Incredible Kicking Exhibition

Rather than wrap up the year with a post about the impending fiscal cliff or rant about the past year, I've decided to post a video that I saw on TV the other day that is an incredible feat of kicking (pardon the bad pun).
The ESPN program I was watching at the time (and I don't recall which program it was) featured this video and said the Norwegian soccer player is getting a look by the NFL's New York Jets.

This post also makes two consecutive months of posting everyday! It's a personal record that I don't foresee breaking in 2013...but who knows?

Enjoy...


                   
                   
                   
                   
               


John <><
Happy 2013!

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2012 Is Winding Down...

It is just past midnight on the second to last day of the year.

It's Sunday morning so I'll be in church in a few hours; I hope that you will be, too. 2012 has been a pretty good year for me. I was at four different camps this past summer and had a grand time at each of them. I served as Camp Pastor twice and showed up for a one night magic show twice. I had the pleasure of preaching in a number of churches on Sunday mornings and evenings (including a rare opportunity to preach at Hopedale), preached in a couple of revivals, did a few magic shows for kids programs or family nights and had the pleasure of baptizing one of the kids that made a profession of faith at our kids' camp!

It is such a privilege to be able to talk to kids and hear how they perceive Jesus. Their understanding of God and His love for them always amazes me. In one family at one of the camps, all three of the kids made professions of faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior at camp. That's some pretty cool stuff!

Not everything in life is always sunshine and roses. I was honored by friends when I was asked to officiate at a funeral of a family member. Funerals and weddings are rarities in my ministry and this was only the second time I've done a funeral. It was a very small, intimate ceremony on an overcast and dreary day. The venue was a little country cemetery with a small old chapel. There was no hearse, no professional funeral director, no cemetery personnel. At the end of the short ceremony, it was family members that placed the cremated remains into the prepared grave (that they had dug themselves) and buried them.

It was simple. It was peaceful. I'm glad I was asked to be a part of it.

I'm looking forward to 2013. Chris and I are going to try to make a mission trip with our church to a poor area of the Appalachian Mountains. I also expect that there will be camps, revivals, preaching and magic shows during the year, but I never really know too far in advance.

If you are planning an event and would like for me to be there, please call early. I still have that 40 hour per week gig called work!

Wishing you all a prosperous 2013!

John <><

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December 31, 2012: The end of the world as we know it!

What if...

I'm not talking about the fiscal cliff that our legislators in Washington DC are driving us towards.
I'm not talking about a doomsday scenario or mythological ending.
No Nostradamus like prediction or anything like that.

A quick time-out...

I should start by saying that this post is primarily directed to my fellow followers of Jesus. If you are not a follower, I invite you to read anyway, but you may not find that it fits your world.
On the other hand, there is plenty here that you can choose to do. The teachings of Jesus on how to live well work well for a society of any kind. The good works won't land you a spot in The Promised Land; you'll have to proclaim His as your Lord and Savior for that.
Just the same, these are good points for good living.

Okay. Back to the what if...

What if we collectively decided that we would live completely according to the teachings of the Jesus?
How would that change our day to day lives?

Most of the people I know are good people. Most of the things that we do are acceptable to do. However, acceptable and holy are very different things.

Let's start with something simple--the speed limit. If we decided that we were no longer going to willfully break the law and drive 5-10 mph over the posted speed limit, how much would that impact your morning commute? I know that no officer is going to pull you over for driving 70 in a 65 zone, but that's still breaking the law.

There are so many things that we justify by saying that everybody does it or that nobody cares. We know that they are not right (or righteous), but we choose to do them, just the same. We tell "white" lies, we download music, movies, games and more from the internet. We cheat on taxes. We do a lot of things and take advantage of the "everybody's doing it" or "nobody cares" excuse to do the wrong thing.

What if...

What if we decided that we were going to focus more on others rather than ourselves?
How would that change our day to day lives?

What if we never did anything expecting something in return? What if we never decided how to treat somebody based on the way they treat us or others? What if we really followed the "Do unto others..." Golden Rule that Jesus taught?

Is it even possible to always be nice?
Again, most of the people I know are good, kind people. Most of them are generous and willing to help a friend in need. And yet, we often judge others for their needs. We often decided whether or not we help them based on how they have treated us or how we perceive that they would treat us.
What if we just decided to do the right thing because...well, because it's the right thing?

What if each one of us decided to change how we see the world around us? What if we looked upon our fellow man as Jesus does? What if we felt their pain, experienced their loneliness, knew their frustrations and made every effort to ease their burden?

What if we realized that there is no magic in a "sinner's prayer" that we may have prayed at one time, and the only way to heaven is to truly follow Jesus? When we reach the point that we realize that repentance means that we have to change--that we have to stop and turnaround, then we can begin to follow Jesus.

So often, we keep going on our merry way and we ask God to bless us as we go. We want for Him to follow us rather than turning from our ways and following Him.
I'm guilty.

I have done those things that "everybody" does. I have justified them because "nobody" cares.
But...

What if...

What if that all changed? What if we saw the hungry and fed them? What if we saw the lonely and visited them? What if we saw people in need and met their needs?

What if we saw the lost and shared Jesus?

