It All Started and Ended at Caribou

Caribou is probably my favorite coffee shop right now. Although Panera is still better for breakfast and lunch, Caribou has the best coffee. Consequently Carol and I start every Sunday morning Caribou Coffee. We have a large light roast and a French toast muffin. We share them both, but more importantly she brings in her computer and I bring in my notes so we can review the morning and make any final changes on the power point.

This Sunday morning was going to be different though. I wasn’t going to be speaking. I was going to share communion but we were going to open up the service to let people share their Thanksgiving “stories” instead. I wasn’t sure how many people were going to share their “stories” but I knew there were a lot of people with "stories" that I hoped they would share. As it turned out there were more than a dozen people who spoke. They were all lined up in front of the auditorium and simply shared their "stories" and then passed the mic down to the next person so they could share theirs.

The “stories” were awesome. None of them were stories of thanksgiving for a simple life, instead they were stories of thanksgiving for God being there when life was tough, when they lost a job, when they got sick or when their children or parents got sick. Isn’t that the way it is, we sometimes forget to be thankful when life is “easy.” It’s not until we lose something or at risk of losing something that we stop to be thankful. It was so moving that someone said, "the only thing we need to do next time is hand out Kleenex."

In the beginning I wondered "can you do that?" "Will anyone share?" "Will people feel “cheated” because there wasn’t a “message?" "Would they get bored with people just telling their “stories?” Well I didn’t need to worry, everyone loved it, and so did I. Not because I didn’t to speak, but because God got to be lifted up in “real life.”

That’s what I am thankful for about journey. Not just that there is permission to do things different but that you get to be “real.” And then after being “real” you are still loved. That’s what I think church is. It's not a place or a program but a people, a people who are on a journey together towards loving God and one another.

But as great as that was our day wasn’t over. After church Carol and I went out to dinner with the family. We celebrated our daughter in-law's birthday and the boys being home for Thanksgiving. Then we went home and took a nap. We needed it after a busy weekend that included hosting Carol’s family for Thanksgiving on Saturday. We must have had too much coffee because we couldn’t rest for too long so we went shopping. After shopping we went out to eat again and then stopped by Caribou to finish the day off where we started, only this time we didn’t have to share, we each got our own coffee!

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” 1 Chronicles 16:8

Count Your Many Blessings. . .

Every year on Thanksgiving Day. . . the average person consumes 4500 calories. America feast on 535 million pounds of turkey and more than 40 million green bean casseroles are served.

Well I don’t know about the green bean casserole but I do know that this year as American faces dark days and severe challenges it is more important than ever to count your blessings. A great idea is to get out a piece of paper and write them down. Be specific. Name individual family members and friends. Think of your health, home, city, country and church. Ask yourself what, exactly, about those people and places are a blessing? How about your skills, talents, education and job? Think about those things that happened this year that seemed like a coincidence. Were they a coincidence or was it really God at work, providentially providing you with just the thing you needed when you needed it? Then don’t forget God’s greatest gift, His Son, Jesus Christ. You will be amazed a how many blessings you truly have.

I Am Tankful For. . .

II know it's not Thanksgiving but I "stumbled" across this the other day and thought it was too good to wait to share next year so here it is today. It might be good to remember as we prepare our hearts for Christmas.

I Am Thankful For...

• For the teenager who is not doing dishes but is watching TV, because that means he is at home and not on the streets.
  
• For the taxes I pay, because it means that I am employed.
• For the mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.
• For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.
• For my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine.
• For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.
• For all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means that we have freedom of speech.
• For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking, and that I have been blessed with transportation.
• For my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm.
• For the lady behind me in my place of worship when she sings off key, because it means that I can hear.
• For the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.
• For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.
• For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means that I am alive.

and finally....

• For too much e-mail, because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.

What I'm Thankful For

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:3

Name one thing you can thank God for this year that you couldn't thank Him for last year. Here are a few of my thoughts...

One thing we can be thankful for is the price of gas. Who would have thought we would ever see gas prices under $2 a gallon, let alone $1.57?!

Another thing I am thankful for is that the elections are over. That means no more political commercials! (at least for a while).

Also, I am thankful for the prospects of a new roof, courtesy of Hurricane Ike.

As I reflect over this past year, I am MOST thankful for where the "journey" has taken me - a deeper relationship with the Lord, birth of Journey Church, and the MANY new & deeper friendships I have with people like YOU!

