it is that time of the year…

Well, that’s a lie!

It is not almost pumpkin spice season, it already is! Oy vey!

Schools are back in session and fall crafts are already being made. While those kids are gone, moms and dads are hitting the coffee shops for pumpkin spiced drinks. All kinds of products to fall for (like that pun?), but meanwhile it is still summer in my head. Pumpkin spice used to be associated with cooler weather rather than just be a desired flavor preference.

Why is the grass greener as we rush the seasons? It used to be this flavor was not out till much later beginning in October which would be a month after the ‘official’ start of fall and a week before the end of that month. Now, the stores even seem to skip fall decor in actual fall and Christmas decorations creep in sooner and sooner each year. Before the end of summer, fall items go on clearance and Christmas decorations flood the stores which used to not be seen till mid-November.

In the light of life and eternity, none of this really matters. But, it got me thinking, why do we rush pushing one season out before it’s due time instead of living in the here and now enjoying each moment of each season that comes our way?

Try to live in the moment.

Try to enjoy each season.

Take the time to read the whole of Ecclesiastes. Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, said this: “There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:”. Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:1‬ ‭

I know this might not be a popular thought, but for me it just doesn’t seem the time for pumpkin spice.

Don’t rush the time.

Don’t rush the season.

Just…

be.the.church

Right now, right where you are at, and in whatever season you are in.

Yes, there is a season for everything, just don’t rush getting there!

everyday is a day to celebrate something

Somewhere in the world today it is Chop Suey Day, Lemon Juice Day, More Herbs/Less Salt Day, the beginning of Sweet Corn Week, and it is World Water Week. Guess we can agree as the summer’s end approaches, the plentiful harvest is something to be celebrated.

What is that you can celebrate today for everyday is day to celebrate something?

When our children were young, we often found excuses to celebrate each one individually. If someone got a good grade, well done. If one played a great game, an attaboy was offered. A recital, a solo, a lead role, we would celebrate.

Celebrate. Celebrate. Celebrate.

We would make an announcement that a proud party was to be had. We would have a special dessert after dinner and put a candle in it. Then sing the special song we made up for these occasions. Simply singing: “We’re proud of you” to the tune of ‘Happy Birthday’.🎶

Everyday is day to celebrate something. Find it and celebrate.

Let the world see your joy. That is a way to let others know and see you…

be.the.church

“Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, Drink…with a robust heart. Oh yes – God takes pleasure in your pleasure! Dress festively every morning. Don’t skimp on colors and scarves. Relish life with the spouse you love each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange for the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one!” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9:7+ MSG‬‬

Yes, everyday is a day to celebrate something. Find it and celebrate so the world can see your joy. Each day is a gift; make the most of every one!

i have a dream

On this day in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. met with President John F. Kennedy. After that meeting, Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to a crowd estimated to be 250,000, but I bet it was many, many more. Regardless, it is one of the most famous speeches in history.

Most probably don’t remember that the March on Washington that day was for Jobs and Freedom, but do remember some of the speech’s content that was “aimed on ending racial discrimination in schools, the workplace, and protection of civil rights workers from police brutality.“* It was a different era; a different time, yet sadly discrimination still exists. If it is not color then it is religion. If not religion then color. And the issues butt heads and go round and round.

I have a dream this will all end. I know it will as one day the lion will lie with the lamb, but until Christ returns and there is a millennium of peace, practice peace and live out the fruit of the spirit as found in Galatians 5.22+23: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control.

What a dream if all who confess to be Christians, try to do this daily!

Here’s a link to listen to the whole speech:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs

That speech is filled with such hope and passion.

“When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. August 28, 1963

I have often wondered what would our world look like now if Dr. King was still alive. Would we still have the racism that seems to be moving backward instead of forward? Would we still be listening to his speeches? I wonder.

He was a picture of what the church looks like when we get up and support something we believe in which we still should be doing today.

“Let’s not judge people by the color of their skin but the content of their character” as Dr. King said some 56 years ago today. In doing so, we will…

be.the.church

What a legacy!

What an example!

What a great man of God used mightily in the short life he lived. Be a Martin. Be a leader, be an example, and be a person of love and influence.

be.the.church

Some posts to look back on:

https://bethechurch.home.blog/2019/05/27/what-will-you-remember/

https://bethechurch.home.blog/2019/05/28/what-will-you-remember-part-2/

https://bethechurch.home.blog/2019/05/22/dream-small/

https://bethechurch.home.blog/2019/04/04/what-if-the-assassination-never-happened-today/

https://bethechurch.home.blog/2019/02/28/be-peace-makers-dont-judge-but-love/

*wikipedia more on the famed speech https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_a_Dream

live out the light

Some say I need to get my life together before I can commit to God. Others say my life is too much of a mess He wouldn’t want me. And still others convince themselves that later down the road they will find the ‘light’ and follow it.

You can live out the light even now in the middle of what we might call a mess. For remember, God turns ashes into beauty. (Isaiah 61.3)

Let Him take your cares and worries. (1 Peter 5.7) But, you have to leave them at the foot of the cross and do your part to surrender.

