith in the future. Perhaps those who remember Stalin as a hero never suffered because of him or his policies? Make me wonder what I've romanticized about the past that also bit me, and I'm comparing my present circumstances by the past rather than faith in what the future holds? Our presence economical, social and religious climate certainly point me more towards the past than the future.

Some Saturday Sprinklings!

Last night, the good wife and I saw the movie Leap Year! Its a romantic comedy, and Amy Adams [she starred in the movie Julie & Julia] was a main character. The movie is an engaging comedy with a subtle principal ... look before you leap. Guys, this is a great date night activity, only have the surprise supper after the movie, and bring a little gift along! Trust me, it will work. The good wife and I had a nice meal before hand and it did keep us from indulging in the buttered popcorn and diet soda's. The theater room where this movie was playing was pretty well packed with middle aged people and old-timers like me.

This morning I was leafing through a book I had bought a copy of for a lady in our church that just had surgery, 'Our Heavenly Father' by Robert Frost [not the poet]. I came across a couple of sentences that ignited some wonderful thoughts about the unlimited thinking of our Creator. 'God's will is a process which does not stop with death. We need to be conditioned to this larger horizon or we will ever be measuring things by a short and faulty yardstick.' [p.130] Never in any depth have I thought about the fact that we are created not just for a purpose here on earth, but also in eternity, creative living takes place in eternity also. I once heard someone say, 'if all I'm going to do is lay around in heaven for eternity, I'm not so sure that's going to be worth it.' At the time I didn't considers how accurate that statement might be, but according to this author God has created us not just to live with him in eternity but to actually have a significant purpose there. Now if that's the case, and I'm thinking its a pretty good case, what would God have in mind for my eternal purpose if he's preparing me here by my being a preacher?? I won't be needing to spread the Good News, its being lived out; I won't be needing to be a chaplain, all illness, aging and tears don't exist; no need for counseling; and certainly won't have any financial concerns - so what am I going to do? The second thought I had on reading these words was 'we need to be conditioned to this larger
horizon or we will be ever measuring things by a short and faulty yardstick.' I'm guessing that is implying that rather than measuring life by our temporal circumstances and existence, we need to start holding things up against the light of eternity, in some sense I already do that, but I'm thinking this is going beyond the question of is this worth eternity or will it help me get to heaven ,so I'm going to try to get some tougher grips on this one. .......... all wisdom and ideas are welcomed!!

This past week the good wife and I made a pork roast, and there is so much there we will never eat it, so rather than freeze it and forget about it, I've cut it up and am bbq'ing it. I've never done that before, so this is going to an experience. If it turns out okay, I'll make a couple sandwiches and give the rest away. I like to cook, and when things turn out good give them away.

Well, I've got to get back to work, God was speaking to me this morning and there's a couple pages of my sermon that have to be changed, so I'd best get to it.

Only 36,000?

I am really getting fed up with idiotic, insensitive remarks from our politicians. Today the Senate Majority Leader said that, and I quote, 'It is a good day in America because only 36,000 lost their jobs today!' Where does anyone come off making such a statement; how would he like for one of those 36,000 to be a closely related family member of his? what if he was one of those 36,000? I'm guessing its fairly easy to make such statements when you're looking out from an ivory tower. HOw can one call losing jobs a good day for America in any context? I realize this is not the whole conversation but to even use such a metaphor to describe in part an economy that is falling down all around us to me is the heights of arrogance.

Yea, for global warming, at least where I live!

I am neither a climatologist nor scientist. What I know about climatology comes from newscasters whose batting percentages rank below minor leaguer's [to any Minor League Baseball player this is a compliment to you, not a put down]. What I know about science would definitely mark me as a losing contender on the tv show 'do you know more than a fifth-grader?; on that show I would be trampled, pummeled, slapped up silly, you name it. I've stayed as far away as I can from the swirling controversial winds of global warming for those two reasons alone; but I can tell you the last few months have done nothing to convince to believe in it. HOwever, just a few minutes ago I had to go on an errand, yes in one of those carbon monoxide spewing Hondo 4-cyclinders, but since I haven't seen anyone bowl over in the wake, its okay with me. It was absolutely warm outside!!!! here and there were patches of brown earth, and occasionally some patches with green in them, the snow is melting and not even a small patch of ice to be found on the roads. If global warming wants to come to my town, I'm not going to be the one to fight it because I'm fairly certain before this month ends it will lose it way and we'll again experience those days when getting warm is a major accomplishment - for now I'm rejoicing.

Continuing Search....

What a treasure of information! So far the family records from my Grandma Bank's father line reveal at least 3 men who served in the civil war, 2 men who served in the revolutionary was and 2 who served in the French-Indian War - I think?. I am just getting started trying to map this all out, but the history of family members involved in the above three wars is indeed very interesting. One day I will share the little bit of info I get on each one and their participation as patriots of our country.

