Christmas Photos

The Peasant Family Christmas Photo

And this next photo, just because my daughter wanted me to post it . . .

(I'm not angry . . . this is supposed to be my over-the-shoulder, sultry look . . .

Guess I picked the right profession!  :-)

A Very Busy Week

Well, one of the busiest weeks of the year is again past for me. Many people think that Holy Week is the hardest week of the year for Pastors with all the extra services, but I actually think this time of the year is tougher. During Lent and Holy Week there are lots of services, but not as many outside activities and obligations. I can focus on the services and sermons and its actually quite enjoyable. But during Advent, there are not only some extra services, but a great many other things that demand attention - from Christmas concerts, Annual Voters Meetings, Caroling, Open House, Decorating, Neighborhood events, Christmas Letters, and more. This past week in particular always seems to be the worst of it. So now, while I still need to buy presents for the family, I can breathe a little easier and focus on the last days until Christmas.

I Hate Misinformation

I hate misinformation. I hate it when a web site tells you one price, but when you try to purchase that, you get a different price. The latest example is Staples, whose web site tells you that you can get 501 color copies for 0.34 per copy. However, when you try to upload a file and actually place such an order, the price is 0.44 per copy - a 33% difference. If you go to the store, the price is even higher. If you ask the personnel at the store, they will tell you the web site will give you the discount. NO, NO IT WON'T! But they won't believe a poor schlub like me. What do I know anyway? Argh! I don't want to pay more, so they lost my business and I can't get what I want done. Very frustrating.

Thanks for listening to me vent!  :-)

Would Anyone Notice?

Would anyone notice if you just disappeared? Would anyone care? Of course, your family and friends would notice and care, but most of us are quite unknown outside of this. There are only a few folks like Nelson Mandela, whose death a world mourns. Many people come and go every day quietly and anonymously.

So it is also in the cyber-sphere. Web Sites, Blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds come and go and few notice. They disappear into the ether and we go on with our lives. For (perhaps) all the work that went into them, they were hardly noticed.

So I was greatly encouraged and gratified that when our church web site went away for a time, people noticed. I received quite a number of e-mails asking about the sermon archive in particular, from pastors, vicars, and laymen, asking when it might be restored. It was missed. That's nice to know! For all the work that goes into creating and then maintaining a web site, you have to wonder: Is anyone looking at it? Is anyone using it? Does anyone care? It's nice to know that the answer is yes.

I started archiving my sermons like this - and there are now some 11 years of sermons on the site - not because I consider myself such a great preacher, but because I greatly appreciated other pastors who did this. Some weeks sermons come easily and writing them is a joy. Other weeks sermons are quite difficult and writing them is quite arduous. Those weeks, I was (and still am!) truly blessed to be able to go and read how other pastors have preached the text and get ideas from them. These often kick-start my mind and get my thoughts flowing. My hope was that by posting my sermons in the same way, I could do so for others as well.

I am still working on rebuilding the archive - 11 years is a lot of sermons to have to convert into the right formats and upload! - but its coming along. Advent and Christmas is complete, and hopefully Epiphany will be soon too. Little by little. But at least I know it's worth it.

Thanksgiving

It's been a while since I last posted. This is hands down the busiest time of the year for me. But I'll get caught up on a few things . . .

Here is Thanksgiving dinner at my house. My older daughter Sarah (foreground) in the one taking the picture for us. The woman in the Fordham Law sweatshirt is my sister Cindy, and you can see my father at the head of the table. It was a very good feast!

Dad

Well, my father is now officially moved in with us. My brother, sister, and I moved him down last Friday. I am pleased with how cozy and comfortable his room is with his things in it. I think it turned out nice. And he is getting used to being here. The first day or two he was confused and kept talking about going home, but now is understanding that this is home now . . . even though its going to take some getting used to and adjusting. (Click here for my brother's post on this, with some pictures.)

Yesterday we put a lot of his pictures up on the walls, which I think will help too. Yesterday was also a bit surreal as I drilled and screwed to hang his "picture rack" on his wall. That's what my Dad always did for us! He was the handyman, the carpenter. He taught me how to do all these things. But now I do them for him. He isn't very steady on his feet anymore and so cannot do what he used to. That's why we moved him down. It must be frustrating for him.

One of the adjustments we're going to be figuring out for a while is how he can help us around the house. He wants to help, to stay busy, but we have to figure out what he is still able to do. But I think he is enjoying being around people more. He still has his privacy when he wants it - he can go into his "suite" and shut the door. But the other night he also sat at the piano with my youngest and sang Christmas songs with her.  :-)  Good for both of them. I am glad my children will be able to spend a lot of time with their grandfather like this. It's something I never got to do - both my grandfathers died when I was just a baby.

And hopefully now I will be able to spend a little more time on my school stuff. I have to get my exams done and move on to my dissertation! But all this moving stuff has set me back a bit. Now, maybe . . . ?

Warming Your Pastor's Heart

In confirmation class with people, I tell them point blank, straight up, when we study the Ten Commandments: "I am trying to crush your self esteem." (If you don't think this is the purpose of the Ten Commandments, see Romans 3:19-20.) For their self-esteem should not come from themselves or what they do, but from Christ and the fact that He died for them. That makes them worth far more than anything they could ever do! I tell them this so much, in fact, that they begin to joke about it. But the point is made, and they get it.

So, one of the young ladies in my confirmation class found a self-esteem exercise for girls on the web. As you can see from the picture (sorry the scan didn't turn out better, but if you click on the picture you can view a larger image of it) you're supposed to write inside the letters "ME" what makes you special.

So, she writes at the bottom right "Turn for the truth ->" and on the next page instead is the following (notice in small print above the letter "M" the word "Law" and above the letter "E" the word "Gospel"):

Awesome. I did not ask her to do this. She just brought it in one day. Warms a pastors heart! :-)