Ode 17

Without Worship, We Go About Miserable

    Over the years I have counseled countless couples who were struggling to make a marriage work when they had lost that "lovin' feelin." A friend of mine, Dr. Ronny Spillers, told a story of a man who stood over the casket of his deceased wife and sobbed, "I never knew you." Imagine a lifetime of a relation-less relationship. That is what this couple endured. Now, since the title of this short blog used the word worship, you must imagine that my target...

I Love Jesus But I Drink a Little

If you haven't seen this it is worth the time. I about fell out of my chair.

Ellen DeGeneres ~ I Love Jesus But I Drink A Little (HQ)

I Have Been Simsonized

Here are pictures of me and the lovely Mrs. Parker ...Simson(ized). 

C.S. Lewis Strikes Again

I found a great quote in my morning reading. C.S. Lewis said, "It is in the process of being worshiped that God communicates His presence to men."
Two things are prompted in my mind to put into this post. The first is concerning Sunday morning (corporate) worship and the second is about worship lifestyle.
1. God communicates to the body and the individual during our corporate worship times. Going to church is not to punch a time clock and to be able to say you got in your time of church going. Instead it is a time when we come together to corporately worship God. He is the audience, not you. When the worship leaders conduct the service of worship it is intended to be a time when everyone in attendance turns their hearts toward God, allowing the Creator to communicate with us more clearly as we focus on Him. The music leaders do not prepare our hearts for the sermon,

To CJ and Renee Bergman

I just added a link to the section I call "Blogs and Sites I Watch" in the column just to the right. It is a link to CJ Bergman, a young minister in Phoenix, AZ. I have known CJ since he was just a little guy. I would watch my son (who just turned 30!) and CJ play endlessly in their imaginary worlds of Hot Wheels and GI Joes. I still have a picture of CJ in the little Hebrew costume he wore in our kids choir production of Daniel, Darius, and de Lion. It was quite memorable for me.  After moving from Manteca, CA in 1986, we never really lost touch but communication between the two families grew to be occasional.
A bit more background to all of this rambling. Last month I was down in the garage looking for something when I stumbled upon a box of pictures. I sat on the floor...

Our Own Little Leprechaun

So today is St. Patrick's Day. I thought it would be a great day to focus on our own touch of Ireland, Kevin Clement (Big Red).  Kevin runs our sports ministries here at Sugarloaf. We're pretty sure that stored in his office, along with all of the sports stuff, there is a pot of gold. If not, we feel like we struck gold when he came on board. 

Sunday After Church

Today was another great day at church. My team was off the chain with our musical worship. I am proud of our team each and every week. It is awesome to see the dedication of our musical volunteers. Joanie's best friend got married last week and is moving real close to our house. So my sweet wife is helping Julie move today. I said all that to explain the photo. I'm eating my Sunday lunch alone. I have got to say, I like it better when she is with me after church! But it's still a great day. 

I Went Old School at the ACC Tourney

Ken Jackson, my new best friend :-), invited me to go to the ACC Basketball Tournament today. His lovely wife, Linda, couldn't make it and I was happy to be her stand in! These tickets are traditionally some of the hardest to come by. So when Ken called me I was happy to say yes. It was a bonus that my favorite college team, Georgia Tech, was playing in the second game vs. Clemson. The only bad thing is that GT has not played well this year in the ACC, winning against only Wake Forest and Miami. Being the last seed in the tourney, few gave the Jackets a chance of winning, including yours truly. But what a surprise and what a fun game. I am still smiling and reeling from the tension. My Yellowjackets held the lead for most of the game and although it was somewhat a nail biter of a finish, they pulled out their third ACC win of the season, beating Clemson by a score of 86 to 81. And one more thing. I just had to take a picture of my Chuck Taylor All Stars (although I couldn't get it to post on this blog). I wore my old school shoes to the game. I think it is what made the difference for GT. How else could they have won?

George Fox, "Sing You In the Spirit"

This morning, reading some writings from George Fox (1624-1691), founder of the Quakers, I stumbled upon what he said about "singing in the Spirit."

"My dear Friends, be not carried away by good words and fair speeches, but everyone have hold of the Truth in yourselves by which you may be stayed upon Christ, your bread of life, the staff of your heavenly and eternal life.

Now Friends, who have denied the world's songs and singing, sing you in the Spirit and with grace, making melody in your hearts to the Lord. You that have denied the world's formal praying, pray always in the Spirit."

The words he wrote down reflect a commonality of Christian history. Prayerful singing is a part of the spiritual life. Whether it be singing in the car, humming a worship tune at work, or singing with a congregation at a church service, let your heart get involved as you pray the songs in the spirit. 

Psalm 149:1 "¹ Praise the LORD.
       Sing to the LORD a new song,
       his praise in the assembly of the saints.

Solitude in Your Life

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) was a Roman Catholic priest and psychologist. If you can get your hands on anything he wrote it would be worth your time. This morning my readings took me to some of his writings about bringing solitude into your life. I would not attempt to labor a translation for this short blog but the take away for me today is this:

Our spiritual life is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It requires discipline and hard work (Mark 10:23). This hard work helps us to hear the still, small voice of God (1 Kings 19:9-13). Through practice we can become more attentive to His voice. Nouwen says that without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life. Jesus told us to seek solitude (Matt. 6:6).

During the men's retreat I sought solitude several times and took pictures of some amazing things that we typically take for granted. I took the photos, pondered God's creation, and was assured by his voice...