Greetings. I'm hoping that this post will prove to be irrelevant (ramblings of what might have haunted us) here in a few days but my fear is that the inevitable is upon us. To be honest, I didn't think it was possible for the democrats to put up a candidate that differs with me more on the issues than they have for the past 6 elections (Ducacus, Mondale, Clinton, Gore, and finally Kerry), but they really outdid themselves this year. I cringe at the thought of increased government intervention, increased access to abortion, increased normalization of immoral and dangerous lifestyle choices, and increased downward pressure on moral standards. The indications are that Senator Obama will indeed be elected in spite of his many questionable affiliations, policy positions, and demonstrated hostility towards America and her constitution.
Of course the republicans are putting up pretty weak candidates (policy position wise) as well. While I respect Senator McCain for his service to our country I'm really not excited about the prospect of him serving as president. But given the choice, there really is no choice. I wish that we had something other than a 2 party system and that a candidate like Chuck Baldwin had a real shot. He would be the kind of leader that I could get behind.
But, through all of this I know that God is in control and that even if Mr. Obama gets into office God can effect His will in all things. What's scary is that many times He allows us to receive what we ask for even if it isn't what is best for us in the short term. My fear, is that because we (individually and as a nation) continue to push God out of all aspects of our personal and public lives He has decided to give us our wish. God never forced Himself on His chosen people even when they turned their back on Him, so He won't force us to submit to His will either. It is comforting however to read that He always forgave them and brought them back into fellowship when they repented and turned back to Him. My prayer is that we as individuals will repent and turn back to God and obey Him. Once we who claim Christ as Lord have our hearts aligned with God's, then we can effect positive change in the nation. So, pray for our leaders even if you disagree with them on every policy position possible.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Hunter
As most of you know, I have a cat named General. He is a Russian Blue and is right at a year old now. I got him last December and he has been through some trials and trauma since moving to Sparta, TN. He is a great cat and loves to be around me all of the time. He reminds me more of a dog than a cat. He will come when call him, he fetches and loves to just hang out while I watch TV or read.
Well, this week he has brought me 3 different gifts at various times of the day and night. The first gift arrived at 3:30 am while I was sound asleep. He jumped up onto the bed and then came bounding over to plop down right on my chest. He then kept playing around and moving as he batted his play toy around on my chest. After a couple of minutes it began to grow tiresome so I decided to see what he was so intently playing with. I reached down to grab his toy and felt a warm soft mushy lump. It felt like his toy but was warm to the touch (which was unusual). I reached up over my head and turned on the light to see what he had found. It was a dead mouse. Thankfully I had a little box on my side table so I stuck the dead mouse in the box and went back to sleep. The next morning I threw him out.
Well, the very next day we had a repeat performance except at 7am instead of 330 am. I had thrown the mouse in the outside trash (adult mouse) and now here was the General back with another mouse just over 24 hours later. My first thought was how did he get that mouse from the outside trashcan (he's an indoors only cat)...but then I realized this was a small baby mouse. Well, I threw this one out and two days later (Sunday night) he brought me hopefully the third and final member of the mouse family. So unlike Stormie (who would run from mice) the General has proven to be quite the hunter and is very proud to bring me his game.
Well, this week he has brought me 3 different gifts at various times of the day and night. The first gift arrived at 3:30 am while I was sound asleep. He jumped up onto the bed and then came bounding over to plop down right on my chest. He then kept playing around and moving as he batted his play toy around on my chest. After a couple of minutes it began to grow tiresome so I decided to see what he was so intently playing with. I reached down to grab his toy and felt a warm soft mushy lump. It felt like his toy but was warm to the touch (which was unusual). I reached up over my head and turned on the light to see what he had found. It was a dead mouse. Thankfully I had a little box on my side table so I stuck the dead mouse in the box and went back to sleep. The next morning I threw him out.
Well, the very next day we had a repeat performance except at 7am instead of 330 am. I had thrown the mouse in the outside trash (adult mouse) and now here was the General back with another mouse just over 24 hours later. My first thought was how did he get that mouse from the outside trashcan (he's an indoors only cat)...but then I realized this was a small baby mouse. Well, I threw this one out and two days later (Sunday night) he brought me hopefully the third and final member of the mouse family. So unlike Stormie (who would run from mice) the General has proven to be quite the hunter and is very proud to bring me his game.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
iPhone Buzz
For the past couple of years now I have watched and read with interest the technology mags and papers as they reviewed and critiqued the iPhone. What started as a great idea launched with typical Apple arrogance (sole provider with locked phone and way over priced) has turned into a great piece of equipment at a reasonable price point. This past Friday I drove to Chattanooga to investigate Southeastern Salvage (for flooring and entry door options) and to purchase an iPhone. My contract with Verizon had ended and after a couple of friends (who own iPhones and love them) told me to make the change I was pretty sure I wanted to transition over to the iPhone.
