Pinch-Hitting Blogger

It's always a blessing when I'm asked to be a guest speaker, to conduct a chapel service for a sports team, to write an article for a magazine, to conduct a funeral (which I did recently) and, yes, to "pinch-blog" for a friend.

When Brodie asked me to write a guest post for him...well...actually I asked him if I could be a guest blogger on The Hope of His Calling because I was getting tired of that same old picture. Not you, Pastor Frank, but the one of Lou Gehrig.

Anyhow, it's a pleasure to put a few thoughts together for my good friend Brodie MacLeod. We had lunch together earlier this week and, as always, we were both refreshed. Encouraging one another is such an important component of the Christian life!

I've teased Brodie, ridiculed him for his inability to post regularly on The Hope of His Calling and been downright nasty with him at times. Let me take this opportunity to tell you that when we met at Christian Horizons House 11 in Peterborough over two years ago, we "clicked" immediately. Brodie and Robbin are a very special couple who I have grown to love and admire very much.

Brodie's heart for God and his willingness to serve Him are so refreshing! His minstry at Calvary Church as Children's Pastor is an ideal "fit" for him. He loves kids and he loves Jesus.

So, my friends, as you read this "guest post" please respond by leaving more comments than Brodie has ever received before. Encourage him to write! Let him know how much you enjoy seeing new posts on his site! He does such a great job when he gets around to it!

Hopefully this mug shot of me, the old guy from Pilgrim Scribblings, won't be the lead photo on this blog for long.

We love you Brodie! Write on!

Pinch-Hitting Preacher

I was given a very unique opportunity this week. I serve as one of the Assistant Pastors at Calvary Church in Peterborough. Our Senior Pastor, Rev. Frank Patrick, was ill this week and under doctor's orders not to do anything, including preach. Other members of the pastoral staff were either ill or away and the task of preaching fell to me. I was quite thrilled to be able to preach to a large crowd in both Sunday morning services. As I was preparing I couldn't help being reminded of legendary baseball player

Lou Gehrig.

The New York Yankee First Base Hall of Famer is well-known for holding the record of most consecutive games played for decades until the great Cal Ripken Jr. broke it in the ’95 season. Lou Gehrig’s streak began in 1925 when he replaced the regular Yankee first baseman, Wally Pipp. Wally Pipp asked for a day off because of a headache, and never played for the New York Yankees again. Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak had begun.

This morning I had the privilege of “pinch-hitting” for Pastor Frank while he recuperated from illness at home. I can assure you though, unlike Wally Pipp, Pastor Frank will be back in his familiar position real soon!

5 Year Old Theologian

We are all "Theologians". Oh sure, it sounds like heady stuff, but really theology is "the study of God". We all have our thoughts on the subject. However, some think a little deeper than others. I remember doing a paper during my studies for my theology degree that I found interesting, but never thought I would be discussing with my 5 year old! My paper was on "The Tension Between the Imminence and Transcendence of God". It explored how the One, True, Almighty God of the Universe by Whom all things were made and are held together, the Creator who is so utterly "other" than His creation, how GOD can have a personal, intimate relationship with people who humble themselves and accept His grace to experience His very presence in their lives.

This went on for some 2500 words, or 10 pages. However, my little girl summed it up in this question. "How does God hold the world in His hands and live in my heart at the same time?". Amazing to think about isn't it? How does he do it... well, He just does. He's God, and you either believe it or you don't. The real question for us to consider is this - WHY? Why does he do it? Why does He even care about us? I'm not going to answer that. One reason is that I'm not sure if I can. But the main reason is that I want us all to think about it. He does do it, He does care, He simply... flat out... unconditionally LOVES us. More than that - He wants us to love Him back. Do you?

Wow - a whole year has gone by?!!!

It is now the second month of the "new year" and this is my first post of 2007! Crazy stuff - thanks Fish for not giving up on me. Thank you to all who belong to the Fish "school" of persuasion by inundation with electronic begging. This post is in response to the latest post on David Fisher's Pilgrim Scribblings. Now, I told David that I would write again if 5 people left a comment on my blog. Outside of David's repeated comments using pseudonyms, my last count was up to 4 comments. However - David's creativity has won me over.

The problem with a long wait is that it is usually accompanied with heightened expectations. On the other hand, maybe I've lulled the 2 or 3 readers who might return to this blog into such a comatose state that any jumble of letters appearing on the screen would be a welcome sight!

Whatever the case, I'm back... hopefully for more than just a one-time only appearance. I know Fish will make certain of that!

Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone! Well, okay... Hi Fish. I'm sure you are the only one who checks regularly. Actually, I have to take that back. I'm composing this on my Dad's laptop and was pleasantly surprised that he has my blog set as his homepage when you launch explorer. So I have at least another faithful reader!