The reality of Christianity is that it should change the world as we have known it.
And it should change us as the world has known us.

January 1, 2013 is just another day that marks the passing of time.
But it could be the beginning of a whole new world.
Let's get ready for it. Let's end the world as we have known it. Let's live life as we walk with Jesus, following Him all the way Home.

John <><

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The Old Farmer's Almanac

I know that The Old Farmer's Almanac is one of those outdated publications that just keeps hanging on. I would guess that the information in the annual publication is available through the online site, but I've never been to their website.

On the one hand, they still have the hole punched in the upper left-hand corner of their printed publication so that you can hang it on a nail in your barn or gardening shed. On the other hand, they have mobile apps, a website and are on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Something for everyone!

I am perusing my 2013 traditional printed edition now. Although each year's Almanac comes out in the fall, my copy has been a stocking stuffer for more than twenty years. Over the past two decades I have managed to misplace a couple of editions but have most of them since 1991.

Even before 1991, The Old Farmer's Almanac was my source of information for finding the visible planets, knowing when the principle meteor showers were taking place, watching an eclipse or finding a particular star or constellation in the night sky.

Maybe it seems strange not to have the "app" or that I haven't "liked" them on Facebook or followed them on Twitter (Actually, it's more strange that I don't have a smart phone that can even get the app!), but I happen to like the old fashioned printed edition.

...And I like the information that it contains--the regular movement of the stars across the night sky, the predictability of the planetary dance within our solar system, the effect of the moon on the tides--this is science in its purest form. The Almanac contains valuable information on plants and their growing seasons, the climates they thrive in and the amount of sun, water and warmth that they need. It is full of information and experience that has been distilled over more than two hundred years.

It is funny how some can look to science and say, "See, there is no god. It's just nature." But when I look to the heavens, when I see the life on Earth, I say, "See, there has to be a God! This is no accident!"

In case you were wondering:
On Jan. 1st, the Earth will be at perihelion--that's the closest to the Sun in its slightly elliptical orbit. We will be just 91,402,639 miles from the Sun. On July 5th the distance will be more than 3 million miles greater at 94,501,041!
Spring comes early this year as the Earth reaches the vernal equinox at 7:02am EDT on the 20th of March. The first full moon of Spring is on the 27th, making Easter Sunday the 31st of March.

I'll keep you posted as more of 2013's celestial events take place.

John <><

"We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, not figures on a dial." --from an 18th century edition of The Old Farmer's Almanac

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Favorite Posts...again

As we enter into the final days of 2012, I return to looking back at my favorite posts. I've already covered some favorites from early in the year and a couple of favorites from all of my posts. Looking back on 2012 I see that I didn't post very much during late spring and early summer. After that it was election politics in full swing and we really don't need to re-live any of that, do we?

If I had to pick a couple of posts from 2012, I go with these two that were widely read and are more about explaining my positions. Even though they received few comments here and only a few more on Facebook or by private message, they were shared by others and among the most read posts of the year.

They were For the Record from August (which was in response to comments about my negativity towards Christianity) and Why Pro-life/Pro-choice Doesn't Factor Into My Vote from October. If you didn't read them the first time or want to read them again just click on the link to take you there.

A better choice would be to go back to July 2011 and read this post about Unsung Heroes. It's a post about people that have quietly encouraged me by doing nothing more than being true to themselves and true to our God.

Yeah, that's a way better choice.
...And still a good reminder to look back at influential people in our lives and to examine how we may unknowingly influence those that are around us, each and every day.

John <><

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Baseball 365

Now that Christmas 2012 is past  (okay, so we still have a little more Christmas with Aaron and Jenny this weekend), it's time to talk about...

...baseball!

Baseball is never far from the hearts and minds of many people. I know that for many, football is the sport of choice. But how can a real sports fan be satisfied with a season of less than twenty games? Basketball? Okay, I get it. Not bad, just too many prima donas for my taste.

In a normal off season, I say that the NFL is what I watch between the end of the World Series and the beginning of Spring Training...if there isn't a hockey game on! This year's NHL labor dispute has caused me to look for other reasons to avoid the NFL.

I'm not one of those that is wrapped up in MLB's Winter Meetings or one that gets constant updates from the MLB or my favorite team. I'm just ready for the 2013 season! The Hall of Fame* broadcaster Jack Buck understood. One of the many poems that he wrote was 365.

For those that are slightly less interested fans, pitchers and catchers report to camp on Feb. 12. That's less than seven weeks away!

Here's a link to read Jack Buck's poem.

PLAY BALL!

John <><

* Jack Buck was inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, the Broad Casters Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.

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Glory to God in the highest...

...and on earth, peace among those with whom He is pleased. Luke 2:14 ESV

Merry Christmas.

Today's post is short and simple. My prayer for today is that God would grant you peace as He takes pleasure in you.

I leave you with on of my favorite Christmas songs. It is one that I have never heard played on the radio. I've never heard it sung any where other than on a collection of Christmas songs CD that we picked up sometime ago. Chances are good that unless you heard it here a couple of years ago, you may not have heard it either. It's a great song and it tells a great story.

If you want to know the story behind the song, you can re-read this post and listen to its video link.

Merry Christmas



John <><

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