Went home

This week I went home to spend a day with mom and grandma, and we had a good time. While talking with them I learned that my great grandpa used to tell my grandma about the Potawatomi Indians that used to camp outside our home town on the St.Joe river, and how he would brag that we had some Indian blood in us, on the Creek[name] side of us. So I began to do some research, sadly I'm not that good with the internet, but I am beginning to see some results, and even came across a man who is supplying me with authentic history about our ancestors. This is really becoming quite interesting,especially since no one in my family has explored to any great depth this branch of our family's roots; but my hope is that one day I will find evidence of that 'link' that I have native Indian blood coursing through my veins!!

Letters from the Land of Cancer

A look at the book by Walter Wangerin Jr., Zondervan Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2010
Wangerin faces his own mortality when he learns that he has been diagnosed with cancer. In a series of interspersed meditations and 22 letters he writes about the journey; of course in the writing of his letters he does not know how the battle with cancer is going to play out, or as many people with cancer tell us, ever will.
I enjoyed the book and found many things worth exploring even before I should learn of any life-threatening illnesses. Perhaps the most basic message I took from reading this book is to enjoy ever present moment of life to its fullest, whether it is in a positive or negative context. In some ways I think the old adage, ‘can’t cry over spilled milk’ was spelled out when he talks about how he wanted to live in the present, and continue his work – and continue his work he did. In a later letter he briefly talks about how, his cancer enabled his work. In another letter he
talks about how cancer hindered him from keeping the balance in his life, he became too weak to keep the ‘bad’ from being corralled by the ‘good.’
Since I’m not a very good reviewer, I think I’ll just highlight some of the
advice that I received from his book. ‘To consider earnestly a life undefined by death, a life defined by nothing except Life alone changes all our values, all relationships. It simplifies the self and time and purposes.’ [pg.85] …I’m not sure I’m interpreting the authors thoughts correctly, but to me I says that when we stop living life with death as an ever present influence and accept death as a reality that does not end life, but only becomes the gateway to eternal life, then we can get on with living Life to its fullest, perhaps as Christ means life to be lived here. ‘Cancer does not give me freedoms others don’t have.’[pg.114] Often in life extend unwarranted excuses for people because of their age or disabilities, here the author is saying that just because he has cancer he is not excused from the psychological, mental or spiritual responsibilities that everyone faces. ‘If Christ is raised nothing else matters. If Christ is not raised nothing matters’[pg.158] This was written at a time when his illness was increasing. To a student in one of his classes who asked him the question how he was handling his cancer he replied, ‘I hold death lightly in my hands.’[pg.167] This was perhaps for me the profound thought in the whole book and he took a whole chapter to explain it which I thought was brilliant; its worth the price of the book for this chapter alone. ‘Surely it’s high time, isn’t it, that we pay as much attention to the blessings of a long affliction as we do to the pain for which we curse it.’[pg.196] For often the blessings that are fruits of an affliction are buried in pity, suffering or as the author says, ‘drugged away.’ This brought to mind the Apostle Paul’s talk about the ‘Fellowship of Sharing in His Suffering.’[Php.3:10]. ENJOY THE BOOK!

I Won the Bronze, Mom!

What a story. Joannie Rochette, the Canadian figure skater who lost her mom from a massive heart attack only hours after her parents had come to Vancouver to watch her compete; it was a story of a young lady reaching down within herself to reservoirs she had never taken from. Sure, practicing to be an Olympic athlete can mean hours and hours of tough training, often taken to what is perceived to be the limits of human endurance, and more often not, working through pain. But the goal one hopes to achieve keeps on going, at least until you've reached the stage upon which that goal can be achieved. But what reservoir is it that you tap when death becomes an that unwelcome partner? What exactly should Joannie do, quit and join her father in grieving, or should she go on, seeking to honor her mother with her very best efforts? I believe she made the right choice, if I had been her parent that been the victim of that heart attack and death, my wish would have been for her to 'finish' ... and she did. How proud her mother would have been, and one only had to catch a glimpse of the celebration of embrace with her father to know she'd done the right thing; and as she reminded us this moment was what her parents, particularly her mother, had stood by and encouraged her for all those prior years.

We have a lot of people on our church family prayer list, some incarcerated, others doing battle with cancer, and still others not even able to identify their opponents,
yet, in faith, they dig into reservoirs never tapped before, they hold on to God's promises, and hope for a future in which, at the moment, the only assurance they have is his peace and presence .... and that is enough. But how well, will we, their choir of encouragement perform. I pray there is more than just simple cheers from the stands, that there be cards/calls with thoughtful, uplifting words, that there will be acts of compassion and caring .......... a spontaneous overflowing of love that says to those contestants, 'you're making the right choice; and we're doing everything we can to support you, in Jesus name.