Anyhow, I just wanted to wish anyone who might check in over the holidays a very Merry Christmas. It's been about a month since my last post, so I don't expect too many visitors. We have been having a wonderful time here at my folks in PEI. It was quite a journey (Karsyn asked if we were going to Bethlehem!!!). 18 hours on the road can take it's toll, but we made it in good shape. We are thankful for the invention of the portable DVD player!

Yesterday was wonderful. We began the day with our traditional reading of the Christmas story and then the wrapping paper began to fly! The kids had a great day, and so did we. Time with family, sharing laughs, singing songs, and reflecting on the greatest gift of all - A SAVIOUR HAS BEEN BORN, HE IS CHRIST THE LORD!!!

Refreshing...

They say that "a change is as good as a rest". As you may have noticed, I'm trying to

"refresh" my blog with a couple of little tweaks to the color scheme. Any thoughts or suggestions on the changes would be welcome!

Speaking of changes, my service at Christian Horizons has been changed. I'm being transferred to another program within the city. Not a major change, but there will be new things - new schedule, new workplace, new protocols, new individuals to serve, and a new team to work with. My current team took me out for lunch today, treated me to a great buffet, and gave me a nice card (I learned today that Karl is jealous of my hair). We had a great time at lunch today, and over the past year and a half we've had a great time together as a team. It was interesting to see how close our team is in a "one-staff program"! To all I served with here at P.11 - David, Frank, Gail, Greg, John, Josh, Karl, Peter, Scott, Seth - whether you made it today or not, thanks for your friendship and for lunch today, it was... refreshing!

A missionary in our midst...

Peterborough paramedics (from left) Bill Martin, Mike Latham, Ryan Maloney, Mark Cameron and Brian Wilkes - with a river ambulance.

One of our own at Calvary Pentecostal Church, Pastor Bill Martin, returned today from a 2 week trip to Cambodia. During his time away, our family committed to praying for Pastor Bill and his team while they served the people in the villages they went to. My kids were thrilled to discover that Pastor Bill is "an ambulance man" as well! They were also pleased to know that when he came down with severe illness after being there a couple of days, their prayers partnered with others and he was back to full health the next day! A great faith-builder for all of us. Please click the link following to see the coverage they received from our local newspaper "The Peterborough Examiner". from Nov.17th (unfortunately, this link will only be available until Nov. 24th)

DON'T CRY...

...over spilled milk. For any family members (or Kirk) who may be reading this - yep, I did it again!!! It seems that I don't go for too long without spilling something and tonight I spilled milk... again.

When I was a kid, it was very common for me to spill whatever beverage (or cereal) I happened to be consuming at the time. Actually, things really haven't changed much. The worst time was when I was about 8 or 9.

The whole family was seated at the table for supper and I went to the fridge to retrieve a new bag of milk. In my exuberance to accomplish the task, I returned to the table kinda tossin' the bag of milk up in the air. Well, this resulted in a simple law of physics becoming all to real for me - what goes up must come down. And down it came, missing my outstretched arms in the "basket-catch" position and hitting the floor with just the right amount of momentum and in just the right way to... well... I consider the factors going into this event to be the requisite factors in creating the "Perfect MilkStorm" because when it hit, it split, and the bag exploded it's white bovine substance all over my Mom's kitchen.

This set my Dad into one of his very few yet very classic fits of rage complete with fist banging and a couple of "bloody-well"'s. This of course reduced me to roughly the same as the contents of the little plastic bag - just a pool of liquid on the kitchen floor. My Mom, though frustrated I'm sure, assured me that all was well, it was just milk and could be cleaned up. Then we promptly proceeded to do just that. We cleaned up the mess.

Tonight when I spilled the milk, my Dad wasn't there to yell at me and my Mom wasn't there to help me clean up. In fact, I was working at Christian Horizons where I support individuals with physical and mental challenges. One of the guys I support started laughing at the spectacle. He quickly stopped and apologized to me for laughing. I said, "nah, man - that's okay. It was pretty funny. Besides, you can't cry over spilled milk!". Confused, he asked what that means. I told him that it just means there's no sense being upset about it because the milk is still spilled. I might as well just clean it up and continue on.

How many times do we cry over spilled milk in our lives? How often do we dwell on things that we cannot change? How much do we berate ourselves over mistakes made, poor decisions, or what might have been? How much guilt do we hang on to when we sin - after asking for forgiveness? I know that it can be really tough sometimes. We've all been in those ruts before - "woe is me", "why did I do that", or "God doesn't love me anymore, I'm no good for him now". We need to just clean up the spill - fix the mistake, ask for forgiveness, determine to do different next time - and move on... "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13,14

What would happen if I just left the milk where I spilled it? Pretty stinky, eh. One thing I had to learn early on is that spilled milk quickly became spoiled milk and that was just gross. If there is spilled milk in your life be sure to clean it up - deal with it so your life doesn't spoil - then look ahead, press on toward the goal... our HOPE in Christ!!!