I decided on the 16GB model in black. The phone is a good looking piece of technology and after only a couple of days I am getting pretty comfortable with it. Today I was out of the house and needed to get a phone number so without any effort I launched the Internet browser over the Edge network and within seconds I had the number. The real cool thing was that once I googled the number I simply touched the phone number in the browser and it immediately initiated the phone call for me. I think I am hooked already.
The service seems pretty good. On the drive back from Chattanooga I had service the whole way (there were some spots with my Razr on Verizon where I had no service). Sparta doesn't have the ATT 3G network so while here I have to rely on their Edge network but so far it seems to be almost as quick as my DSL service (we have pretty slow Internet). I know many have reviewed the phone my personal opinion so far is that it is awesome. I love it.
I decided on the 16GB model in black. The phone is a good looking piece of technology and after only a couple of days I am getting pretty comfortable with it. Today I was out of the house and needed to get a phone number so without any effort I launched the Internet browser over the Edge network and within seconds I had the number. The real cool thing was that once I googled the number I simply touched the phone number in the browser and it immediately initiated the phone call for me. I think I am hooked already.
The service seems pretty good. On the drive back from Chattanooga I had service the whole way (there were some spots with my Razr on Verizon where I had no service). Sparta doesn't have the ATT 3G network so while here I have to rely on their Edge network but so far it seems to be almost as quick as my DSL service (we have pretty slow Internet). I know many have reviewed the phone my personal opinion so far is that it is awesome. I love it.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
A Slow Week
This past week my school scheduled Fall break. So my week was shorter than usual with classes meeting on Thursday only. The week was shortened even more by the elevator/lift in my building going out (again for the 5th or 6th time this semester). When this happens, my classes are shifted to the 2nd floor (where my office is and the floor served by a ramp). The tricky thing is that the 3rd floor has the standard computer lab reserved for my classes and the 2nd floor has the student lab (this lab is reserved by any and all classes around campus). As luck would have it, the 2nd floor lab was already reserved and was thus unavailable for me to use. So, as you can tell I didn't do much teaching this past week. Hopefully the elevator will cooperate and all classes will be as scheduled this week. The elevator issue has already caused me to cancel 2 complete days of classes this semester. Not convenient for me or my students.
The hangar/building project is slowly moving forward. The entire ground floor apartment is now framed in and waiting for ceiling (2nd-floor floor joists) to be installed. Once the ceiling is in place I can then have the ground floor wired and plumbed. I plan to find a sheetrock/drywall crew to come in once the wiring and plumbing has been inspected and knock that out as quickly as possible. I still have tons to coordinate before the project is complete but I am still shooting for a Christmas move-in date. I know the wall color for my bedroom but will see if Jan or Kara (friends from church) can't help me choose colors for the bathroom and living/kitchen area.
The hangar/building project is slowly moving forward. The entire ground floor apartment is now framed in and waiting for ceiling (2nd-floor floor joists) to be installed. Once the ceiling is in place I can then have the ground floor wired and plumbed. I plan to find a sheetrock/drywall crew to come in once the wiring and plumbing has been inspected and knock that out as quickly as possible. I still have tons to coordinate before the project is complete but I am still shooting for a Christmas move-in date. I know the wall color for my bedroom but will see if Jan or Kara (friends from church) can't help me choose colors for the bathroom and living/kitchen area.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Misc
Today I was on Fall break from school so I thought I might check out some flooring options for my apartment. I am almost decided. I'm leaning towards a laminate with texture. It is a little rustic looking, but in my particular setting I think it will be appropriate. The picture doesn't do it complete justice but shows the basic color and wood grain.
In other news I have been offered a contract on my Murfreesboro house. It is a rental place that has been split into a tri-plex. It has a pretty good return on investment but I am considering the offer. The bad thing is that I will then need to find a decent investment for the money. The benefit is that I won't have any property that is not in the same town I actually reside in. Rental property has been great to me over the years but it might be time to dump it all and just find some less time intensive investments.
Tonight at bible study we discussed a pastor's "call". How do we determine God's calling in/on our lives as lay but also how does a pastor know if he is being called to the ministry? And, is a pastor called to the ministry and then called to a specific church or is he called to the ministry and then simply makes a decision on where he serves? One of my questions is why does God always "call" preachers to larger churches that pay more than their previous church?
I am sure there are exceptions but I have never heard of God "calling" a pastor to a smaller church that pays less. It seems that pastors have learned too many marketing and business administration tricks and have lost touch with their calling (if they ever had one). It seems that many pastors simply view their vocation as a job and not a calling from God. Many are observed putting in the minimum time required and working to the extent required to grow the church, not to bring people to God so much as to grow the numbers, so they can move on to the bigger church down the road. This issue of complacency (or the other issue of ulterior motives) is not a new problem, but is still a serious problem. It is also not unique to pastors because as a teacher, I also fight the complacency tendency in my life. God tells us in I Corinthians to do everything to His glory. We are also told to strive for excellence or perfection in all that we do.