A year ago we prayed that if God wanted us to plant a church that He would provide three things: a people, a place and provision. Now, a year later, He has provided all three! How thankful I am to just be a part of His plan and to obey His command to "go into all the world and make disciples." (Matthew 28:18)

30 Years & Counting

Yesterday was our 30^th year of celebrating Thanksgiving at Diane & Mike’s house, my sister and brother-in-law. There were only 12 of us 30 years ago. This year there were 31. Much has changed in 30 years. My sister’s two daughters are both married and her youngest, Lisa, has two children, Lauren and David. That makes my sister the only one of my siblings who is a grandparent, but then she is the oldest! Carol & I have four boys of whom none of them were with us 30 years ago, as well as our two daughter-in-laws, Erin and Kayla. My brother Dale has three boys, and my other brother Darrel, yes that’s his real name, has seven! He was the one who said he wasn’t going to have any kids! I guess he changed his mind. There was also an “intruder”. His name was Dale. He’s a friend of my brother’s boys, Nathan and Thomas who attend Southern Wesleyan University. He lived too far away to get home for Thanksgiving so the boys asked him to come home with us. (You won’t find him in the family photo – he’s taking it!)

Two people who were there 30 years ago but not in the picture this year are my dad and Aunt Marilyn. They’ve both passed away, but they were present in our hearts. I especially missed my dad carving the turkey and then giving us samples so we could taste test them. I didn’t miss him choking on the sweet potatoes, which was something he did at least twice and we had to take him to the emergency room. He just couldn’t resist sampling them, too.

With all the changes, one thing remains the same, the love we share for one another. Somehow over the years our families have stayed together and our love has grown. (I think God has something to do with it!) As a family we have so much to be thankful for. I’m thankful for Diane and Mike who have put up with us taking over their house at Thanksgiving for all these years (especially when our kids were small). Also, I’m thankful for Dale and Kathy who Carol and I have shared so much life with including our boys of whom we have almost raised together. I’m thankful too for my “little” brother, Darrel, who’s just finished his masters program at Mount Vernon Nazarene. And for his wife Ginger who’s put up with our family for the last 19 years. Lastly, I’m thankful for my mom. After all, if it weren’t for her none of us would be here! Mom, thanks for giving us life and for giving us such a great example of what it means to love family, to love God and to love life. I hope we have 30 more years of Thanksgiving, but if we do, Diane and Mike will have to get an even bigger house!

Tukey Day Trivia

Sorry, I just couldn’t resist sharing a little Turkey Trivia to enliven the conversation at your dinner table this Thanksgiving. The following questions are adapted from an online quiz by Aristotle, Inc. but you can tell your kids you made it up if you want. Maybe they’ll think you’re not such a “turkey” after all. Have a great Thanksgiving. (Answers on the comment page)



1. When was the first American Thanksgiving celebration?

a. 1492

b. 1567

c. 1621

d. 1776

2. Where was the turkey first domesticated?

a. Canada

b. The United States

c. Mexico and Central America

d. New Zealand

3. What is the female turkey called?

a. a rooster

b. a cuckoo

c. a chick

d. a hen

4. What is a male turkey called?

a. a larry

b. a clark

c. a harry

d. a tom

5. How fast can turkey’s run?

a. 5 mph

b. 15 mph

c. 25 mph

d. 45 mph

6. How many feathers does a mature turkey have?

a. 1500

b. 2000

c. 3500

d. 5000

7. Which state produces the most turkey annually?

a. Kansas

b. Ohio

c. Arkansas

d. North Carolina

8. Approximately what percentage of American homes eat turkey on Thanksgiving?

a. 49%

b. 67%

c. 82%

d. 90%

9. What country consumes the most turkey per year per capita?

a. the United States

b. India

c. Israel

d. Spain

10. What great American statesman lobbied to make the turkey the national symbol?

a. Benjamin Franklin

b. Thomas Jefferson

c. John Adams

d. George Washington

I Get My Best Ideas in the Shower!

Ever get an idea in the shower? I do. In fact, it seems like I get my best ideas in the shower. Maybe that’s why my ideas are “all wet”. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist) I think we get our best ideas in the shower because it’s one of the few “quiet” moments of the day. You can’t watch TV, at least not in my bathroom. You can’t read a book and you certainly can’t read the newspaper. All you can do is think.

Another time I get a lot of thinking done is while mowing the yard. It’s an hour to an hour and a half of “quiet” time with nothing to do but think. I’ve tried listening to music or messages on my i-pod but I have to turn it up so loud I’m afraid I’ll bust my ear drums, so most of the time I just think.

Thinking is important. The apostle Paul said, “finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” This Thanksgiving after you’ve stuffed yourself with Turkey and pumpkin pie, take time to think. Think about the good things God has done for you and is doing even now in your behalf. As for me I think I’m going to go take a shower. Maybe I’ll get an idea on what to blog next.