Say every day that this is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118.24)

And then give every bit – every second, every minute, and every hour to Him. Sometimes it’s a minute by minute battle. Sometimes it’s an hour by hour battle. And sometimes it might be days or weeks until we have to fight that battle again. But God! He is by our side wanting to fight for us if we let Him.

Today is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6.2)

Make sure you are apart of His family.

Let God in.

Let Him take all your worries and fears.

Let Him begin the healing work of restoring your heart.

Let Him guide you.

Let Him help you.

Let Him live out the light through you as you…

be.the.church

Let God be the light shining through you.

And if you need a little more help or encouragement, check out this previous post: https://bethechurch.home.blog/2019/08/15/complete-healing-to-the-hurt/

traditions

🎶 “Tradition, tradition. Tradition.”*

Have you seen the Fiddler on the roof? It is absolutely delightful. We saw it on broadway. What a privilege as it transported us to a day gone by. The blessing was the valuable lessons to take with us and apply for years to come.

It was such a fun birthday surprise too as we rounded the street and our son saw the sign for the show. He didn’t think it would be good because he had bad memories of seeing the movie when younger (which doesn’t quite do the show justice although I still love that too).

The tradition then was we ate pizza and watched movies Friday nights. When I was out of town, I left that movie for them to watch. They probably would have liked more of a shoot ‘em up guy movie better. However, we were always protective of what they watched when they were young so that was not going to be an option then.

Back to tradition, it is good to have them.

Some other traditions we had in our house were:

going to church on the weekend regardless if you went to some other Christian event or youth group

we played games weekly

we set up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving

and we always ate Chinese food on Thanksgiving while we lived abroad as it was a regular work day

Another tradition was when the kids were small, they were allowed treats only on Sundays to help them learn the sabbath was a day to look forward to and a way to make it a little sweeter.

(That idea came from the book Hints on Child training by H.Clay Trumbull which I highly recommended. It was a staple yearly read while we were in the middle of rearing)

Check out this post for more thoughts on the sabbath:

https://bethechurch.home.blog/2019/08/18/the-lords-day/

If you don’t have any traditions, add some to your life especially if little ones are in tow. They love to look forward to what they know will be happening. I had a tradition when my nieces and nephews were young I simply called ‘surprise trips’ which was just one of them and me going somewhere. We carried that idea into parenthood and called it ‘special time’ which was one kid with one parent. It was not even something so special or expensive. It might have been just a trip to Home Depot or the bank or one kid’s turn to go to the grocery store. The point was just as much as mom and dad needed date nights, our kids needed one on one times so we established a tradition to make that happen.

What traditions do you have or plan to start now? Please tell us in the comments so we can be inspired.

Traditions can point us in the right direction and help us show our love for God and others. In doing so, we will…

be.the.church

“…stand firm and hold to the traditions…” 2 Thessalonians 2.15

Make time for the things that matter most.

*lyric line from the theme song of the musical 🎵 Fiddler on the roof.

See Friday’s post for more: https://bethechurch.home.blog/2019/08/23/i-love-live-theater/

fear not*

Did you know that the Lord says to us “Do not fear” over 300 times in the Bible? OVER THREE HUNDRED TIMES!

I don’t know about you but once I’ve told my kids something more than a few times my gut reaction is to want to give up, turn into tough love guy and say “Well, I tried! Guess you’re just gonna have to figure it out on your own!”

But the Lord is there, faithfully at our side, reminding us OVER 300 TIMES not to be afraid!

Even though He already proved His power in delivering Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. (Side Note: I prefer to call them by their Hebrew names: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and I wonder why we don’t always. Things that make me go hm!)

Back to how God has proved there is no reason for us to fear. He already proved His faithful protection and provision in delivering the Isrealites out of Egypt.

Even though, He already showed us His incredible love, mercy, and grace when He died on the cross.

Even though, He has walked each one of us through the trials and storms of life, He never throws up His hands saying “Well, I tried! You’re on your own!”

Instead, He is there, with us every day, reminding us that He holds us in His hand – protecting us, loving us, guiding us, and continually reminding us “Do Not Fear!”*

Yes, words like ‘do not be afraid’, ‘fear not’, etc occur over three hundred times in the Bible and arguably you will find 365 times, one for every day of the year.

Trust God and do not fear each and every day of the whole year!

“The Lord gives strengthen to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.” Psalm 29.11

Let God help you, care for you, and take all your fears.

Then, you can show the world who is the Master of the peace within and more will join us to…

be.the.church

*copied from a post RJ

thoughts on a not so perfect union

I attended a wedding. A pastor friend was suppose to be doing the ceremony and I was suppose to be the witness and sign the license. The church, however, was not in agreement. I attended but did not sign and a random justice of the peace performed the ceremony instead.

Here’s some lessons learned:

Don’t commit to being a witness or performing a ceremony until you know you can, have been given permission, or have talked to whomever is over your credentials. I assumed premarital counseling had been done, but it hadn’t. The church also wants at least a year after a divorce before one gets married to someone else and it was mere months since it was final.

Premarital counseling should be a prerequisite to marriage and since it had only been a few months since the divorce was official, it was not approved. Although the original couple had been apart for quite some time (like 2 or 3 years), an onlooker observing would know the legal separation was less.

Learn something new everyday and apply it.

The dilemma then was do I still attend and do I bring a gift. I settled on a gift card for a dinner out. My spouse choose not to attend with me and we both were in a quandary about what to give or not as the whole situation is difficult to support.

On the one hand: happy they are marrying and not living in sin.

On the other hand: new spouse is partly why old spouse not in picture.

Life can be messy because we are messy.

Here’s my advice:

If you are married, keep loving each other fiercely.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

Learn to affair proof your marriage by setting up action plans and sticking to them like:

not going anywhere with opposite sex

not keeping secrets unless surprise for your spouse

and not holding on to past hurts or mistakes/mishaps

Never let the D word be in any conversation (divorce) whether in jest or not! That word should never spill from your lips.

Always put your spouse’s needs/wants/wishes/desires above your own. Good advice for all your relationships.

If we are striving to serve others first or more, it might become a little competition that all will benefit from.

Here’s to many more months and years of wedded bliss to those who are married. And if you are not and contemplating, dating, or engaged, take the above to heart and live out loving as God intended.

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2

Regardless of your marital status, we all can do our part to show this hurting world how the love of God can transform lives starting with ours. That is how we can…

be.the.church

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”John 15:12

i love live theatre

I have been blessed with the opportunity to see live theatre literally all over the world from school shows to broadway to off broadway to in our church which rivals broadway to local theatre to international theatres as well as anything and everything in between. Some good, some bad but all entertaining in their own right. I love being transported from my present state to a far away often out of this world dreamy land.

What a privilege to have seen shows locally, in New York City, in London, and beyond. Whenever you get the chance, let theater transport you to another place or whisk you away to another time, but look for the lessons to take with you after the curtain falls. That goes for any show including short films, movies, and documentaries too.

But, there’s always takeaways from the plays or musicals so keep your eyes and ears open. Then, go and apply them. For instance, from Fiddler on the Roof we learn that without our traditions are lives would be shaky like a fiddler on the roof.

What traditions do you have in your life?

Make some habitual. I promise they will enrich your earthly days.

Please share the traditions you have and perhaps together we will come up with more ideas to…

be.the.church

One tradition we have is to try to go to some type of show each year together as a family. Now that the kids are getting older and married off, it must remain so the tradition can be passed down to the next generation. The real value for us is time set aside to be together. That is a tradition worth keeping week in and week out. Make time for the things that matter most. God first, family second and I promise life will be sweeter. Keep those traditions that draw you closer to God and family a priority.

“…stand firm and hold to the traditions…”. 2 Thessalonians 2.15

be grateful where you are at

It is summer in my neck of the woods. Swimming, beach days, ease in the sun are all apart of this season.

If you don’t live near a beach, listen to some seagulls or waves online.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BYSVO1aMVuo

Take in the relaxation of the calm of the sea.

I have lived in several countries and visited lots more. What a privilege it is to live through and experience the seasons in different climates and settings of the world.

What is it about your neck of the woods you love? Please do tell.

But, regardless of where you live, be grateful where you are at!

An attitude of gratitude is contagious and just might prompt someone to join you to…

be.the.church

too!

Daily let your light shine in the summer sun or the darkest storm. People are watching. Let them see you be a living, breathing testimony for our Lord.

Check out this previous post on summer rain:

https://bethechurch.home.blog/2019/08/16/summer-rain/

That is the weather we were having last night but more like a torrential storm uprooting trees and leaving all kinds of debris on the highways and byways. I was grateful that I was kept safe as well as my family and church which is where I happened to be to ride out the worst of it.

complete healing to the hurt 2*

God wants you to forgive others who have hurt you. He wants complete healing for your heart. When you harbor hurt, unforgiveness builds. And when unforgiveness builds, you can not be used as mightily.

And here’s the thing, you not forgiving hurts you more then the one you have unforgiveness for.

My prayer for you today is for you to forgive if need be so you can have complete healing in your heart.

Daily strive to not only forgive but commit to forget and love others as you want and need to be loved. Then, the whole world will see you…

be.the.church

“… be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for you…” Ephesians 4.32

*this message bears repeating – it was published a few days back worded slightly different

https://bethechurch.home.blog/2019/08/15/complete-healing-to-the-hurt/

but I felt it needed to be heard/read again and this message definitely is a good one to repeat – agree?

Forgiving really is the answer!

And remember, forgiveness is your responsibility and breeds peace in your heart!

By the way, today is rainbow baby day. Congratulations to all those who have lost a child but now have a rainbow baby to celebrate life with. I would consider that complete healing to the hurt, wouldn’t you?