In other news I have been offered a contract on my Murfreesboro house. It is a rental place that has been split into a tri-plex. It has a pretty good return on investment but I am considering the offer. The bad thing is that I will then need to find a decent investment for the money. The benefit is that I won't have any property that is not in the same town I actually reside in. Rental property has been great to me over the years but it might be time to dump it all and just find some less time intensive investments.
Tonight at bible study we discussed a pastor's "call". How do we determine God's calling in/on our lives as lay but also how does a pastor know if he is being called to the ministry? And, is a pastor called to the ministry and then called to a specific church or is he called to the ministry and then simply makes a decision on where he serves? One of my questions is why does God always "call" preachers to larger churches that pay more than their previous church?
I am sure there are exceptions but I have never heard of God "calling" a pastor to a smaller church that pays less. It seems that pastors have learned too many marketing and business administration tricks and have lost touch with their calling (if they ever had one). It seems that many pastors simply view their vocation as a job and not a calling from God. Many are observed putting in the minimum time required and working to the extent required to grow the church, not to bring people to God so much as to grow the numbers, so they can move on to the bigger church down the road. This issue of complacency (or the other issue of ulterior motives) is not a new problem, but is still a serious problem. It is also not unique to pastors because as a teacher, I also fight the complacency tendency in my life. God tells us in I Corinthians to do everything to His glory. We are also told to strive for excellence or perfection in all that we do.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Vision for a Community
Last week and again tonight the pastor and the long range planning committee presented their vision for us as we seek to reach Sparta for Christ. The plan includes building and expanding our current facilities but will also necessitate expanded ministry offerings as well. One of the stated goals is to double in size over the next decade. I am against making congregation count an end goal for any church and pray that the pastor is looking at ministry and presenting the gospel rather than membership numbers as his goal. As with any initiative in a Baptist church we have to vote on it for it to be official. We had a very long business session and pretty much beat the horse for 1.5 hours tonight and will vote to approve or not next month.
I know that for the past 4 or 5 years many in the church have expressed a desire for a leader to step forward and lead us. Well, tonight we had the pastor step out (with the efforts of the long range committee) to lead us in his/their vision of where God wants to take us. Now, it is up to us to join in and do our best for God's glory or to sit still and be content with where we are now. And, while I am not excited about a church that is huge, I do want to get excited and step out in faith to serve where He wants me so that His message can reach everybody here in White county. If that means doubling in size, then praise God, because I know He can change my heart to be happy even in a large church.
I know that for the past 4 or 5 years many in the church have expressed a desire for a leader to step forward and lead us. Well, tonight we had the pastor step out (with the efforts of the long range committee) to lead us in his/their vision of where God wants to take us. Now, it is up to us to join in and do our best for God's glory or to sit still and be content with where we are now. And, while I am not excited about a church that is huge, I do want to get excited and step out in faith to serve where He wants me so that His message can reach everybody here in White county. If that means doubling in size, then praise God, because I know He can change my heart to be happy even in a large church.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Taiwan Baptist Mission family
For the past decade (maybe more) the Taiwan Baptist mission (TBM) family has held a bi-annual reunion. I'm not sure who decided to try and arrange the first such event but would guess some Raleys were involved. Harry and Francis Raley were Southern Baptist (SB) missionaries in Taiwan for many years and have several children and grandchildren. Their son David was in charge of this year's reunion and he and the committee did a great job of organizing and arranging both facilities and program events. It was held at the 4-H facility in central Arkansas.
My mission family back in the day included about 100 missionaries and their children (MKs). SB missionary families lived all over the island of Taiwan (Taipei in the North, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Taitung and even Hualien).
Their work included church work with local pastors and churches, Chinese college student ministries, Morrison Academy (MK school) ministries, Taiwan Baptist seminary ministries, and even language study before moving to other Asian cities to work with Chinese living in places other than Taiwan.
Well, this weekend I was privileged to spend almost 72 hours with my uncles, aunts, and cousins in an incredible time of fellowship, worship, and revelry. We started on Friday with the requisite site check-in and unloading of bags and suitcases. Those who drove had plenty of help bringing our bags in and a local church provided bus shuttle service (thanks to David Raley and his friends) from the airport for those who flew in. The facility is pretty nice and is very wheelchair accessible. There are a couple of us who use wheelchairs so that was a nice feature. We then had dinner later that afternoon with a time of worship and fellowship that evening. We have the luxury of having numerous great pastors, incredible singers, and talented musicians in the group so we can pick and choose who ministers at each event.
Of course many of us stayed up entirely too late Friday night catching up on current jobs, family changes, life's issues and of course tons of "remember the time ..." that always come up. One of the true joys of these bi-annual events has been my opportunity to really get to know more intimately my family members. As a kid I loved each of them but I was never really as concerned with them and their lives as I was with me and my life. Now I love to hear their stories and have been encouraged and my faith strengthened by their lives of sacrifice and service to our Lord and Savior. As they share times of trial on the mission field followed by stories of God's faithfulness and grace through these same trials my faith is strengthened and my heart rejoices. These men and women (of which my dad and mom are a part) have lived lives of courage and sacrifice and yet none would choose a different path. They all surrendered to the call of their Father to "go and make disciples" and they all said "where ever You lead I'll go".
Here is a picture of one of the winning Dragon Boats. On Saturday afternoon we had about 6 boats with teams in place for the first annual dragon boat races. David R was going to stand in the front of a boat in his boxers with sweat rag in place (in honor of all those brave dragon boat captains of old) but decided not to at the last minute.
The highlights of these weekends for me are times of sharing by uncles and aunts as they share thoughts on their time in Taiwan and other countries they have served. Several of the Taiwan missionaries also served in Vietnam before the US - Vietnam war. Most were there during the war and had to leave "their country" in 1975 when Saigon fell. Even today they mourn the loss of that time (from 1975 to the present) and opportunity to share with the Vietnamese people of Christ's love and grace. Several served in Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, the Philippines, and countries in Africa before or after their time in Taiwan. Their stories of nomadic existence only reinforces their testimonies of faithfulness and their commitment to go "where ever You lead God".
Here are a couple of small group pictures from the weekend.
My prayer is that I too can be faithful to live out my faith and be the salt in a bland and taste deprived world. What an incredible responsibility He has given us as His gospel message to those we meet.
My mission family back in the day included about 100 missionaries and their children (MKs). SB missionary families lived all over the island of Taiwan (Taipei in the North, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Taitung and even Hualien).
Their work included church work with local pastors and churches, Chinese college student ministries, Morrison Academy (MK school) ministries, Taiwan Baptist seminary ministries, and even language study before moving to other Asian cities to work with Chinese living in places other than Taiwan.
Well, this weekend I was privileged to spend almost 72 hours with my uncles, aunts, and cousins in an incredible time of fellowship, worship, and revelry. We started on Friday with the requisite site check-in and unloading of bags and suitcases. Those who drove had plenty of help bringing our bags in and a local church provided bus shuttle service (thanks to David Raley and his friends) from the airport for those who flew in. The facility is pretty nice and is very wheelchair accessible. There are a couple of us who use wheelchairs so that was a nice feature. We then had dinner later that afternoon with a time of worship and fellowship that evening. We have the luxury of having numerous great pastors, incredible singers, and talented musicians in the group so we can pick and choose who ministers at each event.
Of course many of us stayed up entirely too late Friday night catching up on current jobs, family changes, life's issues and of course tons of "remember the time ..." that always come up. One of the true joys of these bi-annual events has been my opportunity to really get to know more intimately my family members. As a kid I loved each of them but I was never really as concerned with them and their lives as I was with me and my life. Now I love to hear their stories and have been encouraged and my faith strengthened by their lives of sacrifice and service to our Lord and Savior. As they share times of trial on the mission field followed by stories of God's faithfulness and grace through these same trials my faith is strengthened and my heart rejoices. These men and women (of which my dad and mom are a part) have lived lives of courage and sacrifice and yet none would choose a different path. They all surrendered to the call of their Father to "go and make disciples" and they all said "where ever You lead I'll go".
Here is a picture of one of the winning Dragon Boats. On Saturday afternoon we had about 6 boats with teams in place for the first annual dragon boat races. David R was going to stand in the front of a boat in his boxers with sweat rag in place (in honor of all those brave dragon boat captains of old) but decided not to at the last minute.
The highlights of these weekends for me are times of sharing by uncles and aunts as they share thoughts on their time in Taiwan and other countries they have served. Several of the Taiwan missionaries also served in Vietnam before the US - Vietnam war. Most were there during the war and had to leave "their country" in 1975 when Saigon fell. Even today they mourn the loss of that time (from 1975 to the present) and opportunity to share with the Vietnamese people of Christ's love and grace. Several served in Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, the Philippines, and countries in Africa before or after their time in Taiwan. Their stories of nomadic existence only reinforces their testimonies of faithfulness and their commitment to go "where ever You lead God".
Here are a couple of small group pictures from the weekend.
My prayer is that I too can be faithful to live out my faith and be the salt in a bland and taste deprived world. What an incredible responsibility He has given us as His gospel message to those we